Recent studies challenge the long-held belief that the Milky Way is a standard model for understanding galaxy formation, revealing unique differences in its structure and evolution compared to its galactic peers.
The SAGA Survey has begun to uncover these discrepancies by studying over 100 Milky Way-like galaxies, shedding light on the complex role of dark matter and the diverse evolutionary paths of galaxies.
we cannot know - the universe is big enough that for large parts of it if a planet formed 100% identical to us that light from its star hasn’t reached us yet.
It’s not just that. There could be thousands of civilisations of Earth-like life in our own galaxy and we have literally no way to detect them.
Our current exoplanet detection abilities extend only to systems with some very specific peculiarities, and our Solar system doesn’t have any of them.