lunedì 17 settembre 2007

Big UFO conference In Brazil


The II° World UFO Forum, is to be held in November 15th to 18th. The
conference is being organized by Nucleo de Pesquisas Ufologicas (NPU)
and is coordinated by Rafael Cury, its director and also co-editor

New information as soon as possible.
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Is dead Carol Adin Honey

March 30, 1928 August 9, 2007 Carol Adin Honey went home to be with God in Heaven, Monday morning, August 6, 2007. He died of natural causes. Carol was born in Onta rio, Oregon March 30, 1928. The eldest of 5 children, he is survived by his sister, Ramona Mertz; his wife of 28 years, Ellen; her children, Diana Chasse and Daniel Chasse, whom he raised; his first wife, Darlene, and their three daughters, Carolyn Dietrich, Sandra Kinder, and Valerie Kelley (his daughter, Marilyn Kinney, died of cancer 14 years ago); 9 grandchildren,14 great-grandchildren, and many nieces and nephews. C.A. Honey retired after 26 years working with Hughes Aircraft Ground Systems as an E lectronic Designer. He held a secret clearance with the government for 25 years. Many of those years he worked on space related programs. After his retirement from Hughes Aircraft, Carol opened a TV repair shop and ran it for 18 year in the city of Ontario, California. Carol Honey was the first in the state of California to receive teacher's credentials to teach and train hypnotists. He founded and operated the first school approved by the California State Board of Education in California where he taught hypnotism theory and trained hypnotists. He wrote the first course approved for training hypnotists in California, training doctors and laymen alike. Many hypnosis centers still use his course today in training hypnotists. Carol's interest and hobbies included a wide variety of fields. He loved to read non fiction books. At home in later life he like to watch wrestling programs. It made him laugh a lot. The study of UFOs was a passion throughout his life. He published a UFO newsletter, was a ghost write r of George Adamski's publications, including his book Flying Saucers Farewell and a host of articles and pamphlets. He also published his own books: The Origin of the World Religions, The UFO Situation Today, The Great UFO Deception, and Flying Saucers-50 years Later. Carol Honey was a loving and caring man who helped many family members get through and deal with their own personal problems throughout the 28 years married to his second wife Ellen. He was a quite man with great wisdom. He will be missed b y all who knew him. There will be a graveside service on Friday, August 17.

Published in the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin on 8/12/2007.
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venerdì 14 settembre 2007

EuroSprite 2007 Campaign


On that site (http://eurosprite.blogspot.com/) you can find the programm fro the :

EuroSprite 2007 Campaign - The hunt for upper atmospheric electric phenomena above thunderstorms continues - Red Sprites, Blue Jets and Elves
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News from France

