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Greatest Mysteries: Does Alien Life Exist?
space.com ^ | 08/06/07 | Ker Than

Posted on 08/06/2007 4:52:45 PM PDT by KevinDavis

Editor's Note: We asked several scientists from various fields what they thought were the greatest mysteries today, and then we added a few that were on our minds, too. This article is one of 15 in LiveScience's "Greatest Mysteries" series running each weekday.

Life can be found in almost every nook and cranny of our planet Earth. Leaping, swimming, flying, sprinting, slithering, crawling or rooted firmly in place, organisms appear, die, and are replaced by new generations and new species.

Whether a similar bounty of life exists elsewhere in the universe is one of the oldest and most tantalizing questions of science. Considering the wide breadth of the universe and the countless stars it contains, the odds would seem in favor of the answer being "yes."

"We are here, made of stardust. Therefore, it is at least possible that there are others," said Jill Tarter, director of the Center for SETI Research in California.

(Excerpt) Read more at space.com ...


TOPICS: Miscellaneous
KEYWORDS: callingartbell; panspermia; space
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1 posted on 08/06/2007 4:52:46 PM PDT by KevinDavis
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To: brityank; Forest Keeper; swatbuznik; Potts Mtn. Pappy; Kevmo; wastedyears; dragonblustar; ...

2 posted on 08/06/2007 4:54:14 PM PDT by KevinDavis (Mitt Romney 08)
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To: KevinDavis
Looks like it's proof positive:


3 posted on 08/06/2007 4:58:30 PM PDT by traditional1
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To: KevinDavis
Looks like it's proof positive:


4 posted on 08/06/2007 4:58:34 PM PDT by traditional1
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To: traditional1

Sorry for the double post....there can’t be TWO of these on the planet, I don’t think!


5 posted on 08/06/2007 4:59:09 PM PDT by traditional1
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To: KevinDavis

Humans are made of stardust? I thought it was monkeys. Now I’ve heard it all.

I know some people believe the Bible allows for alien life. I don’t believe so. I think it’s pretty clear the Earth is the heart of God’s creation, and the heavens exist to exult Him.


6 posted on 08/06/2007 5:05:56 PM PDT by TraditionalistMommy
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To: KevinDavis

7 posted on 08/06/2007 5:05:57 PM PDT by BreezyDog
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To: Quix

out there?


8 posted on 08/06/2007 5:06:47 PM PDT by Michael Barnes (If Rudy is the GOP's guy, I'm voting for Hillary. Hey, why do anything half ass?)
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To: KevinDavis
Considering the wide breadth of the universe and the countless stars it contains, the odds would seem in favor of the answer being "yes."

"God does not play dice" - Albert Einstein

But maybe he hedges his bets?

9 posted on 08/06/2007 5:09:32 PM PDT by P.O.E. (School's Out. Drive Safely)
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To: KevinDavis
"Life can be found in almost every nook and cranny of our planet Earth. Leaping, swimming, flying, sprinting, slithering, crawling or rooted firmly in place, organisms appear, die, and are replaced by new generations and new species. "

The argument that life is so abundant here, so therefore it should be abundant on other planets figuratively doesn't hold water.

If some microbes were brought to Mars, they might survive, but it is not the same as if life arose on that planet.

10 posted on 08/06/2007 5:18:38 PM PDT by Jedi Master Pikachu ( What is your take on Acts 15:20 (abstaining from blood) about eating meat? Could you freepmail?)
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To: TraditionalistMommy
The Bible doesn't definitively state that the only life is the life on Earth, angels, and God, but it can be inferred.

If there is extraterrestrial life--in the way the article is referring to--that life would end at the end. Such extraterrestrials, if intelligent, would not have souls. God died for Mankind, and by God becoming human Mankind was given a way to salvation (kinsman redeemer).

11 posted on 08/06/2007 5:22:51 PM PDT by Jedi Master Pikachu ( What is your take on Acts 15:20 (abstaining from blood) about eating meat? Could you freepmail?)
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To: traditional1
Separated at birth:

Henry:

Batboy:


12 posted on 08/06/2007 5:23:47 PM PDT by DouglasKC
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To: KevinDavis
Does Alien Life Exist?

Mostly on the west coast!!

13 posted on 08/06/2007 5:27:08 PM PDT by ontap (Just another backstabbing conservative)
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To: TraditionalistMommy
I think it’s pretty clear the Earth is the heart of God’s creation, and the heavens exist to exult Him.

Gee, I think you would have burned Copernicus at the stake.

It is the absolute height of arrogance to believe that we are alone in God's vast universe.

To paraphrase, Jesus said something along the line of "My Father's house has many rooms."

The Bible, at the time, was written for people far more primitive than us. The thought of man walking on the moon would have been unthinkable in the days Our Lord walked the Earth.

14 posted on 08/06/2007 5:28:27 PM PDT by buccaneer81 (Bob Taft has soiled the family name for the next century.)
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To: buccaneer81
Odd, was browsing the internet mere minutes ago, and ran across this: http://www.fixedearth.com/the_bible/koran.html

On this, you seem to be in line with them.

