III. Ecosmos: A Revolutionary Fertile, Habitable, Solar-Bioplanet Incubator Lifescape

I. Our EarthMost Occasion: A Rarest Confluence of Favorable Features and Close Calls

Beech, Martin. On Special Epochs, the Copernican Principle and Future Astronomy. Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. April, 2015. The University of Regina, Saskatchewan astronomer and author (search) takes issue with the popular overuse of this “principle” which has come to designate a steady historic removal of human beings, planet Earth, its solar system, and even the Milky Way from any central, unique location or import. As a starter Nikolai himself would not agree nor would he approve this version in his name. From circa 2015, the latest cosmological findings, not possible earlier, are in fact finding people, bioplanet, sun, and galaxy to be unusually favorable in orbital geometries and benign duration. See also Since When Was the Sun a Typical Star? by MB in this journal for December 2011. Here is one more instance of a cosmic paradigm shift in our midst (e.g. Giulio Tononi, Cadell Last, many others) from denunciations of human and universe to realizations of a phenomenal place and purpose.

As described in an earlier article (Beech 2011), for example the blind acceptance of the Copernican Principle has resulted in the entirely wrong concept being propagated within popuar astronomy texts that the Sun and Solar System are in every way average, even bland and/or typical. They patently are not average in many demonstrable ways, and our seemingly modern fear of allowing for special circumstances and the existence of unique structures, events, epochs and has, in effect, led our collective understanding astray. Not only, in fact, is the Solar System located at a very specific and special place within our galaxy, we also live in a very special epoch within the history of the Universe. Indeed, we live in the epoch in which humanity is able to determine and at least partially comprehend the full scale of the observable Universe. (63-64)

Bi, Jiaqing, et al. GW Ori: Interactions Between a Triple-star System and its Circumtriple Disk in Action. Astrophysical Journal Letters. May, 2020. (arXiv:2004.03135.) Twenty astronomers with postings in Canada, Japan, and the USA describe the first experimental presence of a three sun array along with signs of dynamic movements. This finding of multiple stellar formations that may act in unison then implies many more out there, with additional features. Our interest is in further evidence of how vicarious celestial phenomena can be so to show how special our home solar system with a habitable bioworld able to learn all this appears to be.

Bonavita, Elenia, et al. The Impact of Tidal Disruption Events on Galactic Habitability. arXiv:2008.09988. University of Rome and Florida Institute of Technology astroresearchers including Amedeo Balbi and Manasvi Lingam add another impediment to planetary habitations by pointing out that perilous radiations which seem to suffuse interstellar domains could be quite deleterious to living systems. See also The Habitability of the Galactic Bulge at 2008.07586.

Tidal Disruption Events (TDEs) are characterized by the emission of a short burst of high-energy radiation. We analyze the cumulative impact of TDEs on galactic habitability using the Milky Way as a proxy. We show that X-rays and extreme ultraviolet (XUV) radiation emitted during TDEs can cause hydrodynamic escape and instigate biological damage. In particular, we show that planets within distances of ∼0.1-1 kpc could lose Earth-like atmospheres over the age of the Earth. We conclude by highlighting potential ramifications of TDEs and argue that they should be factored into analyses of inner galactic habitability. (Abstract)

To summarize, two broad conclusions emerge from this work. First, the cumulative deleterious impact of TDEs on habitability is broadly comparable to that of Active Galactic Nuclei. Second, as the distance up to which the effects on surficial habitability are prominent could be ∼0.1-1 kpc from the central black hole of the Milky Way, some fraction of the total number of planetary systems in the Milky Way within this region may have been adversely affected by the combined action of TDEs and the active phase of our Galaxy. Although there are some vital factors that have been set aside, our analysis suggests that TDEs might exert a substantive influence on planetary habitability. (5).

Broad, William. In Secrets of Coral Spawning, Hope for Endangered Reefs. New York Times. June 21, 2016. We note this Science Times piece about large coral reefs which engage in an annual procreative event of spewing trillions of eggs at once into the ocean so that at least some may become fertile and grow anew. This is a stretch, but might one then imagine a coral cosmos whence trillions of vicarious bioworlds might take on a similar ovular guise, so that a few fittest might succeed?

