Alien Life do you believe?

[Bonzo the Fifth]

We've gone beyond the Drake equation, it's coming to life...We are at 552 extra solar planets confirmed and counting. At least 2-3 of these may harbor a planet in the "Goldilocks" zone. 10% around stars like our own. Kepler may have discovered 1200 more already. 54 in the habitable zone. There are 100 to 400 BILLION stars in the galaxy alone...up to possibly 50 billion planets! We have evidence of ONE life bearing planet so far. The odds would seem to be against there not being any other sentient life in the universe.

RAMA

Indeed.... While not proven empirically (and possibly may not ever be), I'd say it's more or less a foregone conclusion that life exists SOMEWHERE else, and chances are good that even INTELLIGENT life exists out there, as well... yeah, it may not exist out there, but there's really nothing special or unique in our makeup that makes Earth the only place in all the zillions of planets and star systems that life could have possibly occurred. And that's just talking about Carbon-based life. Who knows what other permutations on intelligence or natural selection could exist out there that we wouldn't even recognize with what we currently know? Different size or timescales, perhaps? The possible existence of alien life/intelligence isn't a crackpot notion like moon hoaxing or holocaust denial.

That being said, the idea that said life has managed to travel all the way out here to probe rednecks in the boondocks... now that's crazy... I mean, we've borne witness to the difficulty of detecting life on other worlds... think about it, how would a society be able to detect US? Radio signals don't travel that far (last I heard, our broadcast transmissions get washed away by galactic background noise as soon as it leaves the heliopause). Our planet doesn't look significantly different from before we evolved on it. An alien civilization might be able to deduce that life arose here due to atmospheric analysis, but they would never be able to guess OUR existence... we're just too small... and if aliens are anything like us, I can't imagine them spending the doubtless exorbitant amount of resources necessary just to check out the possible microbial life on this insignificant planet. Robot probes, maybe, if the civilization is old and technically proficient enough, but surely, they'll be a remote probe, and not something that would reach the surface and collect samples... that's just not practical for a long range probe. Data is much more compact and easier to transport than physical specimens.

In other words, if anyone ever did fine out about us, we'll never know it.

 

[Bonzo the Fifth]

Hmmm... Let's see! Without the sun all living thing on earth would die. The plants need the sunlight to make food, the herbivores eat the plants, and carnivores eat the herbivores. The plankton in the oceans need sunlight which are food for the fish and whales. Because we came from the star, we still need the star to survive.

Without the universe the star couldn't have existed. The universe was created first so what matters that was left after the big bang could behave certain way according to the law of physics in this universe.

I don't know how to explain to you fully, but everything is interconnected, even the life on this earth. they all depends on each other for survival. The atoms is made of electrons, protons and neutrons...without them you wouldn't have atoms.

Well, of course, it's all connected.... nothing in the universe happens ex nihlo... the problem with questions that start like that is that you're asking the wrong question. What it sounds like you're getting at is whether the universe is self-contained, or if there was something else, the philisophical Prime Mover or Divine Watchmaker, that started/maintains the machine, so to speak, which would be the source of any 'meaning' you wish to ascribe to the universe, or if the whole process was entirely self-contained, self-creating, and thus, has no greater meaning, just a marvelous, beautiful coincidence that we're fortunate enough to exist within...

Personally, I prefer the latter, as it allows us to create our own meaning as far as what the universe means for us, which, to me, makes it much more valuable and precious than feeling like a pawn or drone in some ineffable creator's plan...

This is a misnomer...the Universe was not created, it came into being.

RAMA

True. That was a misspeak on my part... although technically, even 'came into being' is a bit of a misnomer, since we don't know what, if anything the Universe derived from... vocabulary doesn't exist for how the universe became the universe. It just is. While the Big Bang does have a lot of evidence supporting it, it's still somewhat conditional depending on future advances in quantum physics and cosmology as to whether the universe actually has a finite age or not. If not, the universe may not have 'came to be' at all...

