There may be twice as many free floating planets as there are stars

My question is, what will this do to the theory of dark matter. After estimating how much mass is in a galaxy (I'm assuming it wasn't estimating for orphan planets back then) they noticed that spiral galaxies are spinning way too fast for their mass. So they subtracted how much mass they estimated was in a galaxy by the mass required to spin the galaxy as fast as it is to find out how much dark matter mass is in it. If there really could be twice as many orphan planets as there are stars, that's a lot of mass unaccounted for.
 


yo, can someone explain to me what the deal is with the space program? i was under the impression we shut it down, but it looks like it was just privatized/the government is spending no money on it anymore?

anyone have any thoughts on this? think the privatization of space exploration (if thats what is going on) is a good thing?
 
My question is, what will this do to the theory of dark matter. After estimating how much mass is in a galaxy (I'm assuming it wasn't estimating for orphan planets back then) they noticed that spiral galaxies are spinning way too fast for their mass. So they subtracted how much mass they estimated was in a galaxy by the mass required to spin the galaxy as fast as it is to find out how much dark matter mass is in it. If there really could be twice as many orphan planets as there are stars, that's a lot of mass unaccounted for.

That's certainly what one would think. But in my limited knowledge, the average planet is much smaller than a star. For instance, Jupiter, the largest planet in our solar system, is 1/1000 the mass of the Sun. I'm guessing the free floating planets don't make up enough mass to account for even a tenth of a percent of the missing dark matter. It would be cool if I was wrong, though.
Great topic, really thought-provoking.
 
My question is, what will this do to the theory of dark matter.
The "stupid rumor" of dark matter was already shattered before this came along... Better telescopes are finding more matter previously unaccounted for all the time. They commonly look behind a galaxy and find thousands more previously hidden by it's light and say, "Whoops. Better add those to the total."

This just further supports the fact that the mass exists, we just haven't found most of it yet. Heck, I bet in our own solar system we don't know where all the mass is; there is so much junk out there... But to call it "Dark Matter" is like me calling the dust bunnies under my bed "Monsters."


..think the privatization of space exploration (if thats what is going on) is a good thing?
Fucking A, it's a good thing. Best thing to happen to the space program since JFK. Hard to believe a socialist like Obama said to privatize it, but it's a done thing now and the private start-ups for space work and tourism are everywhere.

There's even a Space HOTEL in the works; completely finished & waiting to fly in Las Vegas as we speak. Private Satellite launching is already becoming a viable business and I think it's really exciting that any year now someone like Rutan or Sir Dick Branson is going to make a grab for the first Lunar Real Estate.
 
Maybe we should find out whats in our oceans first. Before we guess about the little lights in the sky. I mean if we cant figure earth out, what makes opinions about anything else millions of light years away credible.

"To date, we have explored less than five percent of the ocean"

How much of the ocean have we explored?

It's like you're trying to make a statement here but why does it have to be either/or? Why not both?

Anyways, your probable soapbox aside, I agree. If anyone's searching for aliens they're in the ocean trenches not yet explored. Which I think is both super awesome and kind of creepy.
 
Its a crying shame that in todays day and age you find maybe 100 people at a space shuttle launch, but 60,000 at some NASCAR race watching rednecks take left hand turns for hours.

Idiocracy has begun.
 
Before we guess about the little lights in the sky.

Uhhh...

a) We don't just "guess" about these things, we observe them
b) These "little" lights are nearly infinitely larger than the Earth's oceans

Space exploration is much more important than exploring our oceans (not to say that isn't important).
 
Maybe we should find out whats in our oceans first. Before we guess about the little lights in the sky. I mean if we cant figure earth out, what makes opinions about anything else millions of light years away credible.

"To date, we have explored less than five percent of the ocean"

How much of the ocean have we explored?

No government on this planet is willing to mess with Neptune. That's actually the real reason for space exploration, to get as far away from him as possible.
 
It's like you're trying to make a statement here but why does it have to be either/or? Why not both?

Anyways, your probable soapbox aside, I agree. If anyone's searching for aliens they're in the ocean trenches not yet explored. Which I think is both super awesome and kind of creepy.

If the oceans cover 70% of the planet and we only explored 5% of that. I think its time to rethink were we spend billions of dollars a year doing research.
I'd be willing to beat new medicine, life forms, materials, fuel, and who know what else is down below.
I really dont care whats going on millions of light years from here. Its like we didn't finish the job and moved on. Explains why we live in a world of starters and not finishers.


Uhhh...
Space exploration is much more important than exploring our oceans (not to say that isn't important).

