That Earth is nothing remarkable.
I mean, it's not in a special location.
It's not the center of the solar system.
It's not the center of the galaxy.
The galaxy is not the center of the universe by any stretch.
And so there's this idea that there's nothing remarkable about the Earth.
But I don't think that applies when you look at how Earth is capable of supporting life.
Because what is remarkable about Earth is that it is covered in water.
But it does not have nearly as much water as you think it ought to.
And so it looks like there was an event that removed a lot of Earth's water.
So that it's got enough to cover the surface.
But it's not so much that land can never peek out above the surface of the waters.
And in order for there to be land peeking out above the surface of the waters,
you've got to have plate tectonics.
Which means the planet has to be about the right size.
And it probably has to have something like the moon.
And so now you're starting to throw all of these additional requirements on
that getting liquid water is actually relatively easy for a rocky planet.
But having a planet that has enough liquid water that it can sustain it for a long time,
but not so much that it just completely encases the planet without any hope of continents arising,
that's a big deal.
And I would say, you know, even on Earth, what we see is that better,
almost 70% of life resides either on the continents or in the continental margins.
And so continents are very important for a planet being able to host a thriving and diverse array of life.
So to follow up on that, what does that your mind make for it special?
I think it does imply that Earth is going to be somewhat unique or very rare in its capacity to support life.
We're going to find lots of planets that orbit in a range where liquid water could exist.
I would say we don't have the technology to detect whether there's actually water on those planets yet or not.
But again, water is not the only requirement for life.
You've got to have water, but you also have to have continents.
You have to have a stable water cycle.
You have to have clouds in the atmosphere.
You have to have plate tectonics.
When you put all that together, the chances of a planet having all of those things in the way Earth does is pretty remote.
So, yeah, I think Earth is very special.