 

[Butters]

There is likely only one real purpose in life...survival.

RAMA

I disagree. There is the biological prerogative to pass on ones genes, but beyond that, the philosophical purpose of life is nothing more and nothing less than to experience ones existence. The meaning of life is akin to the meaning of a rollercoaster, its there to be experienced, but it can only be appreciated in the context of before and after, which we're not privy to.

Life is a collection of things happening, from a perspective external to our experences, there is no difference between excruciating and exhilarting, there is no good and bad. To illustrate, picture two individuals in isolation, living out their lives alone in a cell. In all their lives nothing happens to either of them till the day they die, except one of them gets a kick in the nads at age 15. Which one had the richest life?

 

[RAMA]

There is likely only one real purpose in life...survival.

RAMA

I disagree. There is the biological prerogative to pass on ones genes, but beyond that, the philosophical purpose of life is nothing more and nothing less than to experience ones existence. The meaning of life is akin to the meaning of a rollercoaster, its there to be experienced, but it can only be appreciated in the context of before and after, which we're not privy to.

Life is a collection of things happening, from a perspective external to our experences, there is no difference between excruciating and exhilarting, there is no good and bad. To illustrate, picture two individuals in isolation, living out their lives alone in a cell. In all their lives nothing happens to either of them till the day they die, except one of them gets a kick in the nads at age 15. Which one had the richest life?

Of course you and I think so, but I don't think ultimately it has any meaning to the universe...

Well, of course, it's all connected.... nothing in the universe happens ex nihlo... the problem with questions that start like that is that you're asking the wrong question. What it sounds like you're getting at is whether the universe is self-contained, or if there was something else, the philisophical Prime Mover or Divine Watchmaker, that started/maintains the machine, so to speak, which would be the source of any 'meaning' you wish to ascribe to the universe, or if the whole process was entirely self-contained, self-creating, and thus, has no greater meaning, just a marvelous, beautiful coincidence that we're fortunate enough to exist within...

Personally, I prefer the latter, as it allows us to create our own meaning as far as what the universe means for us, which, to me, makes it much more valuable and precious than feeling like a pawn or drone in some ineffable creator's plan...

This is a misnomer...the Universe was not created, it came into being.

RAMA

True. That was a misspeak on my part... although technically, even 'came into being' is a bit of a misnomer, since we don't know what, if anything the Universe derived from... vocabulary doesn't exist for how the universe became the universe. It just is. While the Big Bang does have a lot of evidence supporting it, it's still somewhat conditional depending on future advances in quantum physics and cosmology as to whether the universe actually has a finite age or not. If not, the universe may not have 'came to be' at all...

Seems likely to me--by no means conclusive--that the universe both comes into being and infinite...it continually emerges from a singularity, expands, is "destroyed" and then other universes are created, satisfying both observable events and answering "philosophical" questions that really have no practical scientific meaning...as physics breaks down before the singularity. In the resulting twilight universe, the surviving races of the cosmos that have evolved from several technological/transbiological singularities are the ones that somehow can also evolve beyond this ending, and may well spread to other universes/multiverses.

RAMA

 

[Paradon]

Intelligent beings need to do more than just survive. We need companionship, and love from others...and we want to feel like we matter in the world (why do you think you all like Star Trek so much?). Life for us is all about sex, getting married, falling in love, and having fun with friends and family; we need hobbies; we cry and laugh on certain occasions.

So, live life to the fullest while it last; enjoy our days in the suns. That's the purpose of life! I think! Life is not just a period. It continues on and on...whether we procreate, passing on our genes and legacy, and being alive in peoples' memories and having our experience get passed on to the younger generations. Maybe they don't remember how and why their parents and grandparents did certain things this or that way, but the experience was passed on from the ancestor. Everything you do leaves an impression on someone and affected their lives in some ways. Whether you're a teacher, priests, or gardener...you can affect or touch someone's lives in ways you dont even know. It is up to you how you want to leave your legacy.