Bryson, Steve, et al. The Occurrence of Rocky Habitable Zone Planets around Solar-like Stars from Kepler Data. Astrophysical Journal. Online November 5, 2020. This document with some 46 coauthors from the USA and beyond is the main report from the copious Kepler planet hunter project launched in 2009. While NASA statistical estimates may seem to allow millions of potentially habitably worlds, as per the second quote, it is said to be too early to firm up. In addition, no real Earth analogs have yet been found. See also Looking for Another Earth? Here are 300 Million, Maybe by Dennis Overbye in the New York Times for Nov. 5, 2020.

We present occurrence rates for rocky planets in the habitable zones (HZ) of main-sequence dwarf stars based on the Kepler DR25 planet candidate catalog and Gaia-based stellar properties. We provide the first analysis in terms of star-dependent instellation flux, which allows us to track HZ planets. These bounds reflect two extreme assumptions about the extrapolation of completeness beyond orbital periods where DR25 completeness data are available. The large uncertainties are due to the small number of detected small HZ planets. We also present occurrence rates for various stellar populations and planet size ranges. (Abstract excerpt)

In an email, David Charbonneau, of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, said he was slightly skeptical of the results: “The Kepler Mission didn’t detect any true Earth analogues, i.e. planets with the same radius as Earth AND orbiting at the same period, AND orbiting sun-like stars.” As Dr. (Natalie) Batalha said at the time, “We don’t yet have any planet candidates that are exact analogues of the Earth in terms of size, orbit or star type.” We still don’t. As a result, the astronomers had to extrapolate data from the planets they did see. (D. Overbye)

Burov, Alexey and Lev Burov. Genesis of a Pythagorean Universe. arXiv:1411.7304. We report this posting from a Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory physicist and a Scientific Humanities, San Francisco, imagineer because it offers a unique perspective on the breadth and depth of cosmic reality. After noting the fine-tuned Anthropic Principle fades into a multiverse chaosogenesis, it is proposed that nature’s most awesome aspect ought to be our very human ability to learn and describe everything from bosons to universes. This vista then grants phenomenal people an intentional, central role as Cosmic Observers.

Calder, Nigel. Spaceships of the Mind. New York: Viking, 1978. As I revise some four decades later in 2021, the British science communicator presciently considers the post-Copernican options of an alien, moribund universe (which has lately become an epitaph) or one which innately grows in vital cognizant knowledge and galactic civilizations by way of the cocreative activity of aware, intelligent beings.

In talking with scientists about the human niche within the vast and ancient universe revealed by modern astronomy, I detected very different kinds of ‘intuitive feelings about nature.’ Some saw us diminished: all we could do was try to snatch a little dignity in cultivating our planet, and draw a little pride and rationality from our understanding of the universe. Another feeling reflected strongly in this book, was that human beings had the collective knowledge and skill to start transforming the universe to their own purposes. (13)

Canales, Manuel, et al. One Strange Rock. National Geographic. March, 2017. As a companion article for a 10 part TV series with this title, senior editors MC and Matthew Chwastyk and science writer Eve Conant compile a list of thirteen reasons why this Earth, upon which a planetary sapience has evolved able to do this, appears to be the successful outcome of many especially fortuitous astronomic, geologic, and biotic conditions and event.

Earth is well equipped as a planet and ideally placed in our solar system and galaxy to support life as we know it. The product of some 4.6 billion years of cosmic construction, oru planet is flush with life thanks to a fortuitous set of conditions, from the optimal chemical makeup of our planetary core to our safe distance from the hidden black hole at the center of the Milky Way.

Thirteen Reasons: 1. Our planet recycles life-friendly carbon over time, 2. We have an ozone layer to block harmful rays, 3.We have a big moon to stabilize our axial wobble, 4. Earth’s varied surfaces support many life-forms, 5. Our magnetic field deflects solar tempests, 6. We’re at just the right distance from the sun, 7. We’re situated safely away from gas giants, 8.The sun is a stable, long-lasting star, 9. Wehave the right stuff to host a dynamic core, 10. We have Giant planets that protect us from afar, 11. Our sun offers protection from galactic debris, 12. Our galactic path steers us clear of hazards, and 13. Our location is far from stellar crowds.

