Oolite Bulletins

Perhaps this is interesting to some here:

http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=29392

Cheers

L

what a waste of time and money, do those idiots really think they will achieve anything? do they even know how big this universe is? the answer to if there are life on other planets and if there are planets that support life, is obvious, there are, to both questions

why? because space is so fecking huge, I need to dig up some of the vids that explain the size of of the suns and more beside, our own sun, is tiny compared to the largest sun, even that is tiny compared to the largest galaxy known, our own galaxy isn't the largest by the long shot, plus there are many more beyond our viewing range, when the question gets asked, is there life on other planets, anyone that says no, needs to drink a Pan-Galactic Gargle Blaster or taken to the back somewhere and shot

we aren't alone, the universe is too large for us to be alone in, granted not every planet will support life, but has it ever occurred to people, that aliens don't need to live in the same conditions as humans, considering THERE IS LIFE at the bottom of the oceans, life not plant life (no sun) but actual life, humans have such a dim view on this subject at times, there is life out there, I know this in my heart

edit

found the vids on the size of the universe

we are tiny in comparison to the vastness of space
Planets, Stars, Nebulae, Galaxies - Universe Size Comparison 2009 [HD]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FwCMnyW ... r_embedded

Star Size Comparison HD
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HEheh1BH ... re=related

if anyone still things were are utterly alone after watching both vids, get your coat and leave the building,

I don't think it's a waste of money. It's finding out something new, is all. And – although I personally feel that, if there is no life anywhere else in the universe, then the universe is ludicrously weird – the presence of life elsewhere is merely a belief until we find evidence. At the moment that belief is merely based on an estimate of statistical probability. I prefer science to faith.

"Inhabited" is another issue. Inhabited by slime moulds, or by intelligent beings? Maybe we are the only sentient creatures anywhere in the universe. I find it ridiculously unlikely, but again, that's just a belief. What's wrong with taking a little look-see? If nothing else it might start to give us a bit more data to plug into the Drake equation.

Common sense says there is other life out there.

Science says there isn't until proved otherwise.

Science also tends to look for existing things (ie, in this case, metabolisms similar to what we find here on Earth, hence the obsession with liquid water and oxygen etc). That this is clearly a vast reduction of the problem space is understood. But until/unless we discover life based on completely other metabolisms we simply won't be able to build (and test!) sensors which can reliably detect biomarkers based on these other metabolism.

but have you seen the vids I linked too? have you seen how big this universe is or partly is? we are simply a dot, no, not even that, a speck, even that would be too large, people have the sums wrong, the probability of us being alone against that amount of galaxies / planets, you would have more chance winning the lottery every week, then if you say we are completely alone, the chance of our existence would to be frank, impossible,

even our own galaxy has loads of stars, but then there are loads of galaxies, even our own isn't that big compared to some, watch the vids if you haven't already, they are a real eye opener, we aren't alone, simply because the universe is too big, even then we don't know all the galaxies out there, there are many, many many ... more beyond our field of view, and you still say we are alone?

For all practical matters: As long as the distances are vast enough to prevent us from ever contacting another intelligence (or even knowing about its existence), yes, we are alone, regardless of the number of intelligent civilisations out there.

matthewfarmery wrote:

[...] there are many, many many ... more beyond our field of view, and you still say we are alone?

No, I just say it's not yet proved either way. I think we're not alone in the universe – but that's merely a belief. I'd like to back it up with a bit of evidence. Maybe the universe is bizarre to a near-infinite degree, and we are the only speck of life in the whole vast nothingness. Until we look, until we find evidence of extraterrestrial (and extrasolar) life, my belief that we're not alone is worthless. Making statistical predictions when we don't know what all the variables are is useless. Gather some more data.

Speaking as the Chairman of a local Astronomical Society - I can't think of a single question I'd like answered more than - "Is there actually other life out there?"

Theoretical calculations are exactly that, they prove the sum total of diddly squat. Evidence is all that counts.

Practically, at our current level of technology, we're effectively marooned in space, but it's pure 21st century arrogance to assume we'll never find a mechanism to travel faster than light, or bypass space/time entirely. In every generation there’s an assumption that technology has reached a peak - it's a fallacy. I firmly believe we can reach out to the stars, I just wish I could be around to see it.

