UFO's & visitors from elsewhere...

[Kyle Holgate]

I find it very curious how the term UFO now seems to mean Alien space craft not Unidentified Flying Object. I had was talking to a customer the other day here at work and we he mentioned that he doesn't believe in UFO's! I found that a bit amusing.
In any case - what with new planets being found very frequently now and organic compounds showing up in spectrographs of stars still in their dust clouds -
What do YOU think?
Is there life out there?
Is there intelligent life out there (allow for the moment for the sake of arguement that we are intelligent life ourselves, I know for many that is a stretch)?
Has the Earth (or IS the Earth) been/being visited by non earthlings?

[john964]

In my belife there is life out there somewere, but is it intelligent I dont know, but have we been visited I have not a clue.

It is probleable that contact will come in one of several ways these are IMO the most common.

Pass right on by and not stop as being to primative, they may or may not return.

Take one look at us laugh and keep right on going.

Blow us out of exsistance as being to overly war like.

Invade and turn us into cannon fodder or a snack food.

Last but not the least they may come down and actually want to help

[old_pop2000]

I find it very curious how the term UFO now seems to mean Alien space craft not Unidentified Flying Object. I had was talking to a customer the other day here at work and we he mentioned that he doesn't believe in UFO's! I found that a bit amusing.
In any case - what with new planets being found very frequently now and organic compounds showing up in spectrographs of stars still in their dust clouds -
What do YOU think?
Is there life out there?
Is there intelligent life out there (allow for the moment for the sake of arguement that we are intelligent life ourselves, I know for many that is a stretch)?
Has the Earth (or IS the Earth) been/being visited by non earthlings?
Actually, I think they should look for intelligent life on this planet, the heck with the others.:rolleyes::D:D

[Kyle Holgate]

Actually, I think they should look for intelligent life on this planet, the heck with the others.:rolleyes::D:D

I totally agree hence the part in my post asking to allow for the moment that we are intelligent! I know that it's a big stretch...
I'm of the view that intelligence has to evolve more to find ways to get around or through or disprove as laughable some so called laws of physics that we now find are constraining us in many ways. Not to bring religeon into this, but I wonder that we are not ready to fly to distant planets so we will not be allowed to figure it out. We've made a mess of our own world and are continuing to do so - until we get wise enough to notice that and do something we have little or no business finding other planets to screw up!

[john964]

I totally agree hence the part in my post asking to allow for the moment that we are intelligent! I know that it's a big stretch...
I'm of the view that intelligence has to evolve more to find ways to get around or through or disprove as laughable some so called laws of physics that we now find are constraining us in many ways. Not to bring religeon into this, but I wonder that we are not ready to fly to distant planets so we will not be allowed to figure it out. We've made a mess of our own world and are continuing to do so - until we get wise enough to notice that and do something we have little or no business finding other planets to screw up!

The only real problem I see is the advance of technology. How would you feel if you were an explorer on a ship who arrives at his/her destination only to be greated by your ancestors.

[old_pop2000]

The only real problem I see is the advance of technology. How would you feel if you were an explorer on a ship who arrives at his/her destination only to be greated by your ancestors.
I think we should search for a human compatible planet......then collect all the idiots on this one, and transplant them to that one. Let's see how the fools do without our help.

And, they can take their cell phone's with them.

[asnrobert]

I totally agree hence the part in my post asking to allow for the moment that we are intelligent! I know that it's a big stretch...
I'm of the view that intelligence has to evolve more to find ways to get around or through or disprove as laughable some so called laws of physics that we now find are constraining us in many ways. Not to bring religeon into this, but I wonder that we are not ready to fly to distant planets so we will not be allowed to figure it out. We've made a mess of our own world and are continuing to do so - until we get wise enough to notice that and do something we have little or no business finding other planets to screw up!

C.S. Lewis (author of the Narnia books) wrote about this in a couple of his essays. He said that perhaps the astronomical distances between solar systems was a form of quarantine keeping us from them. If we met a civilization that was less advanced than our own, we probably do to them what we did to the Indians and Africans. OTOH, if we came across a more highly advanced civilization, they might annihilate us, in which case we would have encountered God's judgment (if not God) in outer space.

[john964]

I think we should search for a human compatible planet......then collect all the idiots on this one, and transplant them to that one. Let's see how the fools do without our help.

And, they can take their cell phone's with them.
Galgafrinchen Ark Ship B

[old_pop2000]

Galgafrinchen Ark Ship B
One way tickets

[Lancer]

I wonder what they'd think of that signal containing Hitler's motor mouth.

[Saffron]

As the old saying goes, it only takes one white crow to prove all crows aren't black.

All it takes is for one sighting, one video, one eye witness account to be true, and I find it hard to believe that thousands of sightings going back tens of thousands of years are all misidentifications and hoaxes.

Assuming all creatures are bound by the speed of light limit, there are other factors to consider ... mainly the unknown physiology, psychology, and values of an alien race. If an alien race lived to be thousands of years old, a 50 year journey at close to the speed of light may not matter to them. Or an alien race may be more "far sighted" than humans and have no problem waiting long periods of time for a probe to travel to a distant planet and transmit data. Or an alien race may not suffer the same psychological effects of long space journeys or being away from their species for long periods as humans do ... nor may they suffer the same effects of long-term confinement, allowing them to travel for entire generations to reach a destination. There's virtually no limit to this kind of speculation, which, to me at least, suggests that speed limitations may not be the big factor for all intelligent species in the same way it limits us.

[Ed Rotondaro]

Actually, I think they should look for intelligent life on this planet, the heck with the others.:rolleyes::D:D

That may take a long time, especially during an election year.:)

[Ed Rotondaro]

As the old saying goes, it only takes one white crow to prove all crows aren't black.

