Our galaxy is rich in Earth-sized planets

Planets may answer age-old questions

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Dimitar Sasselov: Earth-sized planets are plentiful in the galaxy
• He says planets of such size are suited for the chemical processes that can produce life
• Sasselov says biologists are finding clues to origin of life in laboratories
• He says Earth life is notably old, representing nearly a third of age of universe

Editor's note: TED, a nonprofit organization devoted to "Ideas Worth Spreading," hosts talks on many subjects and makes them available through its website.

(CNN) -- Since the time of Nicolaus Copernicus five centuries ago, people have wondered whether there are other planets like Earth in the universe. Today scientists are closer than ever to an answer -- and it appears to be that the Milky Way galaxy is rich in Earth-sized planets, according to astronomer Dimitar Sasselov.

Drawing on new findings from a NASA telescope, he told the TED Global conference in Oxford, England earlier this month that nearly 150 Earth-sized planets have been detected so far. He estimated that the overall number of planets in the galaxy with "similar conditions to the conditions that we experience here on Earth is pretty staggering. It's about 100 million such planets."

A Bulgarian-born scientist with Ph.D.s in astronomy and physics, Sasselov is a professor of astronomy and director of the Harvard Origins of Life Initiative, which brings together scientists from many disciplines to explore how life began. He titled his talk at the Oxford conference: "On Completing the Copernican Revolution."

Until technology was developed to detect planets outside the solar system 15 years ago, scientists were only able to speculate about the existence of Earth-like planets. The new technology paid off in the discovery of some 500 planets.

The disappointing fact though was that very few of the newly identified planets were the size of Earth.

"There was of course an explanation for it. We only see the big planets. So that's why most of those planets are really in the category of 'like Jupiter,' " he said.

Read more about Dimitar Sasselov on TED.com

There was no indication that these large planets were suitable for life to begin.

"We were still back where Copernicus was. We didn't have any evidence whether planets like the Earth are out there," Sasselov said. "And we do care about planets like the Earth because by now we understood that life as a chemical system really needs a smaller planet with water and with rocks and with a lot of complex chemistry to originate, to emerge, to survive. And we didn't have the evidence for that."

In March 2009, NASA launched Kepler, a telescope-carrying satellite that can detect the dimming of light caused by a planet orbiting around a star.

"All the stars for Kepler are just points of light," Sasselov said. "But we learn a lot from that, not only that there is a planet there, but we also learn its size. How much of the light is being dimmed depends on how big the planet is. We learn about its orbit, the period of its orbit and so on."

The discovery of many potential planets means "we can go and study them -- remotely, of course -- with all the techniques that we already have tested in the past five years. We can find what they're made of, would their atmospheres have water, carbon dioxide, methane."

At the same time, Sasselov believes, scientists can make progress in the laboratory on better understanding how chemicals can produce life.

"And in one of our labs, Jack Szostak's labs, it was a series of experiments in the last four years that showed that the environments -- which are very common on planets, on certain types of planets like the Earth -- where you have some liquid water and some clays, you actually end up with naturally available molecules which spontaneously form bubbles. But those bubbles have membranes very similar to the membrane of every cell of every living thing on Earth. .... And they really help molecules, like nucleic acids, like RNA and DNA, stay inside, develop, change, divide and do some of the processes that we call life."

Copernicus is famous for the then-revolutionary idea that the Earth orbits the sun rather than that the universe is centered around Earth. But Sasselov pointed out that with the Copernican revolution came a humbling sense of mankind's insignificance in the universe.

"You've all learned that in school -- how small the Earth is compared to the immense universe. And the bigger the telescope, the bigger that universe becomes. ... So in space, the Earth is very small.

To demonstrate the minuteness of life on Earth, Sasselov took off his tie.

"Can you imagine how small it is? Let me try it. OK, let's say this is the size of the observable universe, with all the galaxies, with all the stars. Do you know what the size of life in this necktie will be?

"It will be the size of a single, small atom. It is unimaginably small. ... But that's not the whole story, you see."

The other dimension of life on Earth is time -- and life has existed for a good portion, nearly a third, of the time the universe is believed to have existed, Sasselov said.

"This is not insignificant. This is very significant. So life might be insignificant in size, but it is not insignificant in time. Life and the universe compare to each other like a child and a parent, parent and offspring.