Yes, we've found life in more hostile environments than we might have original suspected, but it still requires a certain size stable sun, the right size planet, in the right orbit, with the right composition, a magnetic field, a sizeable moon, a gas giant in a distance orbit and many other a priori requirements that our solar system has fortitiously provided.

We could, despite the protestations to the contrary, be alone in the universe. Humanity needs an answer to that question.

More power to them I say. The social, political and religious ramifications of a discovery of that nature would be colossal.

Cheers,

Drew.

have any of you read Arthur C. Clarke's novels Rendezvous with Rama series? very good reads all of them, a massive probe comes to our solar system, a team gets setup to have a look at it, as there is only a limited timeframe before it goes around the sun and out of the system, however, man has colonised many of the planets, but they are pretty much independent of Earth, and when this probe came to visit, it inflamed an already volatile situation between the different factions, as for the team, they weren't that well equipped to deal with Rama, or what they found inside,

the second book follow on a fair bit later then another probe comes to visit, anyone not read these books, a must read, as always C Clark at his best

drew wrote:

The social, political and religious ramifications of a discovery of that nature would be colossal.

This always gets said.

I fail to see why anything should change. Some religions, perhaps, theology also, but social & political changes? Unless some form of contact could also be established I really fail to see why such a discovery (apart from being THE news for a while) would change anything whatsoever for the average Joe.

Given all the sci-fi (or future fantasy depending on how pedantic one wants to be) that has conditioned us over the last century or so, I'd say the majority would take such a discovery pretty much in their strides.

Micha wrote:

drew wrote:

The social, political and religious ramifications of a discovery of that nature would be colossal.

This always gets said.

I fail to see why anything should change. Some religions, perhaps, theology also, but social & political changes? Unless some form of contact could also be established I really fail to see why such a discovery (apart from being THE news for a while) would change anything whatsoever for the average Joe.

Given all the sci-fi (or future fantasy depending on how pedantic one wants to be) that has conditioned us over the last century or so, I'd say the majority would take such a discovery pretty much in their strides.

indeed, but its more likly that the governemnts would try to cover it up, and only allow it to be public knowledge if its impossible to cover up, a gient spaceship in the sky for example

matthewfarmery wrote:

indeed, but its more likly that the governemnts would try to cover it up, and only allow it to be public knowledge if its impossible to cover up, a gient spaceship in the sky for example

And it's entirely possible that that has already happened. But no one can control an entire scientific sector, and knowing that twenty light years in that direction are other life forms would be something else than assuming or suspecting it.

Therefore, I'm all for this research. It's the next best thing to going there and looking, and we can't (or won't) yet do that.

I don't think any government would have the chance of covering it up, even if they wanted to. The most likely evidence for extraterrestrial life to be found any time soon – barring a first contact scenario or a SETI signal – will come from astronomers spotting large quantities of free oxygen in the atmosphere of extrasolar planets, suggestive of (but not absolute proof of) biological processes. It's not really something they'd want to cover up, even assuming they had the capability.

Some people in the US are scared of the UN, Some are scared of different ethnic groups and spread stereotypes and rumors. Can you imagine what would happen if there was a completely different race, with no day to day experience to dispel rumors?

Micha wrote:

drew wrote:

The social, political and religious ramifications of a discovery of that nature would be colossal.

This always gets said.

I fail to see why anything should change. Some religions, perhaps, theology also, but social & political changes? Unless some form of contact could also be established I really fail to see why such a discovery (apart from being THE news for a while) would change anything whatsoever for the average Joe.

Given all the sci-fi (or future fantasy depending on how pedantic one wants to be) that has conditioned us over the last century or so, I'd say the majority would take such a discovery pretty much in their strides.

watch district 9, I think that is a good film to indicate what people would think of an alien race, if it ever comes here, forget the US we will save the world BS, as they are more likely to do the opposite IMO

but it would do a great deal, for good and bad, I don'[t think many would be happy if an alien races comes to visit, the US would cover it up or try too, if they aren't already, many others would have different reactions, it may turn nasty after a while