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On January 08 2013 11:59 AnachronisticAnarchy wrote:
I never quite understood why a planet NEEDS to be in the habitable zone to support life. I mean, just look at life on Earth. It's incredibly varied and can survive in all kinds of climates.
Why are we assuming that aliens are going to be like us in that they have to live in a very specific climate due to a certain chemical that might not actually be necessary to support an alien life form?
Well, unless, of course, I'm misinterpreting the phrase and what it actually means is "capable of supporting life from Earth". But if that's the case, I don't see why that's interesting.
We aren't even close to getting to the further planets in our solar system, much less the nearest solar system. Anything beyond that point is too far to even be considered to be visited considering our current level of technology.
Basically, we assume that life needs liquid water to exist. Thus, the "habitable zone" is defined as the area where a planet can theoretically have liquid water on its surface.
As far as i know, the assumption that life needs liquid water is pretty reasonable, but of course something weird noone can imagine at this point is still possible. It should be possible to have liquid water under the surface of planets outside of the habitable zone due to higher pressure leading to changed boiling/freezing points, but that is much more unlikely to happen.
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On October 17 2012 10:47 Epishade wrote:Show nested quote +On October 17 2012 09:22 {CC}StealthBlue wrote:European astronomers have discovered a planet with about the mass of the Earth orbiting a star in the Alpha Centauri system -- the nearest to Earth. It is also the lightest exoplanet ever discovered around a star like the Sun. The planet was detected using the HARPS instrument on the 3.6-meter telescope at ESO's La Silla Observatory in Chile. The results will appear online in the journal Nature on 17 October 2012.
Alpha Centauri is one of the brightest stars in the southern skies and is the nearest stellar system to our solar system -- only 4.3 light-years away. It is actually a triple star -- a system consisting of two stars similar to the Sun orbiting close to each other, designated Alpha Centauri A and B, and a more distant and faint red component known as Proxima Centauri [1]. Since the nineteenth century astronomers have speculated about planets orbiting these bodies, the closest possible abodes for life beyond the solar system, but searches of increasing precision had revealed nothing. Until now.
"Our observations extended over more than four years using the HARPS instrument and have revealed a tiny, but real, signal from a planet orbiting Alpha Centauri B every 3.2 days," says Xavier Dumusque (Geneva Observatory, Switzerland, and Centro de Astrofisica da Universidade do Porto, Portugal), lead author of the paper. "It's an extraordinary discovery and it has pushed our technique to the limit!" Source "The European team detected the planet by picking up the tiny wobbles in the motion of the star Alpha Centauri B created by the gravitational pull of the orbiting planet [2]. The effect is minute -- it causes the star to move back and forth by no more than 51 centimeters per second (1.8 km/hour), about the speed of a baby crawling. This is the highest precision ever achieved using this method." That's ridiculous the way they measured it. Their precision of 51 cm/sec and the insanely little movement of the star that they were somehow able to measure is hard to believe. I don't know how their HARPS system works in measuring this kind of stuff, but it just seems to unrealistic to make a measurement so precise from that far away. I just don't think we have the technology to detect such little changes to star movement like they did here.
Where do you get off making a post like this? If you're going to cast doubt on something, you should probably back up your statement with info. You may even know what you're talking about, but your reply doesn't really suggest that. All it does suggest is that you like to be an ass.
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On January 09 2013 03:26 hoby2000 wrote:Show nested quote +On October 17 2012 10:47 Epishade wrote:On October 17 2012 09:22 {CC}StealthBlue wrote:European astronomers have discovered a planet with about the mass of the Earth orbiting a star in the Alpha Centauri system -- the nearest to Earth. It is also the lightest exoplanet ever discovered around a star like the Sun. The planet was detected using the HARPS instrument on the 3.6-meter telescope at ESO's La Silla Observatory in Chile. The results will appear online in the journal Nature on 17 October 2012.
Alpha Centauri is one of the brightest stars in the southern skies and is the nearest stellar system to our solar system -- only 4.3 light-years away. It is actually a triple star -- a system consisting of two stars similar to the Sun orbiting close to each other, designated Alpha Centauri A and B, and a more distant and faint red component known as Proxima Centauri [1]. Since the nineteenth century astronomers have speculated about planets orbiting these bodies, the closest possible abodes for life beyond the solar system, but searches of increasing precision had revealed nothing. Until now.
