How humungous big is the universe?

[LadyStanley]

http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2016/10/13/galaxy-count-2-trillion-universe/

Perhaps 2 TRILLION galaxies!

Latest "census" finding.

Click to read more...

 

[USC Trojans]

that's just insane...

I love seeing all these universe size comparison charts...shows just how small and insignificant we are.

 

[Canadiens Ghost]

Insane indeed.
The human mind simply cannot conceive about such numbers.
Now multiply that number by about 300 billion* stars per galaxy on average and then multiply that by maybe 10 planets per solar system (and not counting satellites)... Does anybody really believe with those numbers that our little blue planet is the only place in the Universe that harbors intelligent life? Seems highly unlikely to say the least.



* You may correct me if I'm wrong with this estimate.

 

[jdhebner]

Correct me if I'm wrong but the article states that the Universe is more crowded than originally thought, not larger.

 

[njdevsfn95]

What does this mean for the amount of matter in the universe?

I'm assuming "not much" and know it's still small compared to dark matter/energy.

 

[Afino]

the number's so big because we're in the Matrix and none of that other stuff matters

 

[RandV]

Insane indeed.
The human mind simply cannot conceive about such numbers.
Now multiply that number by about 100 million* stars per galaxy on average and then multiply that by maybe 10 planets per solar system (and not counting satellites)... Does anybody really believe with those numbers that our little blue planet is the only place in the Universe that harbors intelligent life? Seems highly unlikely to say the least.



* You may correct me if I'm wrong with this estimate.

Actually the Milky Way itself has an estimated 300 billion stars, and it isn't anything special.

But speaking of other life that brings us to the Fermi paradox, that basically says if other intelligent life is statistically probable then where is it?

This article has a really good breakdown on it.

 

[Diamondillium]

Actually the Milky Way itself has an estimated 300 billion stars, and it isn't anything special.

But speaking of other life that brings us to the Fermi paradox, that basically says if other intelligent life is statistically probable then where is it?

This article has a really good breakdown on it.

I've always had a general idea of what's going on with the Fermi Paradox but never really delved too deep into the possibilities past the one or two I internally thought of.

That was a great article, thanks for posting it. Really puts everything into perspective.

 

[Canadiens Ghost]

I also enjoyed the Fermi paradox article, quite a good read.

 

[njdevsfn95]

Did someone say Fermi Paradox?

Part 1


Part 2

 

[Brainiac]

Actually the Milky Way itself has an estimated 300 billion stars, and it isn't anything special.

But speaking of other life that brings us to the Fermi paradox, that basically says if other intelligent life is statistically probable then where is it?

This article has a really good breakdown on it.

Nice article, but there's another possibility that is not mentionned:

According to what we know so far, interstellar travel is ridiculously impractical, down to the point where it might just be impossible.

For example, whenever you do calculations about the amount of energy to accelerate a spacecraft at a decent fraction of the speed of light (say, 0.1c) the numbers are ridiculous. We don't even have access to that kind of energy. And then, you have to think about applying the freaking brakes when you get there, which requires as much energy.

And forget about the Dyson sphere, we don't have enough matter in the whole solar system to build one.

IMHO, given our current knowledge of physics, interstellar travel is impossible. We're gonna need new physics before talking about it any further.

 

[Xelebes]

For example, whenever you do calculations about the amount of energy to accelerate a spacecraft at a decent fraction of the speed of light (say, 0.1c) the numbers are ridiculous.

Under current understandings of physics, we're going to need to spend at least 20% of the mass of the interstellar ship as fuel for matter annihilation.