Could Life Exist Elsewhere
Although scientists havent found proof yet, many including me now think its unlikely that Earth is the only planet where life evolved. That would be as surprising as a large field containing a single stalk.
When will humans detect life elsewhere? Will it be intelligent life? Will people ever receive a message from another civilization?
Today, hundreds of scientists around the world are trying to answer those questions.
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And since curiosity has no age limit adults, let us know what youre wondering, too. We wont be able to answer every question, but we will do our best.
What Is The Ideal Tilt Angle For My Solar Array
A solar module will produce the most electricity when it is perpendicular to the rays of the sun. Therefore, the general rule of thumb for the best annual production is to set the tilt angle equivalent to the latitude. For summer production, the ideal angle is latitude 15°. For winter production, set it at latitude +15°. If you live in Edmonton, please check out the NAIT/City of Edmonton Reference Array System on the SESA website for more detail.
Solar Power In The United States
Solar power in the United States includes utility-scale solar power plants as well as local distributed generation, mostly from rooftop . As of the end of 2020, the United States had 97,275 megawatts of installed photovoltaic and concentrated solar power capacity combined. In 2018, utility scale solar power generated 66.6 terawatt-hours , 1.66% of total U.S. electricity. During the same time period total solar generation, including estimated small scale photovoltaic generation, was 96.1 TWh, 2.30% of total U.S. electricity. In terms of total cumulative installed capacity, by year end 2017 the United States ranked 2nd in the world behind China. In 2016, 39% of all new electricity generation capacity in the country came from solar, more than any other source and ahead of natural gas . By 2015, solar employment had overtaken oil and gas as well as coal employment in the United States. In 2016, more than 260,000 Americans were employed in the solar industry.
There are plans to build many other large solar plants in the United States. Many states have set individual renewable energy goals with solar power being included in various proportions. Hawaii plans 100% renewable-sourced electricity by 2045. Governor Jerry Brown has signed legislation requiring California’s utilities to obtain 100 percent of their electricity from zero-carbon sources by the end of 2045 .
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How Many Exoplanets Are There
To date, more than 4,000 exoplanets have been discovered and are considered “confirmed.” However, there are thousands of other “candidate” exoplanet detections that require further observations in order to say for sure whether or not the exoplanet is real.
Remarkably, the first exoplanets were just discovered about two decades ago. We live in an extraordinary time where in the span of a single generation, the centuries-old question “Are there planets orbiting other stars?” has been answered with a resounding “Yes!”
Since the first exoplanets were discovered in the early 1990s, the number of known exoplanets has doubled approximately every 27 months.
Is 5kw Enough To Run A House
A common question we get, due to the popularity of solar panels on homes these days is: I want my house to be off-the-grid. If I install a system that produces 5000 watts , will it power my whole home? A residential solar panel installation in most places in North America will produce around 100-150 kWh per year. We can roughly calculate the amount of power you need to run your home by converting kilowatts into units that represent how much electricity it would take to power a house in watts .
If we are going off grid, most homes use around 50kWh per day on average so 5000 Watts is about right. You can get a more accurate estimate by consulting with an experienced installer who will be able to provide you with quotes based on the size of your home.
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How Many Planets Are In Our Galaxy
NASA estimates that there are at least 100 billion planets in our Milky Way alone. Others estimated that the Milky Way galaxy might have anywhere between 100 to 200 billion planets.
Currently, over 4,000 exoplanets have been discovered, and every day, more and more follow. These planets are either part of a planetary system, or they are rogue planets.
Rogue planets are harder to spot since they dont orbit a star. Take our Solar System, for example there are eight planets and at least five dwarf planets which orbit our star, the Sun, a single star.
There might as well be a ninth planet, or what some call Planet X, but we are still on the hunt for it. If only one star, our Sun, could host as many as eight or nine planets, then surely, our Milky Way galaxy, which contains billions upon billions of stars, should also have billions upon billions of planets as well.
Conclusion How Many Planets Are There
So, in conclusion, the best answer we have to the question how many planets are there? is:
- 8 planets in the solar system
- 400 billion planets in the Milky Way
- 21.6 trillion planets in the Local Group
- 2 quadrillion planets in the Virgo Supercluster
- 21.6 sextillion planets in the observable universe
Review the highlights of this article in the video below:
If you liked this article, find more like it in our Astronomy hub.