"Our observations extended over more than four years using the HARPS instrument and have revealed a tiny, but real, signal from a planet orbiting Alpha Centauri B every 3.2 days," says Xavier Dumusque (Geneva Observatory, Switzerland, and Centro de Astrofisica da Universidade do Porto, Portugal), lead author of the paper. "It's an extraordinary discovery and it has pushed our technique to the limit!" Source "The European team detected the planet by picking up the tiny wobbles in the motion of the star Alpha Centauri B created by the gravitational pull of the orbiting planet [2]. The effect is minute -- it causes the star to move back and forth by no more than 51 centimeters per second (1.8 km/hour), about the speed of a baby crawling. This is the highest precision ever achieved using this method." That's ridiculous the way they measured it. Their precision of 51 cm/sec and the insanely little movement of the star that they were somehow able to measure is hard to believe. I don't know how their HARPS system works in measuring this kind of stuff, but it just seems to unrealistic to make a measurement so precise from that far away. I just don't think we have the technology to detect such little changes to star movement like they did here. Where do you get off making a post like this? If you're going to cast doubt on something, you should probably back up your statement with info. You may even know what you're talking about, but your reply doesn't really suggest that. All it does suggest is that you like to be an ass.
Every 'discovery' will be accurate to a certain level. I'm certain this was a 6-sigma accuracy reading, which is only really possible if the wobble happens many many times. But there are many sources of error in the luminosity and redshifting values, we accept with reasonable certainty that the results produced in a laboratory corresponds to the results obtained from reading stars.
The OP in this quote wants to know how it's possible the be that accurate. When you're dealing with reading redshifts of a star, a repeated, detectable change of the order of micro/nanovolts happening with a fixed frequency is quite doable.
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On January 09 2013 03:26 hoby2000 wrote:Show nested quote +On October 17 2012 10:47 Epishade wrote:On October 17 2012 09:22 {CC}StealthBlue wrote:European astronomers have discovered a planet with about the mass of the Earth orbiting a star in the Alpha Centauri system -- the nearest to Earth. It is also the lightest exoplanet ever discovered around a star like the Sun. The planet was detected using the HARPS instrument on the 3.6-meter telescope at ESO's La Silla Observatory in Chile. The results will appear online in the journal Nature on 17 October 2012.
Alpha Centauri is one of the brightest stars in the southern skies and is the nearest stellar system to our solar system -- only 4.3 light-years away. It is actually a triple star -- a system consisting of two stars similar to the Sun orbiting close to each other, designated Alpha Centauri A and B, and a more distant and faint red component known as Proxima Centauri [1]. Since the nineteenth century astronomers have speculated about planets orbiting these bodies, the closest possible abodes for life beyond the solar system, but searches of increasing precision had revealed nothing. Until now.
"Our observations extended over more than four years using the HARPS instrument and have revealed a tiny, but real, signal from a planet orbiting Alpha Centauri B every 3.2 days," says Xavier Dumusque (Geneva Observatory, Switzerland, and Centro de Astrofisica da Universidade do Porto, Portugal), lead author of the paper. "It's an extraordinary discovery and it has pushed our technique to the limit!" Source "The European team detected the planet by picking up the tiny wobbles in the motion of the star Alpha Centauri B created by the gravitational pull of the orbiting planet [2]. The effect is minute -- it causes the star to move back and forth by no more than 51 centimeters per second (1.8 km/hour), about the speed of a baby crawling. This is the highest precision ever achieved using this method." That's ridiculous the way they measured it. Their precision of 51 cm/sec and the insanely little movement of the star that they were somehow able to measure is hard to believe. I don't know how their HARPS system works in measuring this kind of stuff, but it just seems to unrealistic to make a measurement so precise from that far away. I just don't think we have the technology to detect such little changes to star movement like they did here. Where do you get off making a post like this? If you're going to cast doubt on something, you should probably back up your statement with info. You may even know what you're talking about, but your reply doesn't really suggest that. All it does suggest is that you like to be an ass.
How is what you posted any different?