Bonjour,
Quleques infos sur le déroulement des Repas Ufologiques. Toujours actifs, c'est bientot 20 villes qui a travers la France et le Quebec sont couvertes par un Repas Ufologique. En France, pratiquement toutes les régions sont couvertes maintenant. Ce sont donc chaque mois, plusieurs centaines de personnes qui à travers la France, Lequebec, peuvent assister à un Repas Ufologique.
Le succès des Repas Ufologiques dépasse nos frontières puisque régulièrement les cpnférences des Repas de Paris sont retransmises sur les ondes de diverses stations de radios Américaines. Les divers Repas Ufologiques reçoivent les plus grandes vedettes de l'Ufologie Française, pour le plus grand bonheur des invités des Repas organisateurs, preuve aussi que cette "institution" à son utilité.
MARSEILLE : Le 1er SEPTEMBRE, les Repas de Marseille recevront GILDAS BOURDAIS et fêteront les 60 ans de Roswell. Ce sera une première régionale, déjà les médias s'y intéressent car nous y notons déjà la présence de M6 et de FRANCE 3. Si vous résidez dans cette région, une soirée à ne pas manquer. Attention, sur réservation. Voir le site des Repas Ufologiques en page de Marseille.
LORIENT : Le premier Repas s'est déroulé dans cette ville début Août et a permis de réunir quelques invités pour former les bases de ce Repas. Si vous habitez la région, contacter dés maintenant son animateur : tidav999@hotmail.fr . Le prochain repas se déroulera le 6 octobre 2007
.
SAINT DIE : Toujours plus ! St Dié se développe rapidement et plus d'une vingtaine de personnes forment le noyau dûr de ce Repas. En Aout, St Dié à reçu Jean Pierre Varenne, ufologue, co-animateur des repas ufologiques Bordelais qui a fait le déplacement de Bordeaux, ainsi que "Maya" ufologue venue elle d'Allemagne. Prochain repas le 18-10-2007. Information auprès de Bernard Fayard : rama54@free.fr
STRASBOURG : Les Repas ufologiques Strasbourgeois recevront GILDAS BOURDAIS le 6 septembre 2007 et BRUNO MANCUSI ufologue Suisse, le 1er novembre. Très dynamique, ce Repas ufologiques est géré par Christian Comtesse. Info en permanence sur le site des repas de Strasbourg.
COLMAR : Le repas de Colmar va de nouveau être à la une de l'actualité régionale, après le succès rempourté lors de la venue de Jean-Claude Bourret, en recevant le 4 septembre 2007, PIERRE LAGRANGE, auteur, qui est régulièrement interviewé dans les émissions proposées par les médias. Un duplex sera également organisé avec GUY TARADE qui de Nice interviendra en direct pour le grand bonheur des invités de Colmar.
et ce n'est pas fini : le 6 novembre 2007, Colmar recevra le COMMANDANT DUBOC, témoin à bord de son avion d'une observation d'ovni ainsi que MICHAEL HESEMANN, le patron du célbre magazin 2000, revue traitant de l'insolite. C'est une première en France. Si vous habitez l'est de la France ou que vous pouvez faire le déplacement à Colmar, ne pas hésiter à participer à ces repas. Information sur le site des Repas Ufologiques, page de Colmar.
RIMOUSKI - QUEBEC . Le dernier Repas Ufologique de Rimouski a reçu comme vedette surprise, le célèbre sculpteur Gabriel SIMARD (actuellement en France pour y réaliser une oeuvre). Il s'intéresse aux ovnis, aux contactés. Info sur la page de Rimousk du site des Repas Ufologiques.
LYON : le 15 ocotbre 2007 le repas ufologique de Lyon recevra lui aussi des invités de marque ! François HAYS, co-auteur du GUIDE DES LIVRES UFOLOGIQUES FRANCOPHONES sera présent, mais aussi Jérémie FILET spécialiste en Astrophysique. Quant à Jean-Pierre TROADEC et à Daniel ROBIN, ils parleront de la soucoupe de ST FOY LES LYON. Une bonne soirée en perspective.
A PARIS le 4 septembre, c'est DENIS ROGER DENOCLA qui interviendra. Hervé CLERGOT de la revue Béta Tauri viendra le 2 octobre. Sur le site, vous trouverez dans le journal des repas ufologiques 2007 puis 2008 le programme complet des intervenants. Particularité, les Repas Ufologiques Parisiens aborderont lors de trois soirées consécutives l'insolite avec en Janvier, Patricia Marti qui traitera de la médiumnité, de l'audela. En février c'est EMMANUEL RANDSFORD qui traitera de la physique de l'esprit. Puis, invité vedette pour la saison 2008, les REPAS UFOLOGIQUES PARISIENS recevront
JEAN PIERRE GIRARD
vedette du petit écran
qui viendra nous parler de ses expériences en parapsychologie scientifique et expérimentale.
Jean Pierre GIRARD à Paris, c'est une première aux Repas Ufologiques. Une date à retenir !
Parmi les informations générales, notons la parution au Journal Officiel du 21 juillet 2007 de l'Académie de l'Ufologie. L'académie est un gage de sérieux pour les membres qui y adhèrent car ils acceptent par ce geste le Code de Déontologie de l'Académie. Ce code encadre les "actions" de ceux qui adhèrent à l'académie en quelque sorte. Evidemment, un comité est en place et "radie" immédiatement les membres qui s'écartent du code. Cela devient donc une référence que de faire partie de l'ACADEMIE, pour le grand public, pour la presse, contacter un membre de l' Académie, c'est la certitude de s'adresser à quelqu'un de sérieux, respectant des régles établies dans le but de donner une image sérieuse de l'ufologie.
Guy Claude Mouny, que beaucoup connaissent, nous a quitté le 14 juillet dernier. Conférencier infatiguable sur le théme de l'insolite, il était trés apprécié par tous.
Claude Poher, nous informe qu'il a largement progressé dans ses travaux et qu'il a mis en évidence la réalité de sa théorie sur les UNIVERSONS. Information compléte sur la page d'acceuil du site des Repas Ufologiques.
Voilà pour quelques nouvelles des Repas Ufologiques, rendez vous évidemment sur le site des Repas Ufologiques pour plus d'information.
a très bientôt,
Gérard LEBAT