Why? My GPS works just fine with what we got.
 
Explains why we live in a world of starters and not finishers.

The fuck are you talking about? Do you give humanity no credit for how much we've evolved?

Why? My GPS works just fine with what we got.

Well you're also convinced that you're going to an imaginary place when you die, so I'll accept your statement as simple close-mindedness.

Do you have GPS due to ocean exploration, or space exploration? Thought so.
 
^^^
One generation gets on the treadmill runs falls of dead, and another takes over.
Theres nothing new under the sun. You gotta look a little deeper. You take life a little to seriously.

2 “Meaningless! Meaningless!”
says the Teacher.
“Utterly meaningless!
Everything is meaningless.”
3 What do people gain from all their labors
at which they toil under the sun?
4 Generations come and generations go,
but the earth remains forever.
5 The sun rises and the sun sets,
and hurries back to where it rises.
6 The wind blows to the south
and turns to the north;
round and round it goes,
ever returning on its course.
7 All streams flow into the sea,
yet the sea is never full.
To the place the streams come from,
there they return again.
8 All things are wearisome,
more than one can say.
The eye never has enough of seeing,
nor the ear its fill of hearing.
9 What has been will be again,
what has been done will be done again;
there is nothing new under the sun.
10 Is there anything of which one can say,
“Look! This is something new”?
It was here already, long ago;
it was here before our time.
11 No one remembers the former generations,
and even those yet to come
will not be remembered
by those who follow them.

Take a little advise from the good book. Philosophy 700 years before the Greeks.
24 A person can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in their own toil.
 
Why? My GPS works just fine with what we got.
LOL! I vote for these 10 words as WF's most Ironic statement of the year!

Back on toipc; the problem most people have with ocean exploration is simply that the vast majority of it is EMPTY WATER with at most some lunch swimming through it.

Known stuff everywhere.

Sure they get lucky and find new species all the time, but it's that way here ON LAND, TOO.

Another problem is the vast PRESSURE and imminent danger of death one faces being squished down there in all of the most interesting spots...

Comparred to the vacuum of space, ultra-high pressures at only 1 mile down in the sea are incredibly more dangerous and costly to explore.

So Space exploration, contrary to popular belief, is simply the more economical & safer choice.
 
^^^
One generation gets on the treadmill runs falls of dead, and another takes over.
Theres nothing new under the sun. You gotta look a little deeper. You take life a little to seriously.

You do a good job at completely ignoring what I said.

First you ignore my first post and reply with a bit about GPS, when it's space exploration that allowed you to use GPS in the first place. Then you ignore that and post a Bible verse.

cmon
 
LOL! I vote for these 10 words as WF's most Ironic statement of the year!

Back on toipc; the problem most people have with ocean exploration is simply that the vast majority of it is EMPTY WATER with at most some lunch swimming through it.

Known stuff everywhere.

Sure they get lucky and find new species all the time, but it's that way here ON LAND, TOO.

Another problem is the vast PRESSURE and imminent danger of death one faces being squished down there in all of the most interesting spots...

Comparred to the vacuum of space, ultra-high pressures at only 1 mile down in the sea are incredibly more dangerous and costly to explore.

So Space exploration, contrary to popular belief, is simply the more economical & safer choice.

Waste of time and money my ass. I beat most of the worlds resources are below deck.
Going to the moon was like building pyramids for Egypt. Worthless, Symbolism of power.
 
You do a good job at completely ignoring what I said.

First you ignore my first post and reply with a bit about GPS, when it's space exploration that allowed you to use GPS in the first place. Then you ignore that and post a Bible verse.

cmon

Are you hoping for star trek or something. Come back down to earth, we got enough problems as is.
 
what happens when you reach the edge of the universe? is there a wall that blocks you?

This thought is actually very depressing if you go deep into it. One can't even explain it. If there's a wall, what's there outside the wall and how large is that? Is that space outside the wall infinite or does it have an ending too? What's outside that? Does it go on infinitely like that? Goes on.. and on and on

As far as I have known from science or religious texts, the universe is infinitely big. It reminds me of a lot of video games where you can keep running towards a direction and it just won't end. Your character will keep running as long as you want it to. The universe might be the same, kind of a simulation where we all are characters being programmed to play by someone (God?). The motive as per religious scriptures is to get salvation that is the freedom from life and death. In the video game context, it means we wouldn't have to be a character of the game anymore. We wouldn't need to endlessly run anymore if we get salvation.

I'm talking about what I have read from various sources. Whether or not it is the truth is up to you to decide.