December 29, 2010

Exogasm

I woke up one day wondering what kind of "gasm" I would describe for that ecstatic feeling about exoplanets. I toyed around with "exogasm". And I liked the fun suggestions from the twitters. But never did I realize that on that same day (December 1) my mind would be blown by a kind of cerebral experience brought about by the prospect of new worlds. Lots of them!

Several "foreplay" news items came into view through my twitter stream. First was that news of the first time a super-earth's atmosphere was ever examined.

But nothing would prepare me for a gasm that is truly mind-blowing: The number of stars in universe were more numerous than previously thought--so much more that the total number of stars in the universe is likely three times bigger than realized!

The tidbits below says it all in one word: Exogasm!

"There are about 20 times more red dwarfs in elliptical galaxies than in the Milky Way. In addition to boosting the total number of stars in the universe, the discovery also increases the number of planets orbiting those stars, which in turn elevates the number of planets that might harbor life."

"There are possibly trillions of Earths orbiting these stars."

Links:
Latest Star Census Increases Number of Exoplanets
Atmosphere Around Super-earth analysed for the first time