Les Repas Ufologiques ( http://www.les-repas-ufologiques.com)

Tel en France : 01 69 31 04 90 et portable : 06 74 86 15 46

Tel au Maroc ( juillet au 15 septembre 2007) : fixe 00 212 24 37 5
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Exopolitics

Exopolitics is the theoretical study of hypothetical political relations between humanity and extraterrestrial civilizations.

Origin and Usage

The use of the term exopolitics may have begun within the community of ufology enthusiasts, some of whom claim world governments are suppressing knowledge of an "extraterrestrial presence."[1]
Space activist Alfred Webre has used the term.
Professor Wayne Glowka of Georgia College and State University nominated the word "exopolitics"[2] as a possible candidate for the 2005 American Dialect Society word of the year.
As of 2007, the term does not appear in any professionally edited dictionaries.

Science

The possibility of extraterrestrial life has been theoretically addressed, often in the context of the Fermi paradox, while the existence of some form of extraterrestrial life has some support in the scientific community. In a broader context exopolitics deals with the political implications of purported extraterrestrial-related phenomena. Critical questions include what, if any, political framework might be established between human beings and extraterrestrials. While the political aspects and implications of extraterrestrial-related phenomena have been the subject of discussion and writing since reports of UFO sightings in the 1940s, the matter had not been given serious consideration until quite recently.

Politics

Conferences centered on exopolitical issues have been held under the title the X-Conference.[3] The first X-Conference was held in 2004.[4]

In September 25, 2005 at an exopolitics symposium in Toronto, former Canadian Minister of National Defense and Deputy Prime Minister, the Hon. Paul Hellyer, publicly disclosed his belief in an extraterrestrial presence stating that, "UFOs are as real as the airplanes that fly over your head." [5][6][7]

Education

In 2005, Rebecca Hardcastle taught a non-credit exopolitical class at Scottsdale Community College called Extraterrestrial Reality. [8][9]

References in popular culture

References

  1. ^ Robert L. Pela. "Space Crash Course", Phoenix New Times, 13 January 2005. Retrieved on 2007-05-25. “Hardcastle: I'm starting by teaching about the history of UFOs. We'll begin in 1887, with the first sightings that had any kind of press coverage. Then we'll move through up to Project Blue Book, the Truman administration, and other historical reporting done during that time. There is a UFO history; it's just not taught in mainstream education.
    "NT: Is that because studying UFOs is sort of wacky?
    "Hardcastle: Well, I think that attitude first started in the '50s, when sightings stopped getting coverage. If you talk to people who were old enough, they remember the headlines.”
  2. ^ American Dialect Society (December 21, 2005). 2005 Words of the Year to be chosen in Albuquerque. Press release. Retrieved on 2007-04-02.
  3. ^ Paradigm Research Group (PRG) Press Release (25 May 2007). Paradigm Research Group Announces X-Conference 2007 (html). PRWeb.com. “The Washington political media will be heavily lobbied to turn out in numbers similar to their attendance at the May 9, 2001 Disclosure Project press conference at the National Press Club — 100 reporters and 17 camera crews from a dozen nations. X-Conference 2007 will be held September 14-16, 2007 and X-Conference 2008 will be held April 18-20, 2008 — both at the 3-star Hilton Hotel in Gaithersburg, MD.”
  4. ^ X-Conference: First Annual Exopolitics Expo — April 17-18, 2004 (html). Paradigm Research Group website.
  5. ^ Hon. Paul Hellyer. Exopolitics Conference [Recording]. Toronto, Canada: Disclosure Project.
  6. ^ Space Alien Hearings?. Free-Market New Network (November 28, 2005). Retrieved on 2007-04-06.
  7. ^ Former Canadian Minister Of Defence Asks Canadian Parliament Asked To Hold Hearings On Relations With Alien "Et" Civilizations. UFO Digest (November 24, 2005). Retrieved on 2007-04-13.
  8. ^ Pela, Robrt L. (January 13, 2005). Space Crash Course. Phoenix New Times. Retrieved on 2007-04-06.
  9. ^ Davis, Scott (January 21, 2005). Passion for the paranormal? Take a UFO class. Fox 11 AZ. Retrieved on 2007-04-06.
  10. ^ Exo-Politics (song). MuseWiki. Retrieved on 2007-04-02.
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Etichette: , ,