TL is a forum where people post all the time with little to no knowledge of what they speak. It's called the internet. Little to no accountability often leads to large to astronomical (see what i did there?) exaggerations and claims.
I suspect he's using general knowledge he knows about just how big the universe is, just how small the earth is, and just how unlikely it is they could measure "51 centimeters" in relation to it all. That's just me guessing. I do not speak for him. Btw, with no information backing it up, I find it just as absurd, although I leave room to be corrected, and count it a bonus if I am. I like being corrected; I learn every time I am.
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![[image loading]](http://i.space.com/images/i/000/011/377/i02/mars-water-signs-newton-crater-gullies-110804.jpg?1312483871)
LOS ANGELES — While Mars was likely a more hospitable place in its wetter, warmer past, the Red Planet may still be capable of supporting microbial life today, some scientists say.
Ongoing research in Mars-like places such as Antarctica and Chile's Atacama Desert shows that microbes can eke out a living in extremely cold and dry environments, several researchers stressed at "The Present-Day Habitability of Mars" conference held here at the University of California Los Angeles this month.
And not all parts of the Red Planet's surface may be arid currently — at least not all the time. Evidence is building that liquid water might flow seasonally at some Martian sites, potentially providing a haven for life as we know it.
McEwen discussed some intriguing observations by HiRise, which suggest that briny water may flow down steep Martian slopes during the local spring and summer.
Sixteen such sites have been identified to date, mostly on the slopes of the huge Valles Marineris canyon complex, McEwen said. The tracks seem to repeat seasonally as the syrupy fluids descend along weather-worn pathways.
While the brines may originate underground, Caltech's Edwin Kite noted, there is an increasing suspicion that a process known as deliquescence — in which moisture present in the atmosphere is gathered by compounds on the ground, allowing it to become a liquid — may be responsible.
Astrobiologists are keen to learn more about these brines, for not much is known about them at the moment.
"Briny water on Mars may or may not be habitable to microbes, either from Earth or from Mars," McEwen said.
Source
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If there is water free flowing on mars that would be amazing. It would cut down on costs so much being able to have water there for us.
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On September 13 2011 05:37 nimbus99 wrote:
wow... so cool, great post
we are SO SMALL
are we? As far as we know we're the most intelligent beings in hte universe I haven't met any species more intelligent an d powerful than the human race-- have you? So it seems to me that we're number one. ANd maybe the aliens don't cme here because they're simply too cowardly to face our primate ingenuity. Maybe peering through the depths of formless space and time they see how deftly we can handle screwdrivers and those toilet brushes with our super advanced opposable thumbs-- AND THEY WANT NO PART OF IT,. Indeed Earth is the crown jewel of God's creation, and humans are superior to the angels
-- the Koran, and Bible, and other holy texts (the only holy texts in the universe that we know of)
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stuff like this really excites me, thanks for the excellent read.
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On February 26 2013 13:40 JeanLuc wrote:Show nested quote +On September 13 2011 05:37 nimbus99 wrote:
wow... so cool, great post
we are SO SMALL -- the Koran, and Bible, and other holy texts (the only holy texts in the universe that we know of)
Inb4 materialists walk in.
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On February 26 2013 13:40 JeanLuc wrote:Show nested quote +On September 13 2011 05:37 nimbus99 wrote:
wow... so cool, great post
we are SO SMALL are we? As far as we know we're the most intelligent beings in hte universe I haven't met any species more intelligent an d powerful than the human race-- have you? So it seems to me that we're number one. ANd maybe the aliens don't cme here because they're simply too cowardly to face our primate ingenuity. Maybe peering through the depths of formless space and time they see how deftly we can handle screwdrivers and those toilet brushes with our super advanced opposable thumbs-- AND THEY WANT NO PART OF IT,. Indeed Earth is the crown jewel of God's creation, and humans are superior to the angels -- the Koran, and Bible, and other holy texts (the only holy texts in the universe that we know of)
Pointless religion-bashing has nothing to do with habitable planets.
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It bothers me that until now signs of extraterrestrial life is still not found
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On February 26 2013 16:18 Le French wrote:
It bothers me that until now signs of extraterrestrial life is still not found
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fermi_paradox
There are many hypothetical solutions to the paradox, but it seems there must be much more to the universe than we realize, or else the predictions should be visible.
