DailyDirt: We Should Have Written Down ET's Phone Number…
from the urls-we-dig-up dept
The search for extraterrestrial life has been going on for ages, but we still haven’t found much convincing evidence that life on other objects in space exists. There’s at least one bold prediction that we’ll find signs of intelligent life in outer space within the next 25 years, but that’s not a bet too many scientists would likely make. Here are just a few more links on the search for ET — for those bored with the lifeforms on this planet.
- Out of about 100 billion galaxies in the observable universe, a couple astrophysicists estimate that only 10% are able to support complex life. Apparently, gamma ray bursts are regularly wiping out anything more complex than microbes in the vast majority of space. That is, assuming that other complex life is similar to our own biosphere and vulnerable to gamma radiation. [url]
- If we’re expecting life on other worlds to look similar to our own, we might want to check out a Caribbean shrimp species that lives near hydrothermal vents in a symbiotic relationship with extremophile bacteria. The water near these undersea vents can reach 400°C, and similar conditions could be present elsewhere in our solar system (eg. in Europa’s subsurface ocean?). [url]
- Alien hunters could hit the jackpot and discover evidence of intelligent life (beyond Earth) by 2040. The SETI Institute has been looking for several decades now, but we’re learning more and more about where best to look (not towards the center of the Milky Way galaxy where gamma ray bursts are more common). As long as the funding to keep listening for signals doesn’t completely dry up, we could find out that we’re not alone in the universe (maybe). [url]
If you’d like to read more awesome and interesting stuff, check out this unrelated (but not entirely random!) Techdirt post via StumbleUpon.
Filed Under: aliens, astrobiology, biosphere, et. extraterrestrial, extraterrestrial life, extremophiles, lifeforms, seti, space, space exploration
Comments on “DailyDirt: We Should Have Written Down ET's Phone Number…”
I believe it was Arthur C. Clarke who said that either we are alone in the universe, or we are not, and both possibilities have sobering implications.
Re: Re:
So in other words, stay sober?
No disrespect to Mr. Clarke, but if I was forced to conclude that humans are alone and the only intelligent life in the whole wide universe, I’d be drinking like you wouldn’t believe. You mean, this is it? This planet of idiots??? F@#* me, sober has just been removed from my vocabulary.
But thank the Great Kazoo life’s about as common as dirt.
—
Re: Re: Re:
As nice as that would be, considering all of the death and misery that alcohol has caused throughout human history and continues to inflict today, that is not actually the meaning of the word “sobering” in a context like this.
Re: Re: Re: Re:
Those damned Chinese, forcing everyone to be entirely, seriously literal with their new laws banning puns and distortions of language. Damn, but that spread fast.
O.K., this time without jokes or reference to alcohol: if I were to learn that humans are alone in the universe, that this is not the magical and purposeful place created by the hand of the Great Kazoo; that humans, the creators of ‘Here Comes Honey Boo-Boo’ are in fact the supreme beings in all of existence, I’d have a really hard time taking much of anything seriously.
—
The issue is that aliens are unlikely to use EM for extra-solar communication. It’s too easily blocked by anything.
Neutrinos are the answer. not really stopped by anything, and you need a substantial tech base to be able to detect them which makes you a more viable candidate for first contact.
[plug starting] and if you want to help us get to that point, you could take part in the only 2nd generation (evolutionary algorithm, rather than brute force) distributed computing program out there – Muon1, working on designing the best and most efficient neutrino generating accelerator with the RAL and Brookhaven National Labs.
“Out of about 100 billion galaxies in the observable universe, a couple astrophysicists estimate that only 10% are able to support complex life.”
Ten percent of a large number is still a large number.
If I had a dollar for every galaxy that is able to support life … wth – make that a penny and I’d still be rich.
It takes over 200 million years for our solar system to orbit our galaxy. Just as our planet has it’s own climate, so does our solar system and even our galaxy. We know very little about our own climate (on a geological scale) and even less about the climate of solar system and only a sliver (less than a blink of an eye) of our galaxy’s climate.
In other words, we don’t have the empirical evidence (time spent observing habitable zones) nor the technology to make such estimates…yet.
But I suppose it’s fun to make guesses!
Re: Re:
The 200 million year solar orbital hypothesis is just that. Trying to measure the rotational velocity of the stars is like trying to measure the velocity of an atom within an ocean of waves. There’s no definitive answer to how long it takes for our solar system to make full rotation nor do we know when we’ll pass through the next densely populated tendril of our ‘spiral galaxy.’
Re: Re:
“we don’t have the empirical evidence”
We have empirical evidence that the conditions in many galaxies are very detrimental to life as we know it. We have empirical evidence that some galaxies are very similar to our own. Do some research, there is an abundance of data for your perusal.
“to make such estimates”
What do you think an estimate is?
“But I suppose it’s fun to make guesses”
This is what humans do. The professional guessers are called scientists.
Not sure what your point is here but it may be worth pointing out that life on this planet has survived many orbits of this galaxy. The universe is full of very violent events, nowhere is safe, and yet life exists – go figure.
Gamma Rays
So what they are saying is that most planets can only support the Incredible Hulk?
You mean we won't meet other humans?
I read the story in the second link and was very disappointed. I’ve been watching sci-fi movies for years and I always assumed life on planets thousands of light-years away would simply be humans with different noses or foreheads. At least, that’s what “Star Trek” taught me. 🙂
Who knows maybe our galaxy was created to be a life ship with the sun being its power core , or maybe we are in a flushing toilet spinning to our demise.
I went to a Neil deGrasse Tyson lecture last night. He was asked if he thought there was intelligent life somewhere out there. His response? I don’t know.
I could swear I once read a science fiction story where a crew landed on a supposedly lifeless alien planet, spent some time there and left, never knowing that the weird crystal formations were actually highly intelligent beings who had their own advanced society.
(no, it wasn’t the Stargate episode with the blue crystals)
Headless Aliens
Don’t tell ET but rumor has it that in Area 69 the feds have a decapitated alien’s rainbow corpse.