Extraterrestrial life


From Wikipedia

Extraterrestrial life is life originating outside of the Earth. Its existence remains theoretical; there is no evidence of extraterrestrial life that has been widely accepted by the scientific community.

Many scientists believe that if extraterrestrial life exists, its emergence occurred independently, in different places in the universe. An alternative hypothesis is panspermia, which suggests that life might emerge in one location and then spread between habitable planets. These two hypotheses are not mutually exclusive. The study and theorization of extraterrestrial life is known as astrobiology, exobiology or xenobiology. Speculative forms of extraterrestrial life range from sapient beings to life at the scale of bacteria.

Suggested locations that might have once developed or continue to host life include Mars, natural satellites of Jupiter and Saturn (e.g. Europa,[1] Enceladus and Titan), and most recently Gliese 581 c, which is the only known extrasolar planet in its star's habitable zone and is predicted to have liquid water.[2]

Contents

Possible basis of extraterrestrial life

Biochemistry

Main articles: Biochemistry and Alternative biochemistry

All life on Earth is based on the building block element carbon with water as the solvent in which biochemical reactions take place. This carbon and water combination may have formed other creatures on other planets with roughly the same make up. Due to the fact that Earth (and subsequently, all life on Earth) is made up of "star dust" or rather mass formed from stars which have gone supernova, it is apparent that the millions of other stars which can even be seen from Earth have been formed by the same sorts of particles. The combination of carbon and water in the chemical form (CH2O)n, is the chemical form of the sugars, which as well as providing the energy on which animal life depends (largely through the oxidation of glucose, a six carbon sugar), also provides structural elements for life (such as the sugar ribose, a five carbon sugar, in the molecules DNA and RNA). Plants derive energy through the conversion of light energy into chemical energy via photosynthesis. Life requires carbon in both reduced (methane derivatives) and partially-oxidized (carbon oxides) states. It also requires nitrogen as a reduced ammonia derivative in all proteins, sulfur as a derivative of hydrogen sulfide in some necessary proteins, and phosphorus oxidized to phosphates in genetic material and in energy transfer. Adequate water as a solvent supplies adequate oxygen as constituents of biochemical substances.

Pure water is useful because it has a neutral pH, due to its continued dissociation between hydroxide and hydronium ions. As a result, it can dissolve both positive metallic ions and negative non-metallic ions with equal ability. Furthermore, the fact that organic molecules can be either hydrophobic (repelled by water) or hydrophilicmembranes. The fact that solid water (ice) is less dense than liquid water also means that ice floats, thereby preventing Earth's oceans from slowly freezing solid. Additionally, the Van der Waals forces between water molecules give it an ability to store energy with evaporation, which upon condensation is released. This helps moderate climate, cooling the tropics and warming the poles, helping to maintain a thermodynamic stability needed for life. (soluble in water) creates the ability of organic compounds to orient themselves to form water-enclosing

Carbon is fundamental to terrestrial life for its immense flexibility in creating covalent chemical bonds with a variety of non-metallic elements, principally nitrogen, oxygen and hydrogen. Carbon dioxide and water together enable the storage of solar energy in sugars, such as glucose. The oxidation of glucose releases biochemical energy needed to fuel all other biochemical reactions.