(I just read through the article and it's missing the chariot of the gods hypothesis!)
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I hate to be the "conspiracy theorist" but let's analyze the situation:
All of us here ( or most of us at least ) BELIEVE that it's impossible for humans to be the only "intelligent" life forms in the universe.
If we take this into consideration, and the possibility of numerous alien species living "somewhere" in the universe, there is also the possibility that some of these alien races are more advanced than we are ( the main argument here would be that they are much older than we are, because humans have existed for a very short time according to the popular belief ).
Now if these races are far more advanced than we are, chances are they have developed faster-than-light travel and even more crazy stuff than we could ever dare to believe existed.
It might just happen that their "technology" or whatever they posses, being the ancient civilization they are, also allows them to map out the ENTIRE GALAXY ( can u believe that shit, pure sci-fi I tell ya ).
Oh and look, they find a planet orbiting a certain yellow star, in it's "habitable zone", has liquid water on it's surface, can you believe that?
Now there can be a lot of theories regarding this, but I think in the end it's safe assume that they PROBABLY know of our existence (assuming ofc we all agree that it's impossible for us to be alone in the universe). I am also relatively certain that they can avoid detection by us if the wish to do so.
If anyone here watched Star Trek, you know that the Vulcans are the first race who contacted humans, and it just so happened that they decided to wait until we developed warp drive.
Now, we didn't develop warp drive as far as I know, but we did WENT INTO SPACE. I think that's a pretty big deal for a budding race like us. Now, I'm no ET, but I'm assuming that a space-traveling race would qualify for further study, hm?
But then again, maybe I'm crazy.
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On February 27 2013 01:43 marconi wrote:
I hate to be the "conspiracy theorist" but let's analyze the situation:
All of us here ( or most of us at least ) BELIEVE that it's impossible for humans to be the only "intelligent" life forms in the universe.
If we take this into consideration, and the possibility of numerous alien species living "somewhere" in the universe, there is also the possibility that some of these alien races are more advanced than we are ( the main argument here would be that they are much older than we are, because humans have existed for a very short time according to the popular belief ).
Now if these races are far more advanced than we are, chances are they have developed faster-than-light travel and even more crazy stuff than we could ever dare to believe existed.
It might just happen that their "technology" or whatever they posses, being the ancient civilization they are, also allows them to map out the ENTIRE GALAXY ( can u believe that shit, pure sci-fi I tell ya ).
Oh and look, they find a planet orbiting a certain yellow star, in it's "habitable zone", has liquid water on it's surface, can you believe that?
Now there can be a lot of theories regarding this, but I think in the end it's safe assume that they PROBABLY know of our existence (assuming ofc we all agree that it's impossible for us to be alone in the universe). I am also relatively certain that they can avoid detection by us if the wish to do so.
If anyone here watched Star Trek, you know that the Vulcans are the first race who contacted humans, and it just so happened that they decided to wait until we developed warp drive.
Now, we didn't develop warp drive as far as I know, but we did WENT INTO SPACE. I think that's a pretty big deal for a budding race like us. Now, I'm no ET, but I'm assuming that a space-traveling race would qualify for further study, hm?
But then again, maybe I'm crazy.
For all we know a civilization that reaches the capability of making Virtual Reality will stop any scientific and/or explorative endeavors. There's simply too many theories that can explain the paradox.
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On February 27 2013 01:43 marconi wrote:
I hate to be the "conspiracy theorist" but let's analyze the situation:
All of us here ( or most of us at least ) BELIEVE that it's impossible for humans to be the only "intelligent" life forms in the universe.
If we take this into consideration, and the possibility of numerous alien species living "somewhere" in the universe, there is also the possibility that some of these alien races are more advanced than we are ( the main argument here would be that they are much older than we are, because humans have existed for a very short time according to the popular belief ).
Now if these races are far more advanced than we are, chances are they have developed faster-than-light travel and even more crazy stuff than we could ever dare to believe existed.
It might just happen that their "technology" or whatever they posses, being the ancient civilization they are, also allows them to map out the ENTIRE GALAXY ( can u believe that shit, pure sci-fi I tell ya ).
Oh and look, they find a planet orbiting a certain yellow star, in it's "habitable zone", has liquid water on it's surface, can you believe that?
