Star To Be Investigated For Alien Life

Ananova ^ | 10-8-2003

[JethroHathAWay]

Thanks. That really is amazing. Thankyou very kindly.

[JethroHathAWay]

Okay thanks. Where does the hydrogen and helium come from? I do know their gases (I have some sense!)

[Woahhs]

Life-forms! (dootle oot doot doot....)

You tiny little Life-forms! (dootle oot doot doot....)

You precious little Life-forms! (dootle oot doot doot....)

Where are you?... (dootle oot doot doot doot doot!)

[PatrickHenry]

From the article:
Turnbull narrowed the 5,000 or so stars within 100 light years of Earth to a shortlist of 30 and presented the list to scientists ...

That's a lot of stars. And we're located in one of the spiral arms, thinly populated with stars. There would seem to be enough stars "nearby" that we could stay busy for generations just sending out probes. As soon as we can propel them at an appreciable percentage of lightspeed. A mere 10% of lightspeed will be okay. We'd start getting an informational payback rather quickly.

[longshadow]

Where does the hydrogen and helium come from? I do know their gases (I have some sense!)

All of the hydrogen, and some of the helium are primordial: they condense out of the sub-atomic particles that originate cooling expansion of the very early Universe. Some helium is also made in the course of hydrogen fusion that takes place in stars.

[Mannaggia l'America]

Situated a relatively close 42 light years away

Just vote for Weasley Clark - once he figures out how to go faster than the speed of light, we can just fly there in a few days.

[longshadow]

A mere 10% of lightspeed will be okay. We'd start getting an informational payback rather quickly.

Think about it: at 0.1c average velocity, it takes a 1000 years for the probe to just get to a star 100 light years away, and it takes another 100 years for the data to get back to earth via radio signal. Stars 10 light years away would take 110 years to get data back to earth.

Maybe your definition of "rather quickly" is more generous than mine.....

;-)

[Bitman]

once he figures out how to go faster than the speed of light, we can just fly there in a few days.

Perhaps we could even get there before we left???

[PatrickHenry]

Maybe your definition of "rather quickly" is more generous than mine.....

The data transmission should be continuous. (Let the engineers worry about the power source; I'm a philosopher, and way above that sort of thing.) So every year we'll be getting better pics than ever before. Long before the probe actually arrives, we'll be awash in great data.

[JoeSchem]

As to ones' soul, that's a question to be answered when we shed this coil. If we're alone in the universe, it sure is a waste of space.

well, the Earth is a waste of matter. It's eight thousand miles in diameter and we only use the surface.

[JethroHathAWay]

I know that you must be familiar with the Big Bang. I read something a while ago about black holes emitting matter out the opposite side. (Sorry, does that make sense?) Would the Big Bang be like a black hole?

[inquest]

Well, all that nickel and iron at the core keeps the juices flowing the right way...

[null and void]

There was a young lady named bright
Whose speed was much faster than light
She went out one day
in a relative way
and returned the previous night

[PatrickHenry]

Notable Nearby Stars. Nice list. I can't locate the one the article mentions.

[js1138]

Clark and Hillary: Lightspeed and Thunderthighs.

[isom35]

sounds like a job for the U.S.S. Enterprise.

[Junior]

The first truly alien life we discover, even if it's nothing more than a microbe, it will be one of the most momentous events in human history. Think of the philosophical and religious debates that will rage on the talk shows, and in print (provided we still have print). Imagine the reactions of groups like Earth First and PETA, or even the mainstream churches.

[Junior]

Hydrogen is simply a proton and an electron, and is the simplest possible atom. Protons and electrons naturally attract one another, but protons will repel other protons and electrons will repel other electrons.

Helium is the first product of fusion, so I believe it is also the product of the stellar furnace.

[Hot Tabasco]

The star, a little hotter and brighter than the sun,

they'd better be wearing thermo-nuclear sunglasses or go at night.....

If there ain't no life on our sun, how the heck can they expect life to be on that other one?

[JethroHathAWay]

Thankyou. I sruggled with highschool chemistry and never fully recovered due to an illness.
Concerning your other post above; I thought they found a meteor during the Clinton administration with microdes on it, from Mars. Was that ever proven to be for real? Thankyuo