The ability to form organic acids (–COOH) and amine bases (–NH2) gives it the possibility of neutralisationpolymer peptides and catalytic proteins from monomer amino acids, and with phosphates to build not only DNA, the information storing molecule of inheritance, but also adenosine triphosphate (ATP) the principal energy "currency" of cellular life. dehydrating reactions to build long

Given their relative abundance and usefulness in sustaining life it has long been assumed that life forms elsewhere in the universe will also utilize these basic components. However, other elements and solvents might be capable of providing a basis for life. Silicon is usually considered the most likely alternative to carbon, though this remains improbable. Silicon life forms are proposed to have a crystalline morphology, and are theorized to be able to exist in high temperatures, such as on planets which are very close to their star. Life forms based in ammonia[3] rather than water are also considered, though this solution appears less optimal than water.

Indeed, technically life is little more than any self-replicating reaction, which could arise in a great many conditions and with various ingredients, though carbon-oxygen within the liquid temperature range of water seems most conducive. Suggestions have even been made that self-replicating reactions of some sort could occur within the plasma of a star, though it would be highly unconventional.

Several pre-conceived ideas about the characteristics of life outside of Earth have been questioned. For example, NASA scientists believe that the color of plant pigments on extrasolar planets could be non-green.[4]

Evolution and morphology

Along with the biochemical basis of extraterrestrial life, there remains a broader consideration of evolution and morphology. Science fiction has long shown a bias towards humanoid and/or reptilian forms. The classical alien is light green or grey skinned, with a large head, and the typical four limb and two to five digit structure—i.e., it is fundamentally humanoid with a large brain to indicate great intelligence. Other subjects from animal mythos such as felines and insects have also featured strongly in fictional representations of aliens.

A division has been suggested between universal and parochial (narrowly restricted) characteristics. Universals are features which have evolved independently more than once on Earth (and thus presumably are not difficult to develop) and are so intrinsically useful that species will inevitably tend towards them. These include flight, sight, photosynthesis and limbs, all of which have evolved several times here on Earth with differing materialization. There is a huge variety of eyes, for example, many of which have radically different working schematics as well as different visual foci: the visual spectrum, infrared, polarity and echolocation. Parochials, by contrast, are essentially arbitrary evolutionary forms which often serve little inherent utility (or at least have a function which can be equally served by dissimilar morphology) and probably will not be replicated. Parochials include the five digits of humans and the curious and often fatal conjunction of the feeding and breathing passages found within many animals, although it is possible this conjunction allowed for the evolution of human speech.[citation needed]

A consideration of which features are ultimately parochial challenges many taken-for-granted notions about morphological necessity. Skeletons, which are essential to large terrestrial organisms according to the experts of the field of Gravitational biology, are almost assuredly to be replicated elsewhere in one form or another, yet the vertebrate spine—while a profound development on Earth—is just as likely to be unique. Similarly, it is reasonable to expect some type of egg laying amongst off-Earth creatures but the mammary glands which set apart mammals might be a singular case.

The assumption of radical diversity amongst putative extraterrestrials is by no means settled. While many exobiologists do stress that the enormously heterogeneous nature of Earth life foregrounds even greater variety in space, others point out that convergent evolution may dictate substantial similarities between Earth and off-Earth life. These two schools of thought are called "divergionism" and "convergionism", respectively.[5]

Beliefs in extraterrestrial life

Ancient and early modern ideas

See also: Cosmic pluralism

Belief in extraterrestrial life may have been present in ancient Assyria, Egypt, Arabia, China, Babylon, India and Sumer, although in these societies, cosmology was fundamentally supernatural and the notion of alien life is difficult to distinguish from that of gods, demons, and such. The first important Western thinkers to argue systematically for a universe full of other planets and, therefore, possible extraterrestrial life were the ancient Greek writer Thales and his student Anaximander in the 7th and 6th centuries B.C. The atomists of Greece took up the idea, arguing that an infinite universe ought to have an infinity of populated worlds. Ancient Greek cosmology worked against the idea of extraterrestrial life in one critical respect, however, the geocentricAristotle and codified by Ptolemy, favored the Earth and Earth-life (Aristotle denied there could be a plurality of worlds) and seemingly rendered extraterrestrial life philiosophically untenable. Lucian universe, championed by in his novels described inhabitants of the Moon and other celestial bodies as humanoids, but with significant differences from humans.

Giordano Bruno, De l'Infinito, Universo e Mondi, 1584 Photo courtesy of P.C.
Giordano Bruno, De l'Infinito, Universo e Mondi, 1584 Photo courtesy of P.C.