Now there can be a lot of theories regarding this, but I think in the end it's safe assume that they PROBABLY know of our existence (assuming ofc we all agree that it's impossible for us to be alone in the universe). I am also relatively certain that they can avoid detection by us if the wish to do so.
If anyone here watched Star Trek, you know that the Vulcans are the first race who contacted humans, and it just so happened that they decided to wait until we developed warp drive.
Now, we didn't develop warp drive as far as I know, but we did WENT INTO SPACE. I think that's a pretty big deal for a budding race like us. Now, I'm no ET, but I'm assuming that a space-traveling race would qualify for further study, hm?
But then again, maybe I'm crazy.
Have you seen the movie the right stuff? Going into space isn't much more than sending up a rocket with a person instead of a warhead. Even getting to the moon was basically playing billiards in space. If I were a member of a species capable of interstellar travel, I'd wait until either humanity managed to make global peace, or one civilization managed to colonize a planet outside of it's system.
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On January 09 2013 03:15 Simberto wrote:Show nested quote +On January 08 2013 11:59 AnachronisticAnarchy wrote:
I never quite understood why a planet NEEDS to be in the habitable zone to support life. I mean, just look at life on Earth. It's incredibly varied and can survive in all kinds of climates.
Why are we assuming that aliens are going to be like us in that they have to live in a very specific climate due to a certain chemical that might not actually be necessary to support an alien life form?
Well, unless, of course, I'm misinterpreting the phrase and what it actually means is "capable of supporting life from Earth". But if that's the case, I don't see why that's interesting.
We aren't even close to getting to the further planets in our solar system, much less the nearest solar system. Anything beyond that point is too far to even be considered to be visited considering our current level of technology. Basically, we assume that life needs liquid water to exist. Thus, the "habitable zone" is defined as the area where a planet can theoretically have liquid water on its surface. As far as i know, the assumption that life needs liquid water is pretty reasonable, but of course something weird noone can imagine at this point is still possible. It should be possible to have liquid water under the surface of planets outside of the habitable zone due to higher pressure leading to changed boiling/freezing points, but that is much more unlikely to happen.
Another argument is that we don't know how life would exist without water, since we never saw life without water, ever. There is no bacteria that is to be considered "alive" (what ever "alive" is) without water in this planet, no matter how tough the surroundings. If we are to find life in other planets we have to look for signs of life that we know of, like an atmosphere rich in gas Oxygen or another reducer agent. And we can't just machine gun with all the data, otherwise some of it might be compromised by our measurement devices.
On February 27 2013 01:43 marconi wrote:
I hate to be the "conspiracy theorist" but let's analyze the situation:
All of us here ( or most of us at least ) BELIEVE that it's impossible for humans to be the only "intelligent" life forms in the universe.
If we take this into consideration, and the possibility of numerous alien species living "somewhere" in the universe, there is also the possibility that some of these alien races are more advanced than we are ( the main argument here would be that they are much older than we are, because humans have existed for a very short time according to the popular belief ).
Now if these races are far more advanced than we are, chances are they have developed faster-than-light travel and even more crazy stuff than we could ever dare to believe existed.
It might just happen that their "technology" or whatever they posses, being the ancient civilization they are, also allows them to map out the ENTIRE GALAXY ( can u believe that shit, pure sci-fi I tell ya ).
Oh and look, they find a planet orbiting a certain yellow star, in it's "habitable zone", has liquid water on it's surface, can you believe that?
Now there can be a lot of theories regarding this, but I think in the end it's safe assume that they PROBABLY know of our existence (assuming ofc we all agree that it's impossible for us to be alone in the universe). I am also relatively certain that they can avoid detection by us if the wish to do so.
If anyone here watched Star Trek, you know that the Vulcans are the first race who contacted humans, and it just so happened that they decided to wait until we developed warp drive.
Now, we didn't develop warp drive as far as I know, but we did WENT INTO SPACE. I think that's a pretty big deal for a budding race like us. Now, I'm no ET, but I'm assuming that a space-traveling race would qualify for further study, hm?
But then again, maybe I'm crazy.
