ET Visitors: Scientists See High Likelihood

Space.com ^

[FreedomNeocon]

ET Visitors: Scientists See High Likelihood
By Leonard David
Senior Space Writer
posted: 14 January 2005
06:47 am ET

Decades ago, it was physicist Enrico Fermi who pondered the issue of extraterrestrial civilizations with fellow theorists over lunch, generating the famous quip: "Where are they?" That question later became central to debates about the cosmological census count of other star folk and possible extraterrestrial (ET) visitors from afar.

Fermi’s brooding on the topic was later labeled "Fermi’s paradox". It is a well-traveled tale from the 1950’s when the scientist broached the subject in discussions with colleagues in Los Alamos, New Mexico. Thoughts regarding the probability of earthlike planets, the rise of highly advanced civilizations "out there", and interstellar travel -- these remain fodder for trying to respond to Fermi’s paradox even today.

Now a team of American scientists note that recent astrophysical discoveries suggest that we should find ourselves in the midst of one or more extraterrestrial civilizations. Moreover, they argue it is a mistake to reject all UFO reports since some evidence for the theoretically-predicted extraterrestrial visitors might just be found there.

The researchers make their proposal in the January/February 2005 issue of the Journal of the British Interplanetary Society (JBIS).

Curious situation

Pick up any good science magazine and you’re sure to see the latest in head-scratching ideas about superstring theory, wormholes, or the stretching of spacetime itself. Meanwhile, extrasolar planetary detection is on the verge of becoming mundane.

"We are in the curious situation today that our best modern physics and astrophysics theories predict that we should be experiencing extraterrestrial visitation, yet any possible evidence of such lurking in the UFO phenomenon is scoffed at within our scientific community," contends astrophysicist Bernard Haisch.

Haisch along with physicists James Deardorff, Bruce Maccabee and Harold Puthoff make their case in the JBIS article: "Inflation-Theory Implications for Extraterrestrial Visitation".

The scientists point to two key discoveries made by Australian astronomers and reported last year that there is a "galactic habitable zone" in our Milky Way Galaxy. And more importantly that Earth’s own star, the Sun, is relatively young in comparison to the average star in this zone -- by as much as a billion years.

Therefore, the researchers explain in their JBIS article that an average alien civilization would be far more advanced and have long since discovered Earth. Additionally, other research work on the supposition underlying the Big Bang -- known as the theory of inflation -- shores up the prospect, they advise, that our world is immersed in a much larger extraterrestrial civilization.

Point-to-point distances

Given billion-year advanced physics, might not buzzing around the galaxy be possible?

Even today superstring theory hypothesizes other dimensions... which could be habitable Universes adjacent to our own, the researchers speculate. It might even be possible to get around the speed of light limit by moving in and out of these dimensions.

"What we have done is somewhat of a breakthrough," Haisch told SPACE.com. "We have pulled together various recent discoveries and theoretical issues that collectively point to the strong probability that we should be in the midst of one or more huge extraterrestrial civilizations," he said.

Haisch said that superstring dimensions and wormhole and spacetime stretching possibilities address the "can't get here from there" objection often argued in view of the interstellar, point-to-point distances involved. Also, diffusion models predict that even a single civilization could spread across the Galaxy in a tiny fraction of the age of the Galaxy - even at sub-light speeds, he said.

ET signature in the data

Can the scientific community bring itself to consider any evidence coming from mysterious sightings of strange things by the public?

In large measure, the scientific community seemingly has eyed ET visitation as far from being serious stuff to cogitate over. Why so?

"The dismissal has several causes, all reinforcing each other," Haisch responded. "Most of the observations are probably misinterpretations, delusions and hoaxes. I have seen people get confused by Venus or even Sirius when it is flashing colors low in the sky under the right conditions. Having been turned off by this, most scientists never bother to look any further, and so are simply blissfully ignorant that there may be more to it," he said.

Deardorff, the lead author of the JBIS article, points out in a press statement: "It would take some humility for the scientific community to suspend its judgment and take at least some of the high quality reports seriously enough to investigate…but I hope we can bring ourselves to do that."

