Science a GoGo's Home Page Forums General Discussion Physics Forum Andromeda's hangers-on

http://www.space.com/19101-andromeda-galaxy-cosmic-pancake.html

It seems there's no shortage of surprises in our Universe.

Curiouser and curiouser!

In a universe so packed with differences and anomalies surely one day an inhabited earth-like planet will be found. Maybe?

http://www.atlasoftheuniverse.com/50lys.html

This is a map of every star visible to the naked eye within 50 light years. There are about 2000 stars in this region. Of the 133 plotted, most are similar to our sun, and it's considered likely that many Earth-like planets will be found around them. Maybe this would be the limit of human expeditionary range for the next millenium.

But look at how the numbers swell as the range increases to 250 lt yrs. There are 260,000 stars in this region:

http://www.atlasoftheuniverse.com/250lys.html

Good link, Bill. A lot to study, especially for someone like me who has little knowledge of astronomy. I can manage to identify a few constellations, and an occasional planet, but that's about it. A few nights ago, through discussion on another forum, I was able to identify Aldebaran, so I can spot at least one star. I don't think that puts me in the running to take over from Patrick Moore.