Earth is 4.5 Billion years old, and life began to form around 3.5. Billion years ago - it varies with the source, so I'll take the most conservative of the scientific sources (note that I said scientific, because some religious sources will say it is actually 6000 years, but follow me) - wich means, inteligent life took 3.5 Billion years to form on Earth, which many believe is practically a haven in the Universe, with Jupiter protecting us with its huge mass from most of the asteroids in our system, and by being in a relatively peaceful corners of our galaxy, with hardly ever any kind of cosmic event. If there is life out there, and not that it should matter, but this is the internet, I believe there is, it is probably developing still, and not a super-mega-ultra-advanced civilization, lurking in the shadows of our solar-sytem until we are able to solve our problems.
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United States42640 Posts
On February 27 2013 02:49 TiTanIum_ wrote:Show nested quote +On January 09 2013 03:15 Simberto wrote:On January 08 2013 11:59 AnachronisticAnarchy wrote:
I never quite understood why a planet NEEDS to be in the habitable zone to support life. I mean, just look at life on Earth. It's incredibly varied and can survive in all kinds of climates.
Why are we assuming that aliens are going to be like us in that they have to live in a very specific climate due to a certain chemical that might not actually be necessary to support an alien life form?
Well, unless, of course, I'm misinterpreting the phrase and what it actually means is "capable of supporting life from Earth". But if that's the case, I don't see why that's interesting.
We aren't even close to getting to the further planets in our solar system, much less the nearest solar system. Anything beyond that point is too far to even be considered to be visited considering our current level of technology. Basically, we assume that life needs liquid water to exist. Thus, the "habitable zone" is defined as the area where a planet can theoretically have liquid water on its surface. As far as i know, the assumption that life needs liquid water is pretty reasonable, but of course something weird noone can imagine at this point is still possible. It should be possible to have liquid water under the surface of planets outside of the habitable zone due to higher pressure leading to changed boiling/freezing points, but that is much more unlikely to happen. Another argument is that we don't know how life would exist without water, since we never saw life without water, ever. There is no bacteria that is to be considered "alive" (what ever "alive" is) without water in this planet, no matter how tough the surroundings. If we are to find life in other planets we have to look for signs of life that we know of, like an atmosphere rich in gas Oxygen or another reducer agent. And we can't just machine gun with all the data, otherwise some of it might be compromised by our measurement devices. Show nested quote +On February 27 2013 01:43 marconi wrote:
I hate to be the "conspiracy theorist" but let's analyze the situation:
All of us here ( or most of us at least ) BELIEVE that it's impossible for humans to be the only "intelligent" life forms in the universe.
If we take this into consideration, and the possibility of numerous alien species living "somewhere" in the universe, there is also the possibility that some of these alien races are more advanced than we are ( the main argument here would be that they are much older than we are, because humans have existed for a very short time according to the popular belief ).
Now if these races are far more advanced than we are, chances are they have developed faster-than-light travel and even more crazy stuff than we could ever dare to believe existed.
It might just happen that their "technology" or whatever they posses, being the ancient civilization they are, also allows them to map out the ENTIRE GALAXY ( can u believe that shit, pure sci-fi I tell ya ).
Oh and look, they find a planet orbiting a certain yellow star, in it's "habitable zone", has liquid water on it's surface, can you believe that?
Now there can be a lot of theories regarding this, but I think in the end it's safe assume that they PROBABLY know of our existence (assuming ofc we all agree that it's impossible for us to be alone in the universe). I am also relatively certain that they can avoid detection by us if the wish to do so.
If anyone here watched Star Trek, you know that the Vulcans are the first race who contacted humans, and it just so happened that they decided to wait until we developed warp drive.
Now, we didn't develop warp drive as far as I know, but we did WENT INTO SPACE. I think that's a pretty big deal for a budding race like us. Now, I'm no ET, but I'm assuming that a space-traveling race would qualify for further study, hm?
But then again, maybe I'm crazy. Earth is 4.5 Billion years old, and life began to form around 3.5. Billion years ago - it varies with the source, so I'll take the most conservative of the scientific sources (note that I said scientific, because some religious sources will say it is actually 6000 years, but follow me) - wich means, inteligent life took 3.5 Billion years to form on Earth, which many believe is practically a haven in the Universe, with Jupiter protecting us with its huge mass from most of the asteroids in our system, and by being in a relatively peaceful corners of our galaxy, with hardly ever any kind of cosmic event. If there is life out there, and not that it should matter, but this is the internet, I believe there is, it is probably developing still, and not a super-mega-ultra-advanced civilization, lurking in the shadows of our solar-sytem until we are able to solve our problems.