Your Bible quote refers clearly to salvation being offered to all humans. The Bible verse doesn't remotely suggest that there are other inhabited worlds in this universe.

The Bible was written for people exactly as primitive as humans today--because it was written for humans today (and of yesteryear).

People have dreamed of spaceflight for a very long time.

Contrary, to the link, the Bible does not refute Copernicus. Even today the terms sunrise and sunset are in use.

Just as velocity is relative (you could say you're standing still, but since you're on Earth, you're hurtling around the Sun, which is hurtling around the Milky Way, which could be hurtling around its galactic cluster group), from the human relative standpoint, the Sun rises and sets--because the Earth rotates.

15 posted on 08/06/2007 6:04:26 PM PDT by Jedi Master Pikachu ( What is your take on Acts 15:20 (abstaining from blood) about eating meat? Could you freepmail?)
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To: Jedi Master Pikachu

Wowzers. God died? So when Christ was in the tomb, there was no God? Doubt it, eh?

So you stand there and call these theoretical beings kafir, as the Islamonuts do. Who made you Pope?

Damn good thing the weak force is 100,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 times weaker than the strong force, and if it were 100,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,001 times or 99,999,999,999,999,999,999,999,999,999,999,999 times, the universe couldn’t support stars, planets or life.

(36 digits of precision - and this is almost inconceivable to be an accident if there is only one universe and the universe is random)

There is no conceivable reason these values are so precise.

Everything else we know of in physics allows a few percent variance (1 to 5) and stars, planets, and life could still exist.

Infer away those who know the mind of God; just don’t count on being even remotely close. God applied this value to the entire universe.

False prophets know everything. That is the easiest way to spot them. Please explain to me why God applied this value to the entire universe. Also, please hint as to how big you think the universe is.

I need a good laugh.


16 posted on 08/06/2007 6:24:05 PM PDT by LesbianThespianGymnasticMidget (God punishes Conservatives by making them argue with fools.)
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To: LesbianThespianGymnasticMidget
Cut down the anger.

Christ was God. When Christ died, God died. You disagree with this?

Don't you dare make accusations about false prophets unless you know what you're typing about--which you obviously don't.

Did you understand any of the post(s)?
There could be such extraterrestrial life, but the Bible seems to suggest that there is not.

Contrary to the many freepers who use "What are you smoking," this is a legitimate question: Are you drunk or high on some drug?

What is the point of you explanation of the strong and weak forces--how is it relevant to the topic at hand? And as for know-it-alls, how is it that you believe you know that the strength of the strong and weak forces are the same all over the universe (not stating that they aren't, just that you're being a huge hypocrite).

Have any answers?
Personally don't need more inane comments.

17 posted on 08/06/2007 6:31:35 PM PDT by Jedi Master Pikachu ( What is your take on Acts 15:20 (abstaining from blood) about eating meat? Could you freepmail?)
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To: Jedi Master Pikachu
Christ was God. When Christ died, God died. You disagree with this?

 Yes... God never died. His Son, and in him, Gods embodiment on earth died. God never died.

Did you understand any of the post(s)?

Yep, you are a literalist, and would as another poster suggested, burned many scientists at the stake.

Contrary to the many freepers who use "What are you smoking," this is a legitimate question: Are you drunk or high on some drug?

I am not. Are you a closed minded literalist zealot?

What is the point of you explanation of the strong and weak forces--how is it relevant to the topic at hand? It shows the hand of God. And as for know-it-alls, how is it that you believe you know that the strength of the strong and weak forces are the same all over the universe (not stating that they aren't, just that you're being a huge hypocrite).

They are and appear to have been exactly the same values since the trillionths of a second as we understand creation (the big bang), and you show your lack of interest in Gods work by at least not looking at these things and marveling at their magnificence.

 

18 posted on 08/06/2007 6:40:52 PM PDT by LesbianThespianGymnasticMidget (God punishes Conservatives by making them argue with fools.)
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To: LesbianThespianGymnasticMidget
Or was the cause of your great indignation and fury because of these (very hypothetical) extraterrestrials not having souls?

That is a kinder surmising.

Otherwise, they would have to be sinless.

They can be presented the Gospel (one Christian apparently evangelized to fish), but Christ died for Mankind. Christ took on human form. That taking on human form could have been necessary.

The kinsman redeemer was a kinsman (relative). God could have became human to become a relative to and part of the human race (family), because the substitute sacrifice to pay for Mankind had to be a relative to Mankind.

Such (hypothetical and probably nonexistent) extraterrestrials would not be related to humans (unless they were humans), and thus them not having souls is the kinder way to go.

19 posted on 08/06/2007 6:41:39 PM PDT by Jedi Master Pikachu ( What is your take on Acts 15:20 (abstaining from blood) about eating meat? Could you freepmail?)
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To: LesbianThespianGymnasticMidget
It isn't shameful to be a 'literalist.'

What could be bad about accepting God's written Word as it clearly is?

Feel free to go here (FRhomepage) to read more about this jerk who keeps typing all these offensive posts to you.

20 posted on 08/06/2007 6:45:01 PM PDT by Jedi Master Pikachu ( What is your take on Acts 15:20 (abstaining from blood) about eating meat? Could you freepmail?)
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