oooo exciting news

[Shagrat]

This one piqued my interest:

NASA to make MAJOR ALIENS REVELATION this week ? The Register

wonder what theyre going to reveal. Looking at some of those attending from NASA some of them have done work on "shadow biospheres" so it may be that its some form of organism that thrives in a different atmosphere, maybe arsenic like some of Titans atmosphere.

If thats the case, it opens up the amount of planets that we could detect life on to massive percentages. No longer need to look just in the goldilocks zone.

 

[Tom]

Its always seemed odd to me that we consider that only planets in a certain zone can sustain life. The atmosphere of a gas giant can be a pretty hot and energetic place, I see no reason why life might not evolve in such an environment.

 

[Raven]

Only ignorant people think our planet is the only one to sustain life in the universe.

 

[caLLous]

Yeah, it's also a very selfish and arrogant view, like we are literally the centre of the universe. If it's as infinite as all that (and it hurts my head to start thinking about the infiniteness of it all), then there are surely an infinite number of life-sustainable situations (planets the right distance from a star etc) throughout it.

 

[Shagrat]

I suppose at the moment its all about percentages though isnt it.

They know an earth like planet at the distant from this type of star, or a planet with water is the best bet for a positive hit (as thats where we are), so thats where the limited amount of telescope time goes.

 

[Ch3tan]

Only ignorant people think our planet is the only one to sustain life in the universe.

Fuck off, next you'll be telling me we are descended from apes. As if.

 

[Wonk]

aye, saw it a yesterday. It's going to be exciting

NASA - NASA Sets News Conference on Astrobiology Discovery; Science Journal Has Embargoed Details Until 2 p.m. EST On Dec. 2

 

[Embattle]

Rare Earth hypothesis - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[Zenith.UK]

Yeah, it's also a very selfish and arrogant view, like we are literally the centre of the universe. If it's as infinite as all that (and it hurts my head to start thinking about the infiniteness of it all), then there are surely an infinite number of life-sustainable situations (planets the right distance from a star etc) throughout it.

Ahhh... Douglas Adams rises from the grave.

It is known that there are an infinite number of worlds, simply because there is an infinite amount of space for them to be in. However, not every one of them is inhabited. Therefore, there must be a finite number of inhabited worlds. Any finite number divided by infinity is as near to nothing as makes no odds, so the average population of all the planets in the Universe can be said to be zero. From this it follows that the population of the whole Universe is also zero, and that any people you may meet from time to time are merely the products of a deranged imagination.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Wikiquote

 

[ilaya]

was also announced today that astronomers now believe there are 3 times as many stars in universe than what they thought.... eek.

 

[Ormorof]

the Sun broke the embargo, apparently the news will be to do with a type of bacteria that can survive in Arsenic that has been found naturally on earth, this opens up possibility of life surviving without Phosphorus (and thus broadening the types of planets life can survive on)

that said ive always thought it a bit odd that its assumed that life can only survive on "earth like" planets, why does it have to be so? why cant life (bacteria or whatever) survive on other non-earth like planets?!

 

[Marc]

wow, how underwhelming

 

[Wonk]

If that's the whole story, then it's indeed very underwhelming.

 

[Raven]

From a biological viewpoint its actually quite major, it proves life can survive in very different atmospheres to our own thus increasing the chance of finding life by a huge amount.

I wouldn't expect a few scientists to be the ones that announce that actual life has been discovered other than on Earth, it would no doubt be the president as it would be such a massive event.

 

[Ormorof]

yeah its quite neat, even jsut a few months ago the Royal Society scientists working on the Beagle 2 stuff on mars said "you'd have to be off your rockers to bother looking for Arsenic based life! total science fiction!"

and now they've found it... woop woop

 

[rynnor]

Tbh we'd be better off if there is no other intelligent life in the universe - un-intelligent is fine tho.

I have a theory that all intelligent species eventually wipe themselves out that would account for the lack of response to our searches for them

 

[Ormorof]

doesnt sound too intelligent to me!

though im with Stephen Hawking on this one, if aliens did show up, they wouldnt be friendly... it would be like Europeans arriving in the americans back in colombus' time

Aliens; "here have some shiny beads, we only want that ice continent, not like you are using it for anything!"
Earthlings; "well ok then... oooooooooooooooh shiny beads..."
Aliens; "Bwuahahaha now we have a landing point all your base are belong to us!"

 

[xomer]

Tbh we'd be better off if there is no other intelligent life in the universe - un-intelligent is fine tho.

I have a theory that all intelligent species eventually wipe themselves out that would account for the lack of response to our searches for them

i agree on this point of view.

It's not a theory its the reality.

 

[Marc]

From a biological viewpoint its actually quite major, it proves life can survive in very different atmospheres to our own thus increasing the chance of finding life by a huge amount.

We already knew this though. There are organisms that survive in lava

 

[Raven]

Lava is not poisonous. Just hot.

Its completely different from something that lives in an entirely different chemical atmosphere.

Up to now we have only seen life forms that use the same atmosphere as us, that feed on oxygen. People have theorised that organisms could feed from other gases/sources but it has never been proved because so far no organism has been found that does so.

This means that the rule book of the goldilocks planet gets torn up. Not to hot, not to cold, just the right atmosphere etc etc.

 

[Marc]

Lava is not poisonous. Just hot.

Its completely different from something that lives in an entirely different chemical atmosphere.

Up to now we have only seen life forms that use the same atmosphere as us, that feed on oxygen. People have theorised that organisms could feed from other gases/sources but it has never been proved because so far no organism has been found that does so.

This means that the rule book of the goldilocks planet gets torn up. Not to hot, not to cold, just the right atmosphere etc etc.

Cheers for clearing that up mate. makes more sense now as to why its big news. Repped

 

[Roo Stercogburn]

Just under an hour and a half until the announcement.

I know its likely to just be an organism type thing but I'm still looking forward to finding out

And fuck all you who think everyone is automatically out to get you. You deserve your paranoid little mind prisons.

 

[Raven]

Yeah I wouldn't call the sun a reliable source of information, they would just make a story up to call it a "world exclusive"

 

[rynnor]

BBC News - Arsenic-loving bacteria may help in hunt for alien life

 

[Vasconcelos]

Generally I always wondered why all the common theories are focused around life being based on carbon.

Isnt it posible to find life based in other elements?

 

[TdC]

According to X Files, Silicone is a good second


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firewalker_(The_X-Files)

 

[TdC]

Fuck off, next you'll be telling me we are descended from apes. As if.

perhaps. next time I rape a frog I'll let you know

 

[Roo Stercogburn]

Bah, can't get NASA TV where I am just now. I'll have to wait to find out.

 

[Zenith.UK]

According to X Files, Silicone is a good second


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firewalker_(The_X-Files)

I'm not sure silicone is quite what you mean...

Silicon instead of carbon though... now that's an idea. They're directly next to each other on the periodic table so share some similarities (s2p2 valency for example). Carbon's C-C bonds are stronger than Silicon's Si-Si bonds so while you could make silicon equivalents of carbon compounds, they'd be far less stable.

Using sulphur instead of oxygen to oxidise biochemical functions is another idea. Some bacteria have already been discovered which use this method.

 

[TdC]

I'm not sure silicone is quite what you mean...

hahaha my bad!