This is a very strange conclusion. If you believe that life is out there, which, on the basis of probabilities, is practically certain, then you should realise that it implies that the universe is teeming with life. Either the earth is truly unique and life happened due to a unique (divine usually) process or it's not in which case life would be all over the place and of varying levels of development.
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On February 27 2013 01:43 marconi wrote:
I hate to be the "conspiracy theorist" but let's analyze the situation:
All of us here ( or most of us at least ) BELIEVE that it's impossible for humans to be the only "intelligent" life forms in the universe.
If we take this into consideration, and the possibility of numerous alien species living "somewhere" in the universe, there is also the possibility that some of these alien races are more advanced than we are ( the main argument here would be that they are much older than we are, because humans have existed for a very short time according to the popular belief ).
Now if these races are far more advanced than we are, chances are they have developed faster-than-light travel and even more crazy stuff than we could ever dare to believe existed.
It might just happen that their "technology" or whatever they posses, being the ancient civilization they are, also allows them to map out the ENTIRE GALAXY ( can u believe that shit, pure sci-fi I tell ya ).
Oh and look, they find a planet orbiting a certain yellow star, in it's "habitable zone", has liquid water on it's surface, can you believe that?
Now there can be a lot of theories regarding this, but I think in the end it's safe assume that they PROBABLY know of our existence (assuming ofc we all agree that it's impossible for us to be alone in the universe). I am also relatively certain that they can avoid detection by us if the wish to do so.
If anyone here watched Star Trek, you know that the Vulcans are the first race who contacted humans, and it just so happened that they decided to wait until we developed warp drive.
Now, we didn't develop warp drive as far as I know, but we did WENT INTO SPACE. I think that's a pretty big deal for a budding race like us. Now, I'm no ET, but I'm assuming that a space-traveling race would qualify for further study, hm?
But then again, maybe I'm crazy.
They can study us all they want, but I can't think of any reason why a highly advanced civilization would want to communicate with a bunch of apes that has trouble coexisting with eachother, much less another species. We have no value to provide anyone. As much as I like Startrek, I fail to appreciate what the "human" factor bring to a civilization already capable of advanced technology and peaceful society.
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Humans are the only species that developed, eh, human-like intelligence. I sometimes wonder if humans didn't exist if in another several million years we would see intelligent bears or cats instead. ^^
Anyways, it might simply be that faster-than-light travel is not feasible, that there are other limits to travel, that nearby stars don't have life. If the universe has a lot of different stars, maybe some have life, but what does it matter if they are ten billion light years away? How are you to communicate with them? (try playing Starcraft 2 with that latency :p )
35 light years away is still feasible, if such a planet had intelligent life roughly at our stage of development we could simply keep sending them certain language codes or whatever and then several cycles of 35 years later we might know each other's language and from that point on it's only a question of constantly broadcasting interesting info to each other. Would be cool, but it's not probable to happen.
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On February 27 2013 03:26 Grumbels wrote:
Humans are the only species that developed, eh, human-like intelligence. I sometimes wonder if humans didn't exist if in another several million years we would see intelligent bears or cats instead. ^^
Anyways, it might simply be that faster-than-light travel is not feasible, that there are other limits to travel, that nearby stars don't have life. If the universe has a lot of different stars, maybe some have life, but what does it matter if they are ten billion light years away? How are you to communicate with them? (try playing Starcraft 2 with that latency :p )
35 light years away is still feasible, if such a planet had intelligent life roughly at our stage of development we could simply keep sending them certain language codes or whatever and then several cycles of 35 years later we might know each other's language and from that point on it's only a question of constantly broadcasting interesting info to each other. Would be cool, but it's not probable to happen.
I think this would be more interesting from a colonization perspective. Who knows what kind of speed(in space) we can get up to in a few thousands, coupled with any advances in life longevity/cyrogenic sleep, we could potential have humans there in < 3000 years.
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EPT