"So what does this tell us? This tells us that that insignificance paradigm that we somehow got to learn from the Copernican principle, it's all wrong. There is immense, powerful, potential in life in this universe -- especially now that we know that places like the Earth are common. And that potential, that powerful potential, is also our potential, of you and me.

"And if we are to be stewards of our planet Earth and its biosphere, we better understand the cosmic significance and do something about it. And the good news is we can actually indeed do it. "

Top 10 Car Maintenance Mistakes

Some simple tips to save money and add life to your ride.

By Tom Wilson of MSN Autos

Click to enlarge picture

Shrewdly following the maintenance schedule provided in your car's owner's manual can prevent lengthy or more expensive visits to the service shop.

Compared to the family trucksters of a generation ago, modern cars require about as much maintenance as a toaster. This is a real liberation from the oil, lube and tune merry-go-round that ruled not so long ago.

Curiously, many people haven't adjusted their thinking to keep pace with new car maintenance schedules. The preoccupied still run their daily drivers without service until the dash warning lights burn out, while over-achievers fret about running synthetic oil more than 2,500 miles without a change.

Although maintenance intervals are now more widely spaced, even the newest cars require scheduled service to live long, productive lives. Whether yours is the latest model or you paid it off years ago, the trick is giving your car the maintenance it was designed to receive.

Surprisingly, the answer to what maintenance is required is hiding no farther away than the glove box. Every car is supplied with a maintenance schedule — in the owner's manual or in a separate maintenance log book — that details that vehicle's needs. A few minutes assimilating these requirements will help you avoid the following common car-maintenance pitfalls.

Proper Tire Inflation and Rotation
Tires leak naturally and need the occasional check. Figuratively speaking, underinflated tires suck up gasoline. Under- or overinflated tires wear out sooner, and deliver the same emergency maneuver handling as marshmallows. You probably aren't going to check tire pressures monthly, but how about twice a year?

Furthermore, front and rear tires wear differently and should be rotated to even that wear. Your owner's manual will have a recommendation on both pressure and rotation periods.

Discuss:  What other car maintenance mistakes should be added to this list?

Wiper Tales
Here's a news flash: It's much easier to avoid hitting things you can see. Simple as it is, that's the concept behind replacing your windshield wipers before they fossilize into noisy uselessness.

Fall is the ideal wiper replacement time: after the blade-baking summer and before the fall and winter nastiness. Depending on location, wiper replacement may be an annual affair in the Southwest to a biannual chore in northern climes.

Tune-Up Anachronism
There are no more "tune-ups." Valves no longer need adjusting, ignition timing is computer controlled and there are no carburetors to fiddle with. About all that's left of the old tune-up drill are the spark plugs. These are often good for 100,000 miles, so don't change parts just to change parts. Instead, save up for those big 60,000- and 120,000-mile services when the timing belt, spark plug wires and coolant are due for replacement.

Octane Overdose
"If some is good, more is better" thinking does not apply to octane. Here the rule is to supply whatever octane the engine is rated for and call it done. Higher-than-required octane does not yield more power or mileage, only oil company profits.

Some engines are rated for premium 91 octane fuel but can burn 87 octane regular, thanks to the magic of knock sensors. In that case, run regular gas if puttering around surface streets, and premium fuel if full-throttle driving is part of your daily repertoire.

Oil Change Timing
Oil changes every 3,000 miles used to be required jobs, just like cleaning the accumulated fuzz from record player needles or defrosting freezers. Today, advances in engine design and lubricants make oil changes something to be done when the schedule calls for it, not when granddad says it's time. Some cars call for 5,000-mile change intervals, some up to 15,000-mile stints. Others have a variable timer. Follow the schedule and use the oil called for by the manufacturer.

Tired Tires
Tires wear out, but they also time out. The tire industry says tires are toast after five years, but they're selling tires. It all depends on heat, sunlight and ozone conditions. There's little argument from any pundits that after seven years those black donuts are dried and better off holding down a farmer's tarp than carrying your family around. If you're not sure how old your tires are, a tire shop can read the date code stamped into the sidewall.

Dirty Air Filter
Semi-clogged air filters hurt fuel economy for the same reason you don't like to run with a potato in your mouth. The question is, when is your filter dirty? Under a Norman Rockwell schedule of small-town errand running and church duty, an air filter might not see much grit. But grimy city surface streets or just looking at a dirt road on a map are often enough to overwhelm air filters. This one is about conditions. If you go near dirt, the air filter may need changing twice as often as the schedule calls for.