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How Many Solar Panels Do I Need For A 2500 Sq Ft Home
The rule of thumb is 30 watts per square foot. For a 2500 sq ft home, you would need 9000-12500 solar panels. Thats between $108,000 to $144,000 worth of equipment! However that doesnt take into account the cost savings and tax credits you will receive by installing solar energy systems in your area.
The Universe Vs Observable Universe
One further thing is that this is only for what we call the observable universe. This is the area of the universe where light from far-off objects has had time to reach Earth.
This, therefore, means there is a limit to how far we can see in any direction and the actual universe may in fact be many times the size of the observable universe. Right now we have no way of knowing.
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My Roof Needs To Be Replaced Should I Combine The Installations
Yes. If youre planning to replace your roof in the next few years, it may make sense to move that up and install the PV system at the same time as the new roof is going on. Since solar modules can last over 40 years it is in your best interest to not have to remove the solar modules and rack to replace roofing.
What Does A System Cost
Solar PV systems have drastically dropped in price over the last 20 years. Solar PV systems today can be installed for as low as $2.50 dollars an installed Watt. With a system warranty of 25 years, buying a solar system today is comparable to locking in at todays electricity prices for the next 25 years.
The average Alberta household consumes about 7200 kWh of electricity per year. In Alberta, this would require a solar PV system of around 6000 installed Watts to reach net-zero electricity use on a yearly basis. Assuming a cost of $2.50/Watt of installed capacity, this system would cost about $15,000.
While the average household in Alberta consumes about 7200 kWh electricity per year, your own consumption depends on several factors, including:
- The number of people living in your home
- Your homes size and type
- The age of your home
- How well-insulated your home is
- Which appliances use electricity or gas
- The energy efficiency of your appliances
- The weather
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Are Solar Systems Recyclable
With Solar PV installation rapidly increasing throughout the world, people want to know what will come of the waste when the systems are decommissioned. Keep in mind, some of the oldest solar modules are still operating, and the equipment life spans decades.
Solar modules are complex and contain various materials, requiring dismantling, separation and processing. Luckily, all the components of a Solar PV system are recyclable and can be separated. A module is made of an aluminum frame, silicon solar cells, glass and semiconductor material. They contain toxic heavy metals, such as cadmium and lead, so proper disposal is important. They also contain gallium and indium, rare elements, that make recycling these precious minerals more important
At the moment in Alberta there is not an industrial recycling facility for Solar PV. However, on May 11th, 2020, the Alberta Government announced a $43 million dollar expansion to electronic recycling in Alberta, which will include solar module recycling.
There is recycling available for electronics and electrical equipment in Alberta.
Uranus: The Tilted Sideways Planet In Our Solar System
Uranus is the seventh planet from the sun and is a bit of an oddball.
It has clouds made of hydrogen sulfide, the same chemical that makes rotten eggs smell so foul. It rotates from east to west like Venus. But unlike Venus or any other planet, its equator is nearly at right angles to its orbit it basically orbits on its side.
– Day: 18 Earth hours
– Number of moons: 27
Astronomers believe an object twice the size of Earth collided with Uranus roughly 4 billion years ago, causing Uranus to tilt. That tilt causes extreme seasons that last 20-plus years, and the sun beats down on one pole or the other for 84 Earth-years at a time.
The collision is also thought to have knocked rock and ice into Uranus’ orbit. These later became some of the planet’s 27 moons. Methane in Uranus’ atmosphere gives the planet its blue-green tint. It also has 13 sets of faint rings.
Uranus holds the record for the coldest temperature ever measured in the solar system minus 371.56 degrees F . The average temperature of Uranus is minus 320 degrees Fahrenheit .
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A Rocky World In The Habitable Zone
But theres more. Theres new evidence for a fifth planet, labeled L 98-59f. Though still unconfirmed, this fifth planet is estimated to have 2.56 times Earths mass. It orbits in 23.15 days. What a slowpoke, right? The fact is, like all the other worlds in this star system, L 98-59f is still quite close to its star. But heres something we havent told you yet. The star L 98-59 is a small and cool red dwarf star, one of the most common sorts of stars in our Milky Way galaxy. And that means its fifth planet orbits smack in the middle of the stars habitable zone. The habitable zone sometimes called the Goldilocks zone isnt too warm or too cool. Its the region around a star where temperatures are just right for liquid water to exist on the surface of rocky planets.
The lead author of this study, astronomer Olivier Demangeon at the University of Porto in Portugal, :
We have hints of the presence of a terrestrial planet in the habitable zone of this system.
