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Only 8% of the Universe's Habitable Worlds Have Formed So Far (sciencemag.org)

sciencehabit writes: According to a new study, 92% of Earth-like planets haven't been born yet. Science reports: "Using data from the Hubble Space Telescope, researchers estimated the rates of past star and planet formation in the universe, which is now about 13.8 billion years old. They then combined that information with data from previous surveys that estimated the amounts of hydrogen and helium left over from the big bang that still haven't collapsed to form stars. At the time our solar system formed about 4.6 billion years ago, only about 39% of the hydrogen and helium in our galaxy had collapsed into clouds that then evolved into stars, they say. That means that the remaining 61% is available to form future solar systems that may include Earth-like planets in their habitable zones, the researchers report online today in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. In the universe as a whole, the researchers suggest, only 8% of its original starmaking gases was locked up in stars by Earth's first birthday. The rest will, over the remaining trillions of years of the universe's lifetime, coalesce into stars whose solar systems will contain a myriad of Earth-like planets."

3 of 140 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Planets vs Temperature ... by buchner.johannes · · Score: 5, Informative

    At that time the Universe was mostly Hydrogen and a little Helium. It took the death of 1-2 generations of stars to make Oxygen available to planets -- so no water.

    --
    NB: The message above might reflect my opinion right now, but not necessarily tomorrow or next year.
  2. Re:Fermi and probabilities by rossdee · · Score: 5, Funny

    Independence Day is hardly proof that we are an intelligent species

  3. Re:Interesting, but...so? by kellymcdonald78 · · Score: 5, Informative

    You may want to reread up on the Heat Death of the Universe. Our Sun won't even be cold in 5 billion years, never mind the rest of universe. Existing red dwarf stars may last a 100 billion years. Most models put the Stelliferous Era (era of stars) as extending 10s of trillions to 100s of trillions of years into the future. True Heat Death is 10E100 or 10E1000 years out depending on the model, but there won't be any stars or planets (protons will have decayed). Although the Big Rip may occur in as little as 20 Billion years