Authors of ancient Jewish sources also considered extraterrestrial life. The Talmud states that there are at least 18,000 other worlds, but provides little elaboration on the nature of the worlds and on whether they are physical or spiritual. Based on this, however, the medieval exposition "Sefer HaB'rit" posits that extraterrestrial creatures exist but that they have no free will (and are thus equivalent to animal life). It adds that human beings should not expect creatures from another world to resemble earthly life, any more than sea creatures resemble land animals.[6][7]

Hindu beliefs of endlessly repeated cycles of life have led to descriptions of multiple worlds in existence and their mutual contacts ( Sanskrit word Sampark (समपर्क) means 'contact' as in Mahasamparka (मह‌समपर्क) = the great contact). According to Hindu scriptures there are innumerable universes created by the Supreme Personality of Godhead to facilitate the fulfillment of the separated desires of innumerable living entities. However the purpose of such creations is to bring back the deluded souls to correct understanding about the purpose of life. Apart from the innumerable universes which are material, there is also the existence of unlimited spiritual world, where the purified living entities live with perfect conception about life and ultimate reality. The life of these purified beings is centered around loving devotional services to Supreme Personality of Godhead. The spiritually aspiring saints and devotees as well as thoughtful men of material world have been getting guidance and help from these purified living entities of spiritual world from time immemorial. However the relevance of such descriptions have to be evaluated in the context of a correct understanding of geography and science at those times.

Within Islam, the statement of the Qur'an "All praise belongs to God, Lord of all the worlds" indicates multiple universal bodies and maybe even multiple universes that may indicate extraterrestrial and even extradimensional life. Surat Al-Jinn also mentioned a statement from a Jinn regarding the current status and ability of his group in the heavens. A more direct reference from Quran is presented by Mirza Tahir Ahmad as a proof that life on other planets may exist according to Quran. In his book, Revelation, Rationality, Knowledge & Truth, he quotes verse 42:30 "And among His Signs is the creation of the heavens and the earth, and of whatever living creatures (da'bbah) He has spread forth in both..."; according to this verse there is life in heavens. According to the same verse "And He has the power to gather them together (jam-'i-him) when He will so please"; indicates the bringing together the life on Earth and the life elsewhere in the universe. The verse does not specify the time or the place of this meeting but rather states that this event will most certainly come to pass whenever God so desires. It should be pointed out that the Arabic term Jam-i-him used to express the gathering event can imply either a physical encounter or a contact through communication.[8]

When Christianity spread throughout the West, the Ptolemaic system became very widely accepted, and although the Church never issued any formal pronouncement on the question of alien life[9] at least tacitly the idea was aberrant. In 1277 the Bishop of Paris, Étienne Tempier, did overturn Aristotle on one point: God couldNicholas of Cusamoon and sun. have created more than one world (given His omnipotence) yet we know by revelation He only made one. Taking a further step and arguing that aliens actually existed remained rare. Notably, Cardinal speculated about aliens on the

There was a dramatic shift in thinking initiated by the invention of the telescope and the Copernican assault on geocentric cosmology. Once it became clear that the Earth was merely one planet amongst countless bodies in the universe the extraterrestrial idea moved towards the scientific mainstream. God's omnipotence, it could be argued, not only allowed for other worlds and other life, on some level it necessitated them. The best known early-modern proponent of such ideas was Giordano Bruno, who argued in the 16th century for an infinite universe in which every star is surrounded by its own solar system; he was eventually burned at the stake by the Catholic church for his heretical ideas. In the early 17th century the Czech astronomer Anton Maria Schyrleus of Rheita mused that "if Jupiter has…inhabitants…they must be larger and more beautiful than the inhabitants of the Earth, in proportion to the [characteristics] of the two spheres."[10] Dominican monk Tommaso CampanellaCivitas Solis. wrote about a Solarian alien race in his

Such comparisons also appeared in poetry of the era. In "The Creation: a Philosophical Poem in Seven Books" (1712) Sir Richard Blackmore observed: "We may pronounce each orb sustains a race / Of living things adapted to the place". The didactic poet Henry More took up the classical theme of the Greek Democritus in "Democritus Platonissans, or an Essay Upon the Infinity of Worlds" (1647). With the new relative viewpoint that the Copernican revolution had wrought, he suggested "our world's sunne / Becomes a starre elsewhere." Fontanelle's "Conversations on the Plurality of Worlds" (translated into English in 1686) offered similar excursions on the possibility of extraterrestrial life, expanding rather than denying the creative sphere of a Maker.