 

[RAMA]

http://planetquest.jpl.nasa.gov/atlas/atlas_index.cfm

 

[Deckerd]

http://planetquest.jpl.nasa.gov/atlas/atlas_index.cfm

It's not looking that promising so far. I'm prepared to stick my neck out here and say that before I die, no 'Earth-like' planet will have been discovered. If one is, before I die, I'll buy you all a round at The Mitre, Edinburgh.

 

[Butters]

http://planetquest.jpl.nasa.gov/atlas/atlas_index.cfm

It's not looking that promising so far. I'm prepared to stick my neck out here and say that before I die, no 'Earth-like' planet will have been discovered. If one is, before I die, I'll buy you all a round at The Mitre, Edinburgh.

I'd have to be terminal, very wealthy, or just darned old to make that sort of wager. Not much has turned up yet, but it wasn't long ago that we could be sure even our planetary system wasn't unique.

Mines a pint of bitter, and a pickled egg while you're at the bar.

 

[RAMA]

http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2011/05/who-needs-a-moon.html

 

[RAMA]

http://planetquest.jpl.nasa.gov/atlas/atlas_index.cfm

It's not looking that promising so far. I'm prepared to stick my neck out here and say that before I die, no 'Earth-like' planet will have been discovered. If one is, before I die, I'll buy you all a round at The Mitre, Edinburgh.

Well there are already up to 57 that might fit that description...

 

[Paradon]

Who knows what we might fine if we develop the ability to travel light years away into other parts of galaxy and universe? I don't think we will ever know for sure if we haven't seen it with our own eyes. Who knows what the hell is out there and what condition is like in other parts of galaxy because the universe is so big? We make an educated guess here on earth from data we gather, but is it enough to make any kind of decisive conclusion, and is it even close to the truth. I think we may never know.

 

[Paradon]

I think it we will never know because traveling light years away would impossible. We wouldnt' have enough energy to travel so far away. Even if we use up all the raw material on earth, it's not even enough.

 

[JarodRussell]

If there is a God, who both created the universe and humans,there would be a purpose for us being in this huge universe. Which means that there actually would be a way for us to travel through the entire universe in a reasonable amount of time.

But I don't believe in such a thing. Life on Earth is a very, very, very random coincidence. You need a planet at the right distance to the sun, it needs to be the right sun, the planets needs to be the right age, the solar system needs to be the right age, the solar systems needs to be at the right distance from the galaxy core, because otherwise the star system doesn't have the necessary chemical elements. The planet core needs to be liquid with an iron core, otherwise no magnetic field that protects life from radiation. Then we have the moon which stabalizes the planet. Causes tides so that life could go from water to land. Stablizes the rotation, the rotation axis, everything. We have Jupiter, which protects us from major bullets. Etc, etc, etc, and so forth.

 

[JonnyQuest037]

I do think that there is intelligent life on other planets. Whether or not we'll ever make contact with such life is another question.

 

[RAMA]

If there is a God, who both created the universe and humans,there would be a purpose for us being in this huge universe. Which means that there actually would be a way for us to travel through the entire universe in a reasonable amount of time.

But I don't believe in such a thing. Life on Earth is a very, very, very random coincidence. You need a planet at the right distance to the sun, it needs to be the right sun, the planets needs to be the right age, the solar system needs to be the right age, the solar systems needs to be at the right distance from the galaxy core, because otherwise the star system doesn't have the necessary chemical elements. The planet core needs to be liquid with an iron core, otherwise no magnetic field that protects life from radiation. Then we have the moon which stabalizes the planet. Causes tides so that life could go from water to land. Stablizes the rotation, the rotation axis, everything. We have Jupiter, which protects us from major bullets. Etc, etc, etc, and so forth.

Some of these conditions are suppositions and we have been surprised many times by planet/moon evolution and where life exists on Earth. There is already a report that a scientist has found a way Earth-like planets could exist without a gas giant...

The requirement for the evolution of life on Earth: Infinite chance meeting infinite resources for life. Any development is likely to exist, and even exist again.

