Is our solar system weird (Introduction)

by dhw, Wednesday, May 04, 2016, 12:33 (2913 days ago) @ David Turell

dhw: As regards this new article, “relatively rare” is a nicely relative expression, as indeed is “very unusual”. You wrote: “Note the entry of Tuesday, February 02, 2016, 05:40 where it is shown only 6% of solar systems have some resemblance to ours.” Some scientists reckon there could be as many as 100 billion solar systems in our galaxy alone. My highly sophisticated abacus suggests that 6% of 100 billion is 6 thousand million. Messrs Frank and Sullivan estimate ten billion trillion in the universe. (My researchers can't confirm that, I'm afraid. Lost count somewhere between 12 and 20.) 6% of that would give us…six multiplied by a thousand million divided by...multiplied by…enough potentially life-supporting solar systems to make the expression “very unusual” well worth a giggle. - DAVID: The relatively rare comment is directed at what we see in this galaxy. You assume that all galaxies are similar. But we see spiral (ours), elliptical, and irregular: ragged and clumped types. Do they each have solar systems like ours? We cannot know. All we do know is that life is allowed. - I assume nothing. I can only think about what the "experts" tell us. I have pointed out that what we see in our galaxy apparently allows for some six thousand million solar systems similar to ours, and we're told there may be billions more elsewhere. Of course we don't know, so why "assume" that ours is “very unusual”?