The possibility of extraterrestrials remained a widespread speculation as scientific discovery accelerated. William Herschel, the discoverer of Uranus, was one of many 18th-19th century astronomers convinced that our Solar System, and perhaps others, would be well populated by alien life. Other luminaries of the period who championed "cosmic pluralism" included Immanuel Kant and Benjamin Franklin. At the height of the Enlightenment even the Sun and Moon were considered candidates for extraterrestrial inhabitation.

Extraterrestrials and the modern era

The Arecibo message is a digital message sent to globular star cluster M13, and is a well-known symbol of human attempts to contact extraterrestrials.
The Arecibo message is a digital message sent to globular star cluster M13, and is a well-known symbol of human attempts to contact extraterrestrials.

This enthusiasm toward the possibility of alien life continued well into the 20th century. Indeed, the roughly three centuries from the Scientific Revolution through the beginning of the modern era of solar system probes were essentially the zenith for belief in extraterrestrials in the West. Many astronomers and other secular thinkers, at least some religious thinkers, and much of the general public were largely satisfied that aliens were a reality. This trend was finally tempered as actual probes visited potential alien abodes in the solar system. The moon was decisively ruled out as a possibility while Venus and Mars, long the two main candidates for extraterrestrials, showed no obvious evidence of current life. The other large moons of our system which have been visited appear similarly lifeless, though the interesting geothermic forces observed (Io's volcanism, Europa's ocean, Titan's thick atmosphere) have underscored how broad the range of potentially habitable environments may be. Although the hypothesis of a deliberate cosmic silence of advanced extraterrestrials is also a possibility,[11] the failure of the SETI program to detect anything resembling an intelligent radio signal after four decades of effort has partially dimmed the optimism that prevailed at the beginning of the space age. Emboldened critics view the search for extraterrestrials as unscientific, despite the fact the SETI program is not the result of a continuous, dedicated search but instead utilizes what resources and manpower it can, when it can.[12]

Thus, the three decades preceding the turn of the second millennium saw a crossroads reached in beliefs in alien life. The prospect of ubiquitous, intelligent, space-faring civilizations in our solar system appears increasingly dubious to many scientists. Still, in the words of SETI's Frank Drake, "All we know for sure is that the sky is not littered with powerful microwave transmitters."[13] Drake has also noted that it is entirely possible advanced technology results in communication being carried out in some way other than conventional radio transmission. At the same time, the data returned by space probes and giant strides in detection methods have allowed science to begin delineating habitability criteria on other worlds and to confirm that, at least, other planets are plentiful though aliens remain a question mark.

In 2000, geologist and paleontologist Peter Ward and astrobiologist Donald Brownlee published a book entitled Rare Earth: Why Complex Life is Uncommon in the Universe.[14] In it, they discussed the Rare Earth hypothesis, in which they claim that Earth-like life is rare in the universe, while microbial life is common in the universe.

The possible existence of primitive (microbial) life outside of Earth is much less controversial to mainstream scientists although at present no direct evidence of such life has been found. Indirect evidence has been offered for the current existence of primitive life on the planet Mars. However, the conclusions that should be drawn from such evidence remain in debate.

The funding and financing for research involving extraterrestrial life has generally been supported. However, in many instances, it has not. For example, in the United States, President George W. Bush's Fiscal Year 2007 NASA Budget cut funding for astrobiological research by 50 percent.[15]

Scientific search for extraterrestrial life

The scientific search for extraterrestrial life is being carried out in two different ways, directly and indirectly.

Direct search

The planned NASA Kepler mission for the search of extrasolar planets.
The planned NASA Kepler mission for the search of extrasolar planets.

Scientists are directly searching for evidence of unicellular life within the solar system, carrying out studies on the surface of Mars and examining meteors that have fallen to Earth. A mission is also proposed to Europa, one of Jupiter's moons with a possible liquid water layer under its surface, which might contain life.

