Our solar system is a lot rarer than it was a quarter century ago

Hugh Ross

Two independent teams of astronomers recently looked into the matter:

Astronomers have detected and measured the mass and/or orbital features of 3,869 planets in 2,887 planetary systems beyond the solar system. This ranks as a staggering rate of discovery, given that the first confirmed detection of a planet orbiting another hydrogen-fusion-burning star was as recent as 1995. What do the characteristics of these systems reveal about potential habitability for advanced life?

…

The presumption back in 1995 was that astronomers would find many exoplanetary systems where the probability of advanced life possibly existing in that system would be greater than zero. More than twenty-three years later, with a database of 2,888 planetary systems and 3,877 planets, only one planetary system and only one planet possess the characteristics that the possible existence of advanced life needs. It requires little effort to discern the identity of that single planetary system and single planet.Hugh Ross, “Rare Solar System Gets Rarer” at Reasons

Hat tip: Philip Cunningham

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See also: We look for planets differently now It turns out that other solar systems are not shedding much light on how ours came to be Researcher: “We see all kinds of structure in these disks, even at very young ages,” says Follette. “Even younger than we classically thought planets should form.”

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What becomes of science when the evidence does not matter?

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