Discuss:  What other car maintenance mistakes should be added to this list?

Ignoring Your Brakes
Note to the Wandering Unconscious: If you notice anything different about your brakes — sound, feel or response — they are telling you to visit a mechanic. Now.

Tighten Your Gas Cap
Is the Check Engine light on? Then make sure the gas cap is on tightly before calling the dealer. No joke, this is one of the most common ways of setting off your car's diagnostic system, since a loose gas cap defeats the fuel system's venting arrangement.

The Garage Is for Parking
Let's review. Your house is your most valuable investment. Your car is likely your second most valuable investment. If you're paying all that money, then why are you storing empty cardboard boxes, broken skateboards and plastic holiday wreaths in the garage? Pitch that junk and get the car in the garage!

If it has an engine and moves, Tom Wilson is interested in it. Now a freelance auto writer, Tom tries to ride, drive, fly and float everything he can wiggle into. His credits include a few local racing championships, a decade of magazine editing, three technical engine books and many hundreds of magazine articles. Current interests include new fuels and vehicle technology.

In the market for a new car? MSN Autos is pleased to provide you with information and services designed to save you time, money and hassle. Click to research prices and specifications on any new car on the market or get a free price quote through MSN Autos' New-Car Buying Service.

忍俊不禁：贪吃小燕鸥吞食大鱼一头栽倒在地(高清组图)

2010年7月21日消息，美国新泽西州的一只小燕鸥给我们演绎了什么叫做“狼吞虎咽”。2010年7月21日消息，美国新泽西州的一只小燕鸥给我们演绎了什么叫做“狼吞虎咽”。饥饿的小燕鸥迫不及待地想将它的晚餐一口吞下去，可惜这条鱼比它的嘴巴大得多，而且太重了，小燕鸥还因此跌倒。

2010年7月21日消息，美国新泽西州的一只小燕鸥给我们演绎了什么叫做“狼吞虎咽”。

饥饿的小燕鸥迫不及待地想将它的晚餐一口吞下去，可惜这条鱼比它的嘴巴大得多，而且太重了，小燕鸥还因此跌倒。最后“能力有限”的它还是一点一点地把这条大鱼全部吃完。

2010年7月21日消息，美国新泽西州的一只小燕鸥给我们演绎了什么叫做“狼吞虎咽”。

饥饿的小燕鸥迫不及待地想将它的晚餐一口吞下去，可惜这条鱼比它的嘴巴大得多，而且太重了，小燕鸥还因此跌倒。最后“能力有限”的它还是一点一点地把这条大鱼全部吃完。

24 Wonders of the World: Don't Settle for Seven

Amazing Wonders: The Taj Mahal

The big and the wonderful always inspire awe. This sense of amazement led the ancient world to name seven wonders that travelers should see. Most of those sites are gone now, but we’re still so hungry for awe that a worldwide vote was held in 2007 to name seven new ones. Here’s a gallery of fantastic sights, from the New 7 Wonders to places that are just simply amazing.
As far as funeral monuments go, you could do worse than having one of the New 7 Wonders erected in your memory. The Taj Mahal in Agra, India, is an ornate mausoleum built by a Mughal emperor in the 17th century to honor his wife. Her tomb is in the main structure, an immense building made of white marble and topped with an onion dome soaring 115 feet high, flanked by four tall minarets. The surrounding complex includes gardens, reflecting pools, and a mosque and other buildings.

Amazing Wonders: Christ the Redeemer statue

Built between 1922 and 1931, Brazil’s Christ the Redeemer statue is by far the most modern of the New 7 Wonders. The Art Deco statue overlooks Rio de Janeiro, towering 130 feet above the peak of the 2,300-foot Corcovado hill, with outstretched arms spanning almost 100 feet. A tram takes guests most of the way up the hill. From there you can either climb a few hundred steps or take an escalator to the base of the statue.

Amazing Wonders: Petra

Jordan’s stunning, rock-hewn city of Petra gained fame with modern generations via its featured appearance in 1989’s "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade." Perhaps its most amazing features, though, didn’t make it into that movie — features such as a theater seating 4,000 and a water system that effectively created an oasis for Petra's desert-dwelling population. A member of the New 7 Wonders, Petra was founded approximately 2,500 years ago by the ancient Nabatean culture but has been known to the West for only the past couple of centuries.