RAMA

 

[Paradon]

If there is a God, who both created the universe and humans,there would be a purpose for us being in this huge universe. Which means that there actually would be a way for us to travel through the entire universe in a reasonable amount of time.

But I don't believe in such a thing. Life on Earth is a very, very, very random coincidence. You need a planet at the right distance to the sun, it needs to be the right sun, the planets needs to be the right age, the solar system needs to be the right age, the solar systems needs to be at the right distance from the galaxy core, because otherwise the star system doesn't have the necessary chemical elements. The planet core needs to be liquid with an iron core, otherwise no magnetic field that protects life from radiation. Then we have the moon which stabalizes the planet. Causes tides so that life could go from water to land. Stablizes the rotation, the rotation axis, everything. We have Jupiter, which protects us from major bullets. Etc, etc, etc, and so forth.

I don't think there is such thing as coincidence. Things happens because there are reasons for them to happen. You just have to know where to look. Kindda like solving crimes. If Something happened, it meant somebody was up to no good; you just have to know where to look for clues and how to proceed. I don't think we will ever know for sure how this universe came to be, but I'm glad it did; otherwise we wouldn't be here.

 

[Paradon]

Life isn't just simply a matter of to be or not to be... It's about enjoying oneself, being with your love ones (friends and family), having your voices heard, making an impact on other people, maybe even making a difference, and making your life meaningful. That is the purpose of life.

 

[kewin2011]

I think there is some kind of life somewhere far away, I can’t tell whether they are aliens but if we live in this kind of planet why can’t other living things live somewhere we don’t know.

 

[Paradon]

According to studies, for life to exist the planets have to be similar to our own, but we will never know what the condition is like in other parts of galaxies and universe unless we can go there and see it with our own eyes. We assumes a lot of things base on the data we gather but nobody knows for sure what it's like out there. For example, we won't know for sure what a black hole really is until we can travel there and see it for ourselves; we can only make educated guess from here on earth.

 

[Gary7]

Speaking of life... What is the purpose of life? If you look at everything in the universe, they all follow certain laws of physics...and one thing lead to next. You can break it down and see what each matter and why do the stars and planets and energy behave this way...for what reasons. They all have purpose in the universe. So I ask what is the purpose of life? If there is an intelligent life on this planet, it is possible their might be some in other solar systems and other parts of galaxy.

What's the purpose of forming stars and planets? We do not know for certain, as there's far too little information to identify it. So, for speculation... it could very well be that every star and planet formation is a random arbitrary physical event that simply happens because of the celestial matter out there, gathering, colliding and combining. Why?

Well, it could be that the seemingly random events eventually hit upon a unique series of circumstances that allow for life to form on particular planet(s) in a given solar system. In nature, there are billions upon billions of experiments... of random trial and error, mutations, etc, until the right combination of things happen and the result is sustained, replicated, perpetuated.

Why does form life on planets? What possible benefit could there be to ANYTHING outside the planet? The presence of life on a planet makes no difference to the other nearby planetary bodies and certainly not to the star around which they orbit.

My speculation is that this happens over, and over, and over again... many thousands upon thousands of times, the right environmental conditions occur to give rise to some form of life. Until eventually, the life that forms manages to become complex. Complex enough to evolve and develop the ability to invent. And those inventions lead to a propagation... that eventually leads to that life being able to leave the home planet and venture out into space. A more organized and highly evolved means of spreading life to other parts of the galaxy (rather than some organic compounds hitching a ride on a comet). We may very well be that random chance form of life that can make it... or we may fail. We're certainly at a tenuous point right now, the adolescence of technology that may either propel us to an amazing future ahead, or may inevitably result in our destruction (one group invents powerful capabilities that is stolen by another group that is degenerate, who destroys all in a fit of primitive delusion; or a majority create amazing inventions but without social accountability, and through lack of sufficient moral fiber and awareness inevitably poison the very environments that are needed to thrive in).