What would you do?

Discussion in 'Astronomy, Exobiology, & Cosmology' started by kim, Aug 26, 2001.

  1. kim Registered Member

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    4
    Hey all,
    Just a couple of questions about your thoughts, I hope you can help me:
    1. What do you believe about the existence of extra-terrestrial life?
    2. How do you think you would react to proof of ETs, or actual contact with ETs?
    That's all I need to know for now, but any other comments on aliens/the likely-hood of their existence etc would be really helpful. Thanks!
     
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  3. wet1 Wanderer Registered Senior Member

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    Kim, I wish to welcome you to Sciforums.

    I think that it would be a real eye opener for the world at large and a large shock for the religious community. It would probably require a long period of time for some of the religions to come to grips with such a discovery.

    On the other hand it would also require a long time for some of our civilizations to come to grips with the same knowledge. You know, we have for centuries thought about life on other worlds but so far have had no burning sword to show that here be life in other places. I could not in good faith say it would have no effect. Even the one celled variety has raised some eye brows as with the well known Martian meteor. Just think of all the hubbub it has stirred and we haven't even heard a little of what went on in the scientific community over it.
     
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  5. Neb Registered Senior Member

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    103
    I believe its possible,given the size of the universe and how little we know about it.
    I think reactions would all depend on the freindliness of our visitors,i'd be heading for the hills if they came down blazing,so would everyone else though I guess.
    Personally I believe if there is life out there then it would be a great oppurtunity to learn from them.
     
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  7. wet1 Wanderer Registered Senior Member

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    I am afraid that if such were the case that I would be a whole lot reserved. Guess I've seen to many scifi movies like V.
     
  8. Neb Registered Senior Member

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    was V that show were they ate mice and stuff, that was on when I was heaps young and it scared the begeebaz out of me.
     
  9. wet1 Wanderer Registered Senior Member

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    8,616
    It was the one where they came for the benefit of mankind only to show up later with the you are our slaves mentality. And yea I think they did have an affinity for mice...
     
  10. Hevene Registered Senior Member

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    I believe the possibility of have extra-terrestrial intelligence out there because of the vast universe. But I think the possibilities are low. We are only able to survive on Earth because we can obtain warmth from the sun, and obtain food and etc. Based on human, it is not possible to live in extreme cold or hot conditions. At the centre of the unverse there's too much radiations and at the edge, there's too little, so life might not form in those conditions. Similarily, narrowe down to galaxies, the centre is too hot, and the edge is too cold, once again the possibility are narrowed down.
    Also, humans are carbon based. In order to make life, the compositions must allow it to do so, it is possible to have life based of silicon mainly because it allows more combination of compounds as it can form 4 bonds, but it requires much more energy to go through chemical reaction, thus detroyes the tissus. From that, the possibility reduced to only carbon based life forms.
    Since the universe are huge, these conditions could be met, but the correct condition doesn't mean life; the correct element doesn't mean the production of amino acids (again based on human). I'm not saying there's no possibility, but the possibility are small.
     
  11. wet1 Wanderer Registered Senior Member

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    8,616
    Very good points, Hevene. Ones that I find no arguement with. I am afraid I have to agree here.
     
  12. Hevene Registered Senior Member

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    Thanks
     
  13. Neb Registered Senior Member

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    Yes hevene when you put it like that its a hard point to dispute.
    I just wonder how many planets like Earth exist in the universe, based on your points that would be the only chance of E.T life.
     
  14. Hevene Registered Senior Member

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    369
    There got to be planets like Earth out there as there's just so many galaxies. In every one of those, there got to be a place where life could form. Even at the edge, the radation produced by the centre of the galaxy can still provide the necessity of life. But the formation of life requires more than just the basics, the whether conditions are also important.
     
  15. kmguru Staff Member

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    I have a few questions too for anyone care to answer:

    In our solar system, do all the planets are completely different as to composition or there are two (or more) that are very close? Is there a relationship between composition and distance from the sun? Is Venus same size as Earth?

