Science about to prove the existence of life outside of our planet?

We have had a number of amazing developments in Science recently that to me has massive implications.

We have found water on Mars and evidence of past oceans on the surface. Fragments of rock from Mars possibly containing fossilized bacteria and now, it is the opinion of many people within the scientific community that it was once very much like Earth today.

The moon Titan has a atmosphere, and there is a belief that there may be enough organic material for life to start.

All of these experiments have led to the suggestion that enough organic material exists on Titan to start a chemical evolution analogous to what is thought to have started life on Earth. While the analogy assumes the presence of liquid water for longer periods than is currently observable, several theories suggest that liquid water from an impact could be preserved under a frozen isolation layer.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atmosph...tan#Atmosphere


Add to this the fact that we have detected the signs of lighting in the atmosphere and that we believe lighting was what sparked the chemical reactions that led to the origins of life on this planet.
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/n...ning-life.html

Furthermore on the 3rd news has come out that Cassini may have already collected the data to prove there is life on the icy moon Enceladus. Data collected by recent flybys through the plume of icy water ejected from the surface suggest that there is a strong possibility life may exist under the surface in deep oceans, all we need to do is look through the data.

The Cassini probe may have already collected data that could reveal the presence of life on Saturn's moon Enceladus, a new study argues. But mission scientists say teasing out the subtle signature of life may prove difficult. http://space.newscientist.com/channe...turn-moon.html

Okay, little single celled organisms or bacteria don't sound like much but if we can find life on planets and moons then the only conclusion we can reach is that the Universe must be teeming with life. This will have to be accepted by mainstream science and the media. The evidence will be undeniable.

This is only considering that life out there is very much like our own which I think is very improbable. Evolution could lead to very different forms of life developing on other planets or moons. We are carbon based lifeforms, however other forms of life may be out there. (Silicone based lifeforms etc)

If the Universe is teeming with life then the idea of Aliens visiting us now seems much more plausible to even the most skeptical person. This changing of opinion I believe will be very strong and will perhaps be the pressure needed for the truth to finally come out. For governments to reveal all that they know. Just look at the impact of recent rumors that the White house had been briefed about the Phoenix lander detecting life.

Given our galaxy has billions of starts, it's only natural to expect a fair number of stars with life. But regardless of how common life is, there's still very little reason to believe aliens are visiting us.

There are others, but you should at least consider these 2 important factors:

1) We don't know if it's possible to develop technology for interstellar travel, and if it's possible, only a small fraction of civilizations would be at that stage.
2) An alien species has no special reason to visit our sun instead of some other star from the billions of stars available.

Given that the universe has been around for billions of years, and humans as a species have only been on this planet for a few thousand years, I think it's reasonable to assume that there has been plenty of time for other civilizations to develop. After all, we managed to pull it off quickly, even with all the unnecessary conflicts we've had.

Also, with our massive output of electromagnetic radiation, we would not be very difficult to notice if some form of life with the technology to detect it passed close enough to us. We already have the technology to detect a similar output of radio waves.

But as the Universe is so infinite, and we have only been here for such a small fraction of time, it is very likely that we just haven't been found yet. It takes light over 100 billion years to travel across the universe, and we can't come close to those speeds.

Given the universe has billions of stars...

This is Mars... same star as ours. Only other planet with a history of being able to have supported life in a solar system also shows signs it once existed. What does that tell you about the nature of genesis? Of course, the data isn't out yet so it's way too soon to call.

But the point there's no reason to assume the universe isn't teeming with life. There are a lot of possible reasons for the fact that our civilization hasn't received first contact yet, my favorite so far is the shared dimension.

I read a while back that something like 80% of astronomers think that there was once life on Mars.

The most likely candidate for there to be life currently is Europa; in the ocean under the ice there could well be hydrothermal vents like those which it is speculated started life on Earth.

Unfortunately missions there keep getting delayed, and it'd be quite an engineering task to get through the ice.

http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/the_drake_equation.png

He's got a cool name though.

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Originally Posted by arby

http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/the_drake_equation.png

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Just reasons to believe whatever you will.

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Originally Posted by Minervas Phoenix

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This attitude is what is gonna get us all killed in the end.

Well I think there is life out there. There obviously has to be. That really doesn't mean that we will ever meet though.

Lets take the equation they gave though. And lets give them the highest numbers there. So assuming theres millions of advanced life forms in the world. What are the chances they will contact our planet within your life time?

We are talking in terms of billions of years, and a person only lives a 100 years. A 100 years is nothing compared to the ages of planets and galaxies. If the human races goes on for a million years, maybe we will meet someone. But none of us will be around to see it.