Co-author added:
The planet in the habitable zone may have an atmosphere that could protect and support life.
Composition Of The Solar System
Located at the centre of the solar system and influencing the motion of all the other bodies through its gravitational force is the Sun, which in itself contains more than 99 percent of the mass of the system. The planets, in order of their distance outward from the Sun, are Mercury, Venus, Earth, , Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. Four planetsJupiter through Neptunehave ring systems, and all but Mercury and Venus have one or more moons. Pluto had been officially listed among the planets since it was discovered in 1930 orbiting beyond Neptune, but in 1992 an icy object was discovered still farther from the Sun than Pluto. Many other such discoveries followed, including an object named Eris that appears to be at least as large as Pluto. It became apparent that Pluto was simply one of the larger members of this new group of objects, collectively known as the Kuiper belt. Accordingly, in August 2006 the International Astronomical Union , the organization charged by the scientific community with classifying astronomical objects, voted to revoke Plutos planetary status and place it under a new classification called dwarf planet. For a discussion of that action and of the definition of planet approved by the IAU, seeplanet.
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The Number Of Planets Pre : 6 Or 8
Before 1781 when Uranus was discovered, there were 6 planets – all of which are visible to the naked eye and were known to the ancients. However Mercury and Venus were often called by different names depending upon whether they appeared in the evening sky or the morning sky… so perhaps we can say there were 8 planets!
Of course before people actually thought of the Earth as a planet, the “Classical Planets” used for astrology included the Sun and the Moon… so you might say that we had 7 planets .
The official planets and dwarf planets in order
Types Of Solar Panels & Systems For The Home
Learn the 10 different types of solar panels and solar systems you can use for your home, plus how to calculate whether it’s worth investing in solar energy. This is your ultimate guide to solar energy for the home.
When you think about it, all forms of energy are essentially solar systems. Coal is a result of plant matter. Oil ultimately comes from algae. Natural gas comes from both. In fact, plants and algae are the foundation of the food chain and are a result in part of solar energy via photosynthesis. For more details on this, see our extensive parts of a flower illustration and article.
But, we want to get away from fossil fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas because of their by-products. At least some of us do. I now bike to work most days and our likely next round of vehicles will be electric. In fact, if most people biked to work , drove electric cars and invested in a solar system for household energy , the amount of greenhouse gasses worldwide would plummet. Of course, we need to get corporations in line as well, but every little bit helps.
As you can see, both households and transportation contribute a combined 38% to the greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere.
A viable solution for reducing household greenhouse gases is implementing a solar system that will produce cleaner electricity for the home .
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How Many Planets Are There In Our Solar System
There are eight planets in our solar system, which is part of the Milky Way.
Pluto was once called the ninth planet in our solar system, but the International Astronomical Union made some category changes in 2006 and Pluto became a minor, or dwarf, planet.
The main reason for this decision is that Plutos wild-card orbit crosses the orbit of Neptune.
The idea of a ninth planet has persisted, and astronomers are now searching for Planet X, or Planet Nine, after mathematical evidence from 2016.
Planet Nine is thought to be five thousand times the mass of Pluto and 10 times the mass of Earth, and to orbit beyond Neptune.
How Does Solar Energy Integrate With My Building
Solar energy will either reduce heating or electricity costs or both. Both solar PV and solar thermal systems can be designed to integrate into the building construction. Building-integrated solar design incorporates solar modules or collectors on windows, exterior walls, roofs, or can even be contained within banisters and railings. Solar shingles are another form of building-integrated solar power generation installation that have received considerable attention.
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The Edge Of The Solar System
Past the Kuiper Belt is the very edge of the solar system, the heliosphere, a vast, teardrop-shaped region of space containing electrically charged particles given off by the sun. Many astronomers think that the limit of the heliosphere, known as the heliopause, is about 9 billion miles from the sun.
The Oort Cloud lies well past the Kuiper Belt, considered to be located between 2,000 and 5,000 astronomical units from the sun. The outer edge of the Oort Cloud may reach as far as 10,000 up to 100,000 AU from the sun. One AU is equal to approximately 93,000,000 miles . The Oort Cloud is home to billions, or even trillions of objects, according to NASA Science.
What Planets Has Nasa Been To
spacecraft have taken the Messenger, Magellan, and Mariner on missions to Mercury, Venus, and Pluto.Also, Jupiter and Saturn have been visited with their colorful flocks of moons in the past.Among other places studied up close are asteroids and comets. The sun as well.Several missions are ongoing at this time.
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