According to Haisch, there is a motivation not just for scientific tolerance of the UFO issue, but a strong scientific prediction that there ought to be some genuine ET signature in the data.

"This potentially changes the relationship of the UFO phenomenon to science in a significant way. It takes away the ‘not invented here’ prejudice, pointing out that a ‘yes’ to ET visitation is exactly what side our current physics and astrophysics theories would come down on as the most likely situation," Haisch concluded.

[peyton randolph]

They've already invaded...run for the hills!

[American Vet Repairman]

"scientist broached the subject in discussions with colleagues in Los Alamos, New Mexico"

The only "ET's" they are going to see in New Mexico is Eduardo Torres coming across the border.

[Red Sea Swimmer]

"Run to the Hills. Run for your life..."

Apologies to Iron Maiden

[rodguy911]

I had about 8 rum n' cokes the other night and
all of a sudden I started seeing.....

[Sooth2222]

Mostly, the aliens are like Kucinich and Gore. Rarely, they get it right.

[Kevin OMalley]

Duplicate thread


http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1321053/posts?page=66#66

[Red Sea Swimmer]

Rum makes you dumb. Gin makes you sin. French Champagne makes you broke...:)

[Red Sea Swimmer]

Only joking. Rum is a great drink.

Continuing in a similar vein, Planet Rum, from the Allyoucandrink Constellation has actually been sending secret agents to Planet Earth since the statues of Easter Island were just little stones in the ground. Donald Rumsfield is the leader of these agents on Planet Earth. All of the above information was told to me by a Little Green Man one night in a secret back alley in a non-descript western city.

[BenLurkin]

[rodguy911]

It might have been "rummy" I saw, it was hard to tell.

[BenLurkin]

[BenLurkin]

[Red Sea Swimmer]

Great graphics.

"Mars Attacks" was a fun movie.

[aruanan]

ET Visitors: Scientists See High Likelihood

However, given the extreme (un)likelihood that life ever arose here on earth by chance to attain this level of civilization, the chances that it happened elsewhere just one other time is that extreme improbability squared. For it to have happened multiple times would be that improbability raised to the power of that multiple. There's not enough time or resources in the breadth or history of the universe for it to have happened under similar constraints, earnest desires that it be otherwise notwithstanding. Given this, the reason for the silence is most likely that there's simply no one else on the line.

[rodguy911]

No,no I saw aliens I tell you, not Puff Dashhole.

[Enterprise]

"Dont run, we are your friends."

[barkeep]

Gosh I'm glad to see this. Controller Rumsfield has really been after me to tell who I spilled the beans to, and I couldn't remember. Actually, I was only temporarily green due to the pitcher of kamikaze shots, but I do take some offense, I'm not that little. Did I really reveal the history of Easter Island? Large sacrifices at the Altar of the Great God Ethanol shall be made, Rummy be very mad to me.

[Ramonchito]

The possibility of an ET coming to us to announce their existence is highly improbable not unless that ET wants to violate the laws of their nation.

In the first place, if it were so easy as for that ET to land in the White House and shake hands with the President, it would have been done a long time ago. So far, no ET has done that and the probability is that not ET would have done it.

Why are the ETs playing hide and seek with us?

I don't think its playing hide and seek, its plain practicalities.

Inspite of our level of progress, ETs would think that we have not progressed far beyond the savages of the Stone Age period.

Our mode of thinking has a way of affecting their mode of thinking. If the ETs believe that we have no progressed far from the savages of the Stone Age people, by exposing themselves to us, they will be electing to retrogress mentally to our level of mentality.

That our thoughts could affect the way of thinking of others is clearly stated in the Bible. This is the reason why ETs don't talk to us for the fear that our way of thinking would affect theirs.

[Ramonchito]

"Having been turned off by this, most scientists never bother to look any further, and so are simply blissfully ignorant that there may be more to it."

This is the reason why ETs are not interested in contacting us -- we don't think logically as they do.

To say that scientists are unanimous in their consideration of ET is to utter a falsehood. Scientists are as equally divided as us laymen on the question of ET civilization.