All it takes is for one sighting, one video, one eye witness account to be true, and I find it hard to believe that thousands of sightings going back tens of thousands of years are all misidentifications and hoaxes.

Assuming all creatures are bound by the speed of light limit, there are other factors to consider ... mainly the unknown physiology, psychology, and values of an alien race. If an alien race lived to be thousands of years old, a 50 year journey at close to the speed of light may not matter to them. Or an alien race may be more "far sighted" than humans and have no problem waiting long periods of time for a probe to travel to a distant planet and transmit data. Or an alien race may not suffer the same psychological effects of long space journeys or being away from their species for long periods as humans do ... nor may they suffer the same effects of long-term confinement, allowing them to travel for entire generations to reach a destination. There's virtually no limit to this kind of speculation, which, to me at least, suggests that speed limitations may not be the big factor for all intelligent species in the same way it limits us.

Saffron:

I believe that there is life out there. It would be stretching the laws of probability for only planet in a galaxy of stars to have developed the conditions for carbon based life to have developed. Whether there are life forms that are intelligent enough to need or use tools and build civilizations of course is unknown. Personally I think we will find evidence in the form of radio transmissions some day.

[old_pop2000]

Saffron:

I believe that there is life out there. It would be stretching the laws of probability for only planet in a galaxy of stars to have developed the conditions for carbon based life to have developed. Whether there are life forms that are intelligent enough to need or use tools and build civilizations of course is unknown. Personally I think we will find evidence in the form of radio transmissions some day.
Why does life have to be carbon based? How about silicon based? On other planets that do not have an abundance of carbon or water, couldn't life be based on another basic chemical? Maybe we need to understand the biochemistry of life better and then examine the other planets and solar systems, using a different criteria.

[Ed Rotondaro]

Why does life have to be carbon based? How about silicon based? On other planets that do not have an abundance of carbon or water, couldn't life be based on another basic chemical? Maybe we need to understand the biochemistry of life better and then examine the other planets and solar systems, using a different criteria.

Dennis:

I certainly wouldn't rule it out, but it seems that outside of theory and sci-fi, I've never seen a believable explanation of silicon based life.

[old_pop2000]

Dennis:

I certainly wouldn't rule it out, but it seems that outside of theory and sci-fi, I've never seen a believable explanation of silicon based life.
Actually, NASA has been studying this aspect.

http://www.dailygalaxy.com/my_weblog/2007/06/noncarbon_lifef.html

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/07/23/weird_life/

[john964]

Why does life have to be carbon based? How about silicon based? On other planets that do not have an abundance of carbon or water, couldn't life be based on another basic chemical? Maybe we need to understand the biochemistry of life better and then examine the other planets and solar systems, using a different criteria.
Look at life on our own planet, we have discoverd life in some of the most inconcivable places like Tube Worms at 20,000ft deep or the Viper Fish at 30,000ft or microibs living in hot springs at or above the boiling point living on chemical compounds that are absoultly toxic to us. All these discoveries have been made with in the last 30-40 years. To quote one scinentest "Life finds a way"

[Ed Rotondaro]

Actually, NASA has been studying this aspect.

http://www.dailygalaxy.com/my_weblog/2007/06/noncarbon_lifef.html

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/07/23/weird_life/

Dennis:

Interesting speculation, especially about Titan. Makes you wonder if anything could develop on Venus due to its heat and other gases.

[Kyle Holgate]

I find the theory that life came here from elsewhere - quite interesting. If we ever find life on Mars that is similar to what's here that'll be the clincher. Look at bacteria spores such as Anthrax and others that could be freeze dried and fairly well protected from radiation damage (and they're not too susceptible anyway) in space - and last for perhaps millions of years (or billions). Mars apparently had a warm wet period before Earth did - and perhaps Venus did too prior to the run-away greenhouse effects it now has. Life could have started on Mars or even further away and come to Earth or Venus to Earth, etc.
Humans have gone through a series of phases where we thought we were really special. First Earth was the center of everything, then we find that it's orbiting the sun. Then we find the sun is a puny little star orbiting the center of a ho-hum Galaxy in a not too special part of the Universe. Maybe life is next - we think we're special and Earth is it - then we find it's all over the place and once again we're reduced to "just" humans in a universe of different types of critters.

[Mike Malanaphy]

Saffron:

I believe that there is life out there. It would be stretching the laws of probability for only planet in a galaxy of stars to have developed the conditions for carbon based life to have developed. Whether there are life forms that are intelligent enough to need or use tools and build civilizations of course is unknown. Personally I think we will find evidence in the form of radio transmissions some day.

Hi Ed,

I'm with you as the Universe is unimaginably big. I remember reading one of Arthur C. Clarke's essays on the possibilities and he pointed out how we have only been broadcasting for about 120 years and spread that over the billions of years life has been possible means no one may be listening at the right time. Thousands of civilization may have risen and fallen while we were still on a planet dominated by reptiles and could never have heard them. And now that we are starting to braodcast, no one may be listening. Certainly a possibility with the large numbers of planets just now being discovered around other stars though so far all are too big to support life similar to us.

[Ed Rotondaro]

Hi Ed,

I'm with you as the Universe is unimaginably big. I remember reading one of Arthur C. Clarke's essays on the possibilities and he pointed out how we have only been broadcasting for about 120 years and spread that over the billions of years life has been possible means no one may be listening at the right time. Thousands of civilization may have risen and fallen while we were still on a planet dominated by reptiles and could never have heard them. And now that we are starting to braodcast, no one may be listening. Certainly a possibility with the large numbers of planets just now being discovered around other stars though so far all are too big to support life similar to us.

Mike:

It would be amazing to discover something like that within our lifetimes.