It should be pretty straight-forward for astronomers to use existing data to factor for observation bias and model how many planets exist in larger orbits with their mass distribution. Probably already done 100 times over. Not my field so I don’t know…

Anyway, great stuff! Science + data visualization FTW.

The real problem will not be propulsion, but communication. Look at the developement of various civilizations in our own history, they were not limited by how far they could travel but by how far they could still hold a steady stream of communication.

Even if we can expand our own lifespawn to virtual immortality and conquer various technologies that would allow us to live forever on space ships, to actually explore space and to colonize it we need the ability to communicate efficiently enough to hold a “normal” attention-span. Ideally this means real time communications, we might work with a delay of a couple days at most, but anything longer will make it impossible to stay connected…

No FTL does not mean we are trapped in our own solarsystem. It just mean it’s gonna take a bit more time to get out there.

That the fermi paradox seems seems real, could simply be a matter of not listening to the right frequencies:

http://news.discovery.com/space/do-we-overlook-alien-beacons.html

Of course we can’t just extrapolate Keplers findings and assume similar density and amount of planets for wider orbits, but it is a pretty conservative assumption to at least expect a fair amount of additional planets in wider orbits.

If anything, Kepler has shown that Planets are a common thing in this universe, more common than stars! While the last bit is not yet solidified 100% it’s by no means a stretch to say these days.

We are all very understandably excited about Curiosity, but thinking about the fact that there are billions of planets waiting for exploration is an almost overwhelming feeling.

At the same time I wonder, what if FTL technology is indeed impossible? What if in thousands of years we manage to perfectly cartograph our surrounding universe but will forever be captives of our own star system, unable to bridge the distances of space. What if the Fermi Paradox is no paradox at all, but just the confirmation of the physical universe as we understand it now? What if we will never be able to explore space?

Looks like it was WASP (Wide Angle Search for Planets – La Silla observatory Chile, ESO) that found retrograde exoplanets :

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/04/100413071749.htm

But then again :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HAT-P-7b

HAT -P-7b may be retrograde and is also known as Kepler-2b … (Or not 2b! A.k.a. the Hamlet Planet?)

.. although that may just have been a confirmation test rather than a discovery.

OTOH, this via Universe today :

http://www.universetoday.com/85585/the-flip-side-of-exoplanet-orbits/

Implies that Kepler itself *has* found retrograde Hot Joves but does NOT explictly state so.

Which means .. ? [Shrug.] Still no conclusive answer here from me I’m afraid.

Thank you! That makes a load of sense now! I appreciate it

@25. David Gormley asked : “Shouldn’t some of these planets be moving in the opposite direction?”

Pretty certain I recall reading of several backwards (retrograde) orbiting exoplanets being discovered but I’m not sure whether or not it was the Kepler space telescope that found them. So, quite likely, yeah. Will have to check.