Posted on 01/23/2011 9:38:58 AM PST by Cincinatus' Wife
Howard Smith, a senior astrophysicist at Harvard, made the claim that we are alone in the universe after an analysis of the 500 planets discovered so far showed all were hostile to life.
Dr Smith said the extreme conditions found so far on planets discovered outside out Solar System are likely to be the norm, and that the hospitable conditions on Earth could be unique.
“We have found that most other planets and solar systems are wildly different from our own. They are very hostile to life as we know it,” he said.
He pointed to stars such as HD10180, which sparked great excitement when it was found to be orbited by a planet of similar size and appearance to Earth.
But the similarities turned out to be superficial. The planet lies less than two million miles from its sun, meaning it is roasting hot, stripped of its atmosphere and blasted by radiation.
Many of the other planets have highly elliptical orbits which cause huge variations in temperature which prevent water remaining liquid, thus making it impossible for life to develop.
A separate team of scientists recently declared the chance of aliens existing on a newly discovered Earth-like planet “100 per cent”.
Professor Steven Vogt , of the Carnegie institution in Washington, said he had “no doubt” extraterrestrial life would be found on a small, rocky planet found orbiting the red dwarf star Gliese 581 last September.
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
That's a very narrow minded view. Conditions don't have to precisely replicate those on Earth for life to exist. We have multitudes of lifeforms on this very planet that thrive in conditions which are totally inhospitable to plants, insects, and animals.
The only rational conclusion one can draw from your postulate is that a planet would have to have precisely the same conditions as found on Earth, for an identical ecosystem to arise.
Different conditions, different ecosystem.
If you deliberately ignore that fact that the current terrestrial conditions would prevent earth’s own life from starting up, you can use those improbable conditions to prove it can’t start up anywhere else.
But there again, for those who believe in evolution, the evidence they use to support evolution also supports the extreme unlikelihood of life on other planets. [Of course, don't bring up the subject of the “origin of life” to an evolutionist. They avoid that subject like the plague.]
You're exactly 100% wrong with that assumption. If you accept the scientific evidence of a natural beginning of life (and the evolution of life) on earth, that evidence clearly indicates the probability of life on any other planet is ridiculously small.
And I thought UFOs were unlikely.
Bull s**t.
Please stop this nonsense. The possibility of life systems existing in the universe which are vastly different than anything you're capable of imagining are a *real* possibility. I cannot believe some people on this planet, with their, "We're so special" arrogant attitudes believing their somehow unique in a universe filled with *trillions* of planetary systems.
Some humans are unbelievably arrogant and ignorant.
Heck of a waste of space.
Cheers!
Excellent.
DemForBush mentioned the possibility that aliens would have likely evolved from conditions that would be too hostile for the likes of us. If so, then Earth would almost certainly be too hostile for them.
Wouln't that be funny - if there were intelligent alien species who gave this planet a wide berth because they couldn't use anything on it. That would knock a lot of science fiction right into the "science fantasy" category.
Grayson is such a genetic misfire that it’s natural that folks would assume he’s an alien.
What if we’re first?
Exactly. The mix of improbable things that all see to be required for intelligent life to occur on this planet make it seem likely that we are alone, or so near to alone in space and time as to make no practical difference.
Exactly right. If we are first, which seems quite possible, then we have a duty to populate the universe, to spread life everywhere, and an immense future of wealth and prosperity lie ahead of us.
Especially when you add in advanced technology. Someone has to be first, evolution is complicated and takes a VERY long time, and I just kinda like thinking that we are the first fruits of the whole process.
(The next version should definitely eliminate liberals.)
“Please stop this nonsense. The possibility of life systems existing in the universe which are vastly different than anything you’re capable of imagining are a *real* possibility. I cannot believe some people on this planet, with their, “We’re so special” arrogant attitudes believing their somehow unique in a universe filled with *trillions* of planetary systems.”
You may be correct, and you may be wrong. The evidence is in the Fermi paradox, which simply stated is: If intelligent aliens are so common, where are they, why haven’t we seen them?
If there is some reason why they cannot visit, such as they self destruct after a few thousand years, or evolve into something not interested in us that we cannot communicate with, or some other such reason, then they are irrelevant.
If they are not irrelevant, where are they?
"Where are the Von Neumann (sp?) probes?"
IIRC, Von Neumann & his contemporaries were involved in a discussion along the lines of...
1) We on Earth are obviously a later (3rd?) generation star system. If sentient life had evolved elsewehere, then surely by now we would have seen some automated probes from one of these earlier civilizations! (exasperatedly)
or
2) If such a civilization has ever existed in the galaxy, they must have destroyed themselves before they had a chance to build the probes.
...which isn't very encouraging. Some people think perhaps no such civilization has ever survived, for instance, their Atomic Age.
I actually think it's a pretty decent argument.
Zer0 is likely an illegal alien.
>> after an analysis of the 500 planets discovered so far showed all were hostile to life.
Leftwing planets.
Since in Romans 6:10 the Word of God says "The death he died, he died to sin once for all...", Their bible would point to the fact that this one great event occured on a distant planet.
Would you be so kind as to cite Chapter and Verse?
Jude 2:12-17a
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