[ExI] Planets galore!

[The Avantguardian]

----- Original Message -----
> From: BillK <pharos at gmail.com>
> To: Extropy Chat <extropy-chat at lists.extropy.org>
> Cc: 
> Sent: Wednesday, February 8, 2012 8:32 AM
> Subject: [ExI] Planets galore!
> 
> Nomadic Planets May Swarm the Galaxy
> <http://arxiv.org/abs/1201.2687>
> <http://kipac.stanford.edu/collab/research/highlights/tidbits2012/nomads>
> 
> We estimate that there may be up to ~10^5 compact objects in the mass
> range 10^{-8} -10^{-2} solar mass per main sequence star that are
> unbound to a host star in the Galaxy. We refer to these objects as
> nomads; in the literature a subset of these are sometimes called
> free-floating or rogue planets. Our estimate for the number of
> Galactic nomads is consistent with a smooth extrapolation of the mass
> function of unbound objects above the Jupiter-mass scale, the stellar
> mass density limit, and the metallicity of the interstellar medium.
> 
> Complete pdf file
> http://arxiv.org/pdf/1201.2687

That would be consistent with the MACHO model of dark matter to explain the rotation curve of galaxies.
 


Stuart LaForge


"When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro." - Hunter S. Thompson