Then again a planet containing life is pretty cool, if we can ever travel to them. It would be cool to be able to live on other planets. And far better than the over population approach of killing people off, so we can all fit here.

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gonna get us all killed

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Lighten up a bit of realistic humor won't kill you. I admit the truth may hurt. Those that can't handle it and do die were not useful for anything anyway.

You don't get it, do you?
People who believe in fairy tales are obviously deluded, but you shouldn't insult them or hate them. You're attitude is the same as theirs. "we are better than you - we know the truth, you don't"
This attitude is responsible for most wars, and it might be what causes our species to go extinct. Face the truth yourself.
http://www.garyharbo.com/He%20Gave%2...he%20truth.gif

Well considering it has been proven that there are parallel universes, however as to however many types there are that is unknown. And it is also known that the universe is expanding at an infinite rate, and that it is not possible to ever reach the edge of the universe seeing as how the universe is expanding at the speed of light and nothing moves faster than the speed of light.

Also taking into account the very high probablility of multiple universes. And do you know what this means? Theoretically there could be a infinite number of instances where the scenarios that created our Earth, our Solar System, our Galaxy, our Universe, and even us are replicated and infinite amount of times.

If you understand what this means then you should understand that there is no possibilty at all that other life does not exist.

It also means there is a parallel universe where there is no other life. So it also makes that a reality.

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Originally Posted by Minervas Phoenix

It also means there is a parallel universe where there is no other life. So it also makes that a reality.

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True given the high probability of infinite parallel universes you are correct. However this also opens up infinite probabilities as well. One universe could be destroyed, in one the laws of physics may not apply, in another there could super highly intelligence races capable of anything. The possibilities are really rather endless.

Another interesting topic somewhat related to this is the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle. Which in relation to particles states that particles can be in two places at once which is really a mind trip. Considering we are made of such things. This technically means we can also be in two places at once. Perhaps existing in a parallel universe at various points in time or all points in time.

yes, this is why I support timeline theory. My understanding is that we travel across infinite timelines in a finite moment through our decisions in time. Any timeline I imagine is real somewhere. The timeline I am on is the reality I am now experiencing. Even if I just make another timeline up and create history and future I have simply recognized another timeline. Just as Walt Disney made mickey mouse. Through the same process I can recognize other realities. Mickey mouse is real in a timeline as crazy as that may sound. In this timeline it's just a cartoon. In another timeline it's more than a cartoon it's a entity.

That's why children and their imagination is superior and that's why it is said imagination is more important than knowledge.

Yes you nailed that on head. I was also going to talk about that, but decided not to touch on it. I am glad you did! Phsyics is so awesome haha.

I think I agree on that too,..

If there are infinite parallel universes, there is also infinite life.

I believe it's not really a matter of a few planets that may be inherited.
The Picuture is a lot bigger than that and even though we have these
great new insights, they just really show us our own limits.

of course there is life...

I wonder if most technically advanced societies kill themselves, or if that is only something a (hu)man-made society would do. Imagine the possibilites of a society with only 1 goal. To make life better for everybody. In a perfect society, everybody would be some sort of technician/engineer. It's all we need. People that solve problems. Politicians do not solve problems. They attempt to solve problems by creating laws and policies. An engineer would not make a law. He would develop a solution for the problem so it can never happen.

I just saw a picture of Mars with clouds on it.

The hell?

Also, there are plenty of places in the solar system where life may be.

i.e.

Ceres
Titan
Europa
Io
Mars

Which is a lot. A lotta lot. What would be neat, though, is if we seeded a planet (Or moon, or Dwarf planet) with microbes from earth. Panspermia lulz.

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Originally Posted by A Roxxor

I just saw a picture of Mars with clouds on it.

The hell?

Also, there are plenty of places in the solar system where life may be.

i.e.

Ceres
Titan
Europa
Io
Mars

Which is a lot. A lotta lot. What would be neat, though, is if we seeded a planet (Or moon, or Dwarf planet) with microbes from earth. Panspermia lulz.

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That would be interesting. I don't have any qualms with man "playing God" so to speak.

We almost did that with Cassini out by Saturn. The probe they had sent in was going to collide with some minor moon, so they shot it into Saturn to prevent it from contaminating the planet. =-/

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Originally Posted by A Roxxor

I just saw a picture of Mars with clouds on it.

The hell?

Also, there are plenty of places in the solar system where life may be.

i.e.

Ceres
Titan
Europa
Io
Mars

Which is a lot. A lotta lot. What would be neat, though, is if we seeded a planet (Or moon, or Dwarf planet) with microbes from earth. Panspermia lulz.

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Don't think we're quite at the point to create a self sufficient ecology on another planetary body yet.

We could die tryin'!