Is our solar system the 'freak' of the galaxy?

Question

Are we the norm or the exception?

Maybe intelligent life is rare becaue a stable system like ours is rare?

Answer 1

Yes, we are a freak. 90% of all stars are in the galactic nucleus and we are not. Around 3/4 of all stars are one of a double, triple, etc and we are not. ~90% of all stars are red dwarfs and we are not. We have ~25% more "metals" than most stars, putting us in the top 5 % of metal content. Of the closest 100 stars, we are tied for fourth brightest. Let's see...
0.10X0.25X0.10X0.05=0.0125% or one in 8,000. Roughly 3/4 of those that remain in our category are not on the main sequence or are too large and too hot to last very long, So our status of being a solitary non-red dwarf with high metal content located in the spiral arms that is on the main sequence but is not too large and too hot makes us rather rare indeed, i.e, ~1 in 32,000. So, with ~200,000,000 stars in our galaxy, that still leaves ~30 per million or about 600 total in our galaxy.And don't forget our freak Earth with its freak large moon and its freak intelligent life. That makes us unique, in my opinion.

Answer 2

Of course your question has currently no accurate answer. That being said however, we are finding planets around other suns, so that is not so uncommon. Many consider the absence of the detection of signals from other civilizations to be the best evidence. However, that may be flawed thinking, humans are broadcasting less power as technology improves. Eventually too many houses will be connected to high speed fiber optics for broadcast TV stations to be cost effective. Satellite communicates radiate toward Earth not outward. Cell phones use less power each year while providing better service (not sure about Sprint though). There is a theory that our unusually large moon generating large tides may be a factor with high-order life on this planet. That might make us unique, assuming it's true. Certainly the life supporting planet has to be within a narrow range of potential orbits around the sun to support liquid water based life. If a planet had few metals, land area, too many seismic events, or other factors an advanced civilization could not form.

Answer 3

Not overly common, but far from rare, I'm thinking. Our solar system shows very strong evidence of intelligent design and planning. The spacing of the planets, each successive one roughly twice the distance from the sun. The planets being in nearly circular orbits. The presence of the outer gas giants acting as "vacuum cleaners" for debris entering the inner solar system. Even the earth/moon system shows powerful evidence of intelligent design, with the moon being in a nearly circular orbit around earth, as well as it's appearance in the sky being roughly the same size as the sun, causing solar eclipses. The probability of all these things just occurring by chance would undoubtedly be extremely remote.

Answer 4

Another factor that makes us different from maybe 99 % of stars in our galaxy is that we are on the edge of a spiral arm.
If we were in a denser part of the galaxy, the planets orbit would be distorted by nearby stars, making regular seasons impossible. Also high levels of radiation in the core of the galaxy would make life impossible.
A special bonus of being on the edge of the galaxy is that we get to see other galaxies across the universe.
Sure are a lot of wonderful coincidences that lead to us talking about the universe.

Answer 5

Our solar system is pretty ordinary, our sun is pretty ordinary and our planet is pretty ordinary. All you need for life is planet with enough mass(gravity) to hold an atmosphere and be in an orbit close enough to the sun (but not too close) to sustain liquid water. There are billions of billions of stars in the universe, there are probably millions if not billions of planets just like Earth out there, it would almost impossible if we had the only planet with some form of life on it.

Answer 6

Yes, technically life in a galaxy of our size is a 50/50 chance, so probably there is only one solar system like this in our galaxy.

Answer 7

No, we're the norm. The exceptions maybe a star that is inhabited by millions of lifeless planets...

Answer 8

short answer is "no one knows" but since it is looking like most stars have planets, it is starting to appear like we are probably a normal solar system.

I suspect that our planet having such a large moon compared to itself may prove to be a significant reason why we have life on it.

Answer 9

The lottery is mundane in infinity.

Our solar system is one of billions.

Answer 10

We could be the freak, after all, everything else stays soooo far away from us.