Amazing Wonders: The Great Wall of China

Far from being a single structure, the Great Wall of China is a series of defensive barriers built across two millennia, but that makes its sheer scale — rambling for approximately 5,500 miles through northern China — no less impressive. Most of what we think of as the Great Wall, named one of the New 7 Wonders, was constructed during the Ming Dynasty to keep out the nomadic tribes to the north. Some of the most popular sections are at Badaling, Shanhaiguan and Jinshanling, near the eastern end of the wall. 

Amazing Wonders: Machu Picchu

The Inca city of Machu Picchu was inhabited for only about 100 years before it was abandoned, but it's captivated imaginations around the world since American historian Hiram Bingham brought "The Lost City of the Incas" to international attention in 1911. The dry-stone architecture is a testament to the builders' craftsmanship, still in good shape six centuries after construction began. Located high in the Peruvian mountains 50 miles from capital city Cuzco, this new addition to the New 7 Wonders escaped plunder by the conquistadors, providing a largely unfiltered view into Incan culture.

Amazing Wonders: The Colosseum

Rome's Colosseum was built in the first century A.D., centuries after the first Seven Wonders of the Ancient World came into vogue among Hellenistic travelers. Two thousand years later, though, the colossal amphitheater got its due when it joined the New 7 Wonders. Up to 50,000 people once flocked through its gates for gladiator contests and other events. Now in ruins, the Colosseum is the site of official Roman Catholic ceremonies and one of Rome’s biggest tourist attractions.

Amazing Wonders: Chichén Itzá

Back in Mayan times, the temple city of Chichén Itzá was a sacred focal point of this pre-Columbian empire. These days the site, on the northern end of Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula, is still awe-inspiring enough to be named to the New 7 Wonders list. Much of Chichén Itzá’s stone architecture remains, including temples such as the pyramid of Kukulkan, often called El Castillo; the El Caracol observatory; and the 545-feet-long Great Ball Court. The structures are connected by a network of once-paved roads, called sacbeob.

Amazing Wonders: The Great Pyramid of Giza

The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World might have indeed been wonderful, but we know most of them only through historical records. The only one still standing is also the oldest: the Great Pyramid of Giza, constructed from more than 2 million blocks of limestone around 2600 B.C. near present-day Cairo. At about 450 feet tall, the Great Pyramid is the biggest of the three giant pyramids at Giza, where you’ll also find the Giant Sphinx and several smaller pyramids and tombs.

Amazing Wonders: The Acropolis

Looming commandingly over Athens, the Acropolis is a powerful symbol of Greek history and, by extension, the history of Western culture. The ancient Greeks built the citadel in about the fifth century B.C. in tribute to the goddess Athena, patron of Athens; today much of the original complex remains, including the Parthenon and the Old Temple of Athena. Many ancient artifacts from the site are housed in the on-site Acropolis Museum.

Amazing Wonders: Sydney Opera House

There may be no more iconic building of the 20th century than the Sydney Opera House, a landmark of modern architecture. The roof of the expressionist-style structure consists of huge concrete panels, often called "shells," that sail above a hall covering 4.5 acres. Several theaters occupy the Opera House, accommodating performances of opera, drama, music and more.

Amazing Wonders: The Statue of Liberty

Lady Liberty is younger than most of the wonders on this list, but the space she occupies in the collective consciousness of the U.S. and the world is profound. A gift from France dedicated in 1886, the copper statue became a famous symbol of hope for immigrants arriving in New York Harbor, and is an enduring point of pride for their descendants as well as Americans of every stripe.

Amazing Wonders: Stonehenge

We don’t know just how Stonehenge was built several thousand years ago or for what exact purpose, but given that each of the stones weighed many tons — some of them up to 50 — Stonehenge is an amazing accomplishment for its prehistoric construction team. Archaeologists have theorized that the horseshoe-shaped monument, rising from the fields of southwest England’s Salisbury Plain, served as a religious center and burial site.

Amazing Wonders: Grand Torii Gate and Itsukushima Shrine

One of the most iconic images of Japan is the sight of the great orange torii gate seeming to float above the waters surrounding the island of Miyajima, not far from Hiroshima. At low tide, you can walk to the structure across the mud. In Japanese culture, the presence of a torii marks the transition from the secular to the sacred, and just beyond the torii is the magnificent Itsukushima Shrine, founded 1,500 years ago.

