How Special Are We

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How Special Are We?
Answer Not Very

• In the Beginning
• Our Solar System
• The Star Upsilon Andromeda
• HD 209458
• Extraterrestrial Life

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IN THE BEGINNING

• The Big Bang
• -Everything known was from one source.
• -Earth and all of us.
• -Everything that is anything.

At the point of this event all of the matter and
energy of space was contained at one point. -
www.umich.edu
Within 3 seconds H, He, and Li began to form.
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IN THE BEGINNING

• First Generation Stars
• -Thermonuclear Reactions at 107 K
• -Components for us were made. (Oxygen and
  Carbon)
• -Happened on a large Scale
• -Led to the second generation.

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IN THE BEGINNING

• Second Generation Stars
• -More components for us were made.
• -CNO Cycle
• -Responsible for most of the universes
  Nitrogen
• -Happened on a larger Scale
• -Led to wide dispersal of elements.

The heavy elements, essential to life, were
created by the early generations of massive
stars. In essence, then, we can paraphrase
Shakespeare, We are such stuff as stars are made
of, and our little life is rounded with a sleep.
-- Page 13 in our book
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Our Solar System
Formed From a Nebular Cloud -Angular
Momentum -Circumstellar Disk -Protostar and
Protoplanets
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Our Solar System

• Contents
• Sun 99.85
• Planets 0.135
• Comets 0.01 ?
• Satellites 0.00005
• Asteroids 0.0000002 ?
• Meteoroids 0.0000001 ?
• Nutrinos 0.0000001 ?

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The Star Upsilon Andromeda

• 44 light years away
• Discovered in 1999
• First System Comparable to Ours
• Found by Star Wobble
• Step Closer To Finding Life

This is the one weve all been waiting for.
-Stephen Maran, American Astronomical Society
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The Star Upsilon Andromeda

• Probably no life.
• - Too Big
• - Too Close
• - No Liquid Water

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The Star Upsilon Andromeda

• What about on Moons?
• -We have around 141 moons in our solar system.
• -Jupiters Europa is a good possibility for
  life.
• -They are planets like Jupiter, why not moons
  like Europa?
• -The moons could also be like Earth.

10
HD 209458

• 150 light years away
• In constellation Pegasus
• Sun-sized Star
• Discovered in 1999

The planet around this star was discovered in
1999, but surfaced again when it passed in front
of the star in 2001.
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HD 209458

• Saturn sized gas-giant
• 1st extrasolar planet transit
• Has an atmosphere of Oxygen, Carbon, and Nitrogen

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HD 209458

• Again Probably No Life
• Too Massive
• Primarily Gaseous
• Too Close

Nevertheless, the atmosphere is a good sign in
the right direction for extraterrestrial life.
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Extraterrestrial Life

• In the Beginning
• - All of the matter in the universe was at one
  singular point
• - Common background continued through the first
  and second generations of stars
• - Star creation and recreation happened all
  throughout the universe

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Extraterrestrial Life

• Our Solar System
• - The results of the Big Bang and the
  generations of stars.
• - Fairly simple process involving the
  condensing of a dust clouds.
• - These dust clouds are available all
  throughout the universe.

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Extraterrestrial Life

• Upsilon Andromeda
• - Posed great possibilities because it was a
  multi planet system.
• HD 209458
• - Extrasolar planets have atmospheres.

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Infinite SpaceInfinite Possibilities
Life is a pretty special thing, but it looks like
it could be a common occurrence in the universe.