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Welcome! "Alien Life" tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. Here's today's news:
g STARS - The extremely faint star Wolf 359 is the third closest star system to Sol after Alpha Centauri 3 and Barnard's Star. Here's a primer on it.
g ABODES - Earth, Mars and Venus all have greenhouse effects. So does Saturn's giant moon Titan. But unlike any other world in our solar system, Titan also has an anti-greenhouse effect. Recently, Chris McKay, a planetary research scientist at NASA Ames Research Center, gave a public lecture, sponsored by the Planetary Society, in which he talked about the scientific results of the Cassini-Huygens mission to Saturn and Titan. In this, the third in a four-part series, McKay explains why Titan's greenhouse effect is unique and how its anti-greenhouse effect works. See article. For related stories, see "Naming new lands on Titan" and "Titan's ultraviolet haze".
g LIFE - Bees have a much more sophisticated visual system than previously thought, according to a new University College London study in which bees were able to solve complicated color puzzles. The findings shed light on how brains resolve one of the most difficult challenges of vision namely, recognizing different surfaces under different colors of illumination by suggesting that bees solve this problem using their experience with meaningful color relationships between objects in a scene. The findings, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, may one day lead to the design of autonomous robotic systems. See article.
g INTELLIGENCE - For some time now, primatologists have paid more attention to the hands of chimps than their mouths. The sounds made by chimpanzees seemed to be little more than emotional outbursts without much meaning or intention. But scientists now are struck by the rich vocabulary of gestures chimpanzees use. See article.
g MESSAGE - Using a conservative approach to interstellar travel that intelligent extraterrestrials may be present in our solar system, living in world ships that have colonized cometary or asteroidal objects during the last billion years. The originating star systems for these advanced beings could be solar-type stars that fortuitously approach our Sun within a light year or so at intervals of about a million years or nearby stars that have left the main sequence, prompting interstellar migration. If we are indeed within such a "Dyson Sphere" of artificial worldlets, we could detect their presence through astronomical means since a space habitat will emit more infrared radiation than a like-sized comet or asteroid. See article. For related story, see "Sky trek to the 'near space' neighborhood".
g COSMICUS - Careful engineering and cost analysis shows we can build pleasant, self-sufficient dwelling places in space within the next two decades, solving many of Earth's problems. See article. Note: This article is from 1974. That's right, 1974. Oh, how little we've come.
g LEARNING - There's some good news and some bad news this morning: Our children suffered a victory in Pennsylvania but a defeat in Kansas on Tuesday. See article.
g IMAGINING - Like stories about alien anthropology/cultures? Be sure to scour your favorite used bookstores for C.J. Cherryh's series "The Foreigner Universe," which includes "Foreigner" (1994), "Invader" (1995) and "Inheritor" (1996). The series traces our dealings with the proud Atevi from first contact, as the single ambassador they will allow on planet tries to prevent war.
g AFTERMATH - If we do make contact with extraterrestrials, they'll probably be a Type II or III Kardashev civilization. What's a Kardashev civilization? See article. For related story on the Kardashev scale, click here.
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Welcome! "Alien Life" tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. You may notice that this and future entries are shorter than usual; career, family and book deal commitments have forced me to cut back some of my projects. Now, here's today's news:
g ABODES - Astronomers have determined that young, rocky planets stay hot longer than previously believed. The heat generated by these planets could make them easier to spot around distant stars. See article.
g LIFE - Fossils from an organism known as the 'fishapod' are helping scientists understand how life moved out of the sea and began to walk on dry land. The study is providing new insights about this important step in the evolution of life on Earth. See article.
g MESSAGE -Interstellar transmissions via energy-markers (photons) or matter-markers (probes) appear to be energetically indistinguishable alternatives for advanced technical societies. Since only Type II and Type III civilizations realistically can afford beacons or star probe technology, alternative distinguishability criteria suggest the possible superiority of intelligent artifacts for contact and communication missions among extraterrestrial cultures. A balanced, more cost-effective Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence strategy is needed. See article.
g COSMICUS - The ailing Hubble Space Telescope could be snapping pictures of the heavens again as early as Saturday after engineers fixed one of the problems that has largely shut down the instrument for the last three weeks. See article.
g LEARNING -Unfortunately, the controversy over the theory of evolution continues even as science offers all people a way to know about the natural world and how it works.. See article. Note: This article is from 2003.
g AFTERMATH - Among scientists involved in the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence, it's quite common to be focused on the future, ever mindful that it could take years, or even decades, to find a signal from otherworldly intelligence. But if historian Steve Dick has his way, astronomers will also turn their attention toward the past as they search for life beyond Earth - to discover the aftereffects of contact between two intelligent cultures. See article. Note: This article is from 2003.
Welcome! "Alien Life" tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. You may notice that this and future entries are shorter than usual; career, family and book deal commitments have forced me to cut back some of my projects. Now, here's today's news:
g ABODES - Scientists have found that planets may be partly responsible for the breathtaking appearance of planetary nebula. The research is helping astrobiologists understand the environments in which extrasolar planets develop, and providing insight into the future of our own Solar System. See article.
g LIFE - Some proteins can work above the boiling point of water, but these vital biomolecules may have a harder time evolving at high temperature. A new project is searching for the maximum temperature for protein-based life. See article.
g MESSAGE - Anyone with a computer and an Internet connection can join a worldwide search for intelligent life in space. Here's a primer to how Seti@home works.
g COSMICUS -All systems are go for Friday's scheduled launch of the space shuttle Endeavour's mission to the International Space Station. VOA's Jessica Berman reports the mission comes amid uncertainty at the US space agency NASA over the direction it will take under the incoming administration of President-elect Barack Obama. See article.
Story Musgrave, an astronaut from the United States, believe humans are not alone in this universe. "But do not ever aliens come to Earth," he said in Hufftingtonpost.
Musgrave, holder of 25 million miles of space travel recently, a keynote speaker at the event MUFON symposium or a seminar that discusses the world's largest around the world of Alien and UFO.
According to Musgrave, the evidence that scientists have been shown to prove the existence of aliens is still shallow. In fact, he believes there is a conspiracy related to the discovery of evidence of UFOs. "For me, it's not evidence," he said.
Leading scientist Stephen Hawking also believes in life other than this world. He even warned that the Earth's population to remain calm as well as human hope aliens do not pay attention to the Earth.
In a new documentary for the Discovery Channel, this theoretical physicists warned not to make contact with aliens. "People should avoid contact with them as a consequence can be devastating," said Hawking.
End of June 2011, Russian scientists made a shocking statement that mankind would soon meet with alien civilizations. "We will know next 20 years," said Director of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Andrei Finkelstein.
In an international forum entitled "Looking for Space Life," explains Andrei is now being discovered Earth-like galaxies that evolve around the sun. "There is a similar 10 percent of Earth's galaxy," he said.
This indication can be used as proof there is life similar to Earth. For example, there are human like alien that has two arms and two legs. "Maybe the color of their skin is different, but we were too different," he said.
Source: shieldufoproject.blogspot.com