Canup, Robin, et al. Origin of the Moon. arXiv:2103.02015. Eleven astro-researchers based in Colorado, Texas, California, Illinois, New York and the Czech Republic gather and discuss the latest global findings about how the especially suitable satellite that graces our night skies came to form so neatly where it best belongs. Its presence has been a vital part of early conditions which helped get life going on its way to our curious selves.

The Earth-Moon system is unusual in several respects. The Moon is roughly 1/4 the radius of the Earth - a larger satellite-to-planet size ratio than all known satellites other than Pluto's Charon. The Moon has a tiny core, perhaps with only ~1% of its mass, in contrast to Earth whose core contains nearly 30% of its mass. The Earth-Moon system has a high total angular momentum, implying a rapidly spinning Earth when the Moon formed. In addition, the early Moon was hot and at least partially molten with a deep magma ocean. Identification of a model for lunar origin that can satisfactorily explain all of these features has been the focus of decades of research. (Abstract excerpt)

Carlisle, Camille. Cosmic Collisions. Sky & Telescope. December, 2012. Into this 21st century what vistas have earthlings come to, what are we risen mortals altogether capable of. This article suggests that it may amazingly be possible to detect signs of other, intermeshing universes by finessing data findings from the CMB and WMAP satellites. Might we then imagine that valiant human beings have something to do with the success or failure of the entire cosmos, if by common vision, we could so witness and self-select?

Chopra, Aditya and Charles Lineweaver. The Case for a Gaian Bottleneck: The Biology of Habitability. International Journal of Astrobiology. 16/1, 2016. If one pays attention to current findings in the scientific literature, as this website tries to report, in the past few years the cosmic nexus of our Earthly abode has attained a special statue. Planetary systems with well spaced circular orbits, all in the same plane, a rare location of outer gas giants, a stable, long duration galaxy, and a large moon, are now known as quite rare. This paper by Australian Natural University astrophysicists now adds a temporal evolutionary constraint. While biochemical, microbial life appears wherever possible, an ability to reach complex, multicellular stages is seen to require an early formation of a conducive, self-regulating atmosphere. If this does not happen, simpler life forms are extinguished by hostile conditions, the candidate bioworld becomes barren. Even if the emergence of life is a common feature of wet rocky planets throughout the Universe, the Gaian bottleneck model suggests that inhabited Earth-like planets would be rare.

The prerequisites and ingredients for life seem to be abundantly available in the Universe. However, the Universe does not seem to be teeming with life. The most common explanation for this is a low probability for the emergence of life (an emergence bottleneck), notionally due to the intricacies of the molecular recipe. Here, we present an alternative Gaian bottleneck explanation: If life emerges on a planet, it only rarely evolves quickly enough to regulate greenhouse gases and albedo, thereby maintaining surface temperatures compatible with liquid water and habitability. Such a Gaian bottleneck suggests that (i) extinction is the cosmic default for most life that has ever emerged on the surfaces of wet rocky planets in the Universe and (ii) rocky planets need to be inhabited to remain habitable. In the Gaian bottleneck model, the maintenance of planetary habitability is a property more associated with an unusually rapid evolution of biological regulation of surface volatiles than with the luminosity and distance to the host star. (Abstract)

Cirkovic, Milan. Earths: Rare in Time, not Space? Journal of the British Interplanetary Society. 57/1-2, 2004. In attempt to move beyond the Rare Earth hypothesis, the Belgrade astronomer enlists a temporal factor whereby the Milky Way galaxy may be at the verge of a Phase Transition from a sparsely populated mode to being filled with centers of intentional intelligence. The present galactic moment is a “window of opportunity” when sentient observers may engage in their own “self-selection.”

The latter hypothesis (PT) suggests that our presence on Earth now selects a particular (and rather special) epoch of the history of the Milky Way: namely the epoch in which global regulation enables the emergence of complex, intelligent life forms. (57) However, our temporal location is rather special, since we are evolved complex metazoans on the verge – in terms of astrophysical timescales – of having capacities to leave our home biosphere and embark on the venture of Galactic colonization. (57)

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