    Have we found other Suns that are close to ours in size and energy output?

    If it so happens that there are a lot of Suns like ours and a few have a planet the size of ours, then life is possible. The problem may be, each galaxy could have only 3 to 5 earth like planets spread out at equal distance to the galactic center. Then those planets could be anywhere from 1000 to 50,000 lightyears away. If you travel 1000 times the speed of light, you may make it in one year. If it turns out that we can not break the light barrier, then, they will be in their corner, and we will be in ours.

    And from galaxy to galaxy, the distance could be prohibitive to travel any otherway than imagination! My feeling is that we should be looking for signals from any advanced civilization who might have sent it 1000 years ago. Unless the aliens are close to one of our spiral arms, we may not get any signal from the other side of our galaxy 50,000 light-years away.

    May be only one earth per galaxy!
     
  16. machaon Registered Senior Member

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    Alien life? Well, um...yes.

    I, personally, find it much more difficult to believe that our planet is the only loacation in the universe where life can be found, than to believe that in all the universe there exist no conditions outside of Earth capable of supporting a wide array of life. It would seem sensible to me to assume that too much of the universe remains unobserved to make a valid statement AGAINST extraterrestial life. We have yet to observe anything that can not (in theory) exist anywhere else in the universe. Why should the observer be exempt? Believe Human beings are in some way unique or special? I would suggest you bite down and accept the intellectual growing pains that will dissolve such misconceptions. Our life form may be unique in the sense that a fingerprint is unique. There very well may be no Humans out there. That we should proud of. But I can almost assure you that Life exist in other places and other ways.
     
  17. wet1 Wanderer Registered Senior Member

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    kmguru,
    You have laid your finger on exactly part of what I have a problem with in seeing any exo-life arriving here from parts unknown.

    The majority of stars are binary. Single stars are less common. Now I am sure that there are stable orbits that can be figured up for binary stars that allow planets to exist with them. Only, at what chance would there be for life to develop which a double dose of star light, solar wind, intense magnetic fields, and radation?

    The next thing is distance apart. And this is a huge problem. At our distance from the galactic center I have read that it is estimated that we could have been among the first to see life that developed due to the intensity of raditation that most of the core of stars have. Further, any quasar, nova, or supernova, stands a good chance to knocking out life where the stars are closer together. I seem to remember that at the core the density is approximately 1 star every light year. A nova is expected to fry a planet within 10-13 lights. At the halo is a lot of super heated, ionized gas. I could not tell you what it would take to make a comfortable living area and what it would need to protect any life.

    3 to 5 intellegent species per galaxy may even be stretching it.
    True, we have no way of knowing. Added to it is the old arguement that in order to communicate that both ciz\vilizations have to be near at par. Otherwise 1 may be talking via signal flags and the other with lasers. Not much communication going to go one there!
     
  18. kmguru Staff Member

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    11,757
    While I agree that even 3 to 5 Earths are streching it. I am relying on an old standby called "Symmetry". Nature has a tendency to create symmetry in its creation. So, I can bet that there is an Earth at the opposite side of our spiral arm. I am not sure about the short arms though, for the reasons you mentioned.

    And about the communication, if they are a little more advanced, that will work. Because, they can take account that we may be backward, otherwise they can not communicate, if we are ahead. What that means is that when we have lasers, we should look for the smoke signals too.
     
  19. wet1 Wanderer Registered Senior Member

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    While compension can be made for backward technology, I am sure that you would agree that at present smoke signals would not be something we could pick up. It is further compounded by the idea that by galactic time this intellegent species existing on a planet is very short in nature. I mean look at the span of time from when the earth first cooled until now. When compared to the time we have been active on the planet, we are literally in the last second of the last minute and haven't completed the second yet. If we are among the first to evolve then there is no one to talk to. Worse, we may not last long enough to have our message heard before we kill ourselves off with nuclear war, biologic war, or another planet killer asteriod comes to visit us.
     

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