Amazing Wonders: The Eiffel Tower

In the 221 years since its dedication, the latticework tower standing sentinel over Paris has become perhaps the most instantly recognized structure on the planet, and no city on Earth may be more associated with a single building. The Eiffel Tower pierces the sky at more than 1,000 feet tall, and is the world’s most popular paid tourist attraction. Different shades of paint are used, with the darkest at the bottom, in order to maintain a uniform appearance to observers at ground level.

Amazing Wonders: Timbuktu

In the 12th century, Timbuktu sat in the middle of several thriving trade routes crossing West Africa, and the wealth that passed through turned the city into a major player in Islamic culture and scholarship. Now part of the modern nation of Mali, Timbuktu still boasts several examples of its classic architecture, including three beautiful mud mosques.

Amazing Wonders: The Hagia Sophia

Istanbul's Hagia Sophia dates from the sixth century and the golden age of the Byzantine Empire, and is thought of as the height of the era’s architectural techniques. The Hagia Sophia — Greek for "Holy Wisdom" — was constructed as part of the church and was the world’s largest cathedral for almost 1,000 years, as well as the center of the Eastern Orthodox Church. After the city was conquered by the Ottoman Turks in 1453, it served as a mosque until 1935, when it became a state museum.

Amazing Wonders: Angkor Wat

The temple of Angkor Wat has been a focal point for Hindus since its construction nine centuries ago, and it remains so important to the Cambodian people that they put its picture on their flag. The intricate temple is considered perhaps the most significant extant example of Khmer architecture, featuring intricate bas-reliefs and other detailed imagery throughout.

Amazing Wonders: Red Square and the Kremlin

The Kremlin in Moscow has been the power center of Russia, and the former Soviet Union, since the 14th century. The citadel was the home of czars for centuries; today, it’s still the official residence of President Dmitry Medvedev. Just to the east is historic Red Square, home of the stunning St. Basil’s Cathedral.

Amazing Wonders: The Potala Palace

Tibet’s Potala Palace dates from 1645, when Lozang Gyatso began construction on a magnificent residence that would be the primary home of the Dalai Lama until the current one, the 14th Dalai Lama, fled to India in 1959. These days, the Potala Palace has been turned into a museum and is well worth visiting: Its buildings stand 13 stories tall, with more than 1,000 rooms and 10,000 shrines. And at a Himalayan elevation of 12,100 feet, the palace occupies some very rare air.

Amazing Wonders: Easter Island's Moai

The monolithic, stylized statues of Easter Island are considered a major feat of engineering, and the details of how they were carved, transported and raised between approximately 1250 and 1500 are still not fully known. Hundreds of moai were erected, ranging up to 33 feet high and weighing up to 86 tons, but nearly as many were left by their masons at the main moai quarry.

Amazing Wonders: Neuschwanstein Castle

By the time Bavaria’s King Ludwig II built Neuschwanstein Castle in the late 19th century, castles weren’t necessary anymore for strategic defense — so it makes sense that he went all out in the aesthetics department. The result was a fanciful, many-turreted confection, romantic enough that it became the inspiration for the Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland. Ludwig didn’t live to see it completed, but more than 60 million people have visited his finished creation.

Amazing Wonders: Samarkand

Camels, caravans, silks and spices: Samarkand is a city of history, beauty and artwork, and is one of the oldest inhabited cities in the world. Founded by the Persians in approximately 700 B.C., it was conquered by Alexander the Great in 329 B.C., and later was controlled by the Mongols, Timurids and Turks. As one of the major cities on the Silk Road, Samarkand became a center for Islamic learning, and some of the most stunning examples of Muslim building and art can be found here. Today, Samarkand is the second-largest city in Uzbekistan.

Amazing Wonders: Kiyomizu Temple

Kyoto’s lovely wooden Kiyomizu temple, founded in the eighth century and rebuilt in 1633, features a main hall perched over a cliff, and a huge veranda held up by 139 49-foot-tall pillars — which is especially impressive given that no nails were used in the temple’s construction. The temple is also home to a number of gorgeous orange-and-white pagodas, considered among the loveliest in Japan. While you’re there, drink from the Otowa waterfall, said to have healing properties — Kiyomizu means “pure water.”

Amazing Wonders: The Alhambra

Harking back to the days when present-day Spain was a Muslim land, the Alhambra is a 700-year-old palace complex built by the Moors near Granada, in what is now the Andalusia region. Its name translates to "red fortress," reflecting the color of the clay used for much of its construction. The Alhambra's Islamic architecture and artwork are breathtaking, as are its outdoor features, including gardens and fountains.