There is some limited evidence that microbial life might possibly exist or have existed on Mars.[16] An experiment on the Viking Mars lander reported gas emissions from heated Martian soil that some argue are consistent with the presence of microbes. However, the lack of corroborating evidence from other experiments on the Viking indicates that a non-biological reaction is a more likely hypothesis. Recently, Circadian rhythms have been allegedly discovered in Viking data. The interpretation is controversial. Independently in 1996 structures resembling bacteria were reportedly discovered in a meteorite, ALH84001, thought to be formed of rock ejected from Mars. This report is also controversial and scientific debate continues (See Viking biological experiments).

In February 2005, NASA scientists reported that they had found strong evidence of present life on Mars.[17]Carol Stoker and Larry Lemke of NASA's Ames Research Center, based their claims on methane signatures found in Mars' atmosphere that resemble the methane production of some forms of primitive life on Earth, as well as their own study of primitive life near the Rio Tinto river in Spain. NASA officials soon denied the scientists' claims, and Stoker herself backed off from her initial assertions.[18] The two scientists,

Though such findings are still very much in debate, support among scientists for the belief in the existence of life on Mars seems to be growing. In an informal survey conducted at the conference in which the European Space Agency presented its findings, 75 percent of the scientists in attendance reported to believe that life once existed on Mars; 25 percent reported a belief that life currently exists there.[19]

The Gaia hypothesis stipulates that any planet with a robust population of life will have an atmosphere that is not in chemical equilibrium, which is relatively easy to determine from a distance by spectroscopy. However, significant advances in the ability to find and resolve light from smaller rocky worlds near to their star are necessary before this can be used to analyze extrasolar planets

Indirect search

Terrestrial Planet Finder - A planned Infrared interferometer for finding Earth-like extrasolar planets (as of 2007 , it has not received the funding from NASA it needs — that funding is going towards the Kepler mission).
Terrestrial Planet Finder - A planned Infrared interferometer for finding Earth-like extrasolar planetsKepler mission). (as of 2007 , it has not received the funding from NASA it needs — that funding is going towards the

It is theorised that any technological society in space will be transmitting information. Projects such as SETI are conducting an astronomical search for radio activity that would confirm the presence of intelligent life. A related suggestion is that aliens might broadcast pulsed and continuous laser signals in the optical as well as infrared spectrum;[20] laser signals have the advantage of not "smearing" in the interstellar medium and may prove more conducive to communication between the stars. And while other communication techniques including laser transmission and interstellar spaceflight have been discussed seriously and may not be infeasible, the measure of effectiveness is the amount of information communicated per unit cost, resulting with the radio as method of choice.

Extrasolar planets

Astronomers also search for extrasolar planets that would be conducive to life, especially those like Gliese 581 cOGLE-2005-BLG-390Lb, which have been found to have Earth-like qualities.[21][2] Current radiodetection methods have been inadequate for such a search, as the resolution afforded by recent technology is inadequate for detailed study of extrasolar planetary objects. Future telescopes should be able to image planets around nearby stars, which may reveal the presence of life (either directly or through spectrography which would reveal key information such as the presence of free oxygen in a planet's atmosphere): and

Artist's Impression of Gliese 581 c, the first extrasolar planet discovered within its star's habitable zone.
Artist's Impression of Gliese 581 c, the first extrasolar planet discovered within its star's habitable zone.
  • Darwin is an ESA mission designed to find Earth-like planets, and analyse their atmosphere.
  • The COROT mission, initiated by the French Space Agency, was launched in 2006 and is currently looking for extrasolar planets -- it is the first of its kind
  • The Terrestrial Planet Finder was supposed to be launched by NASA, but as of 2007 , budget cuts have caused it to be delayed indefinitely
  • The Kepler Mission, largely replacing the Terrestrial Planet Finder, to be launched in November 2008

It has been argued that Alpha Centauri, the closest star system to Earth, may contain planets which could be capable of sustaining life.[22]

On April 24, 2007, scientists at the European Southern Observatory in La Silla, Chile said they had found the first Earth-like planet. The planet, known as Gliese 581 c, orbits within the habitable zone of its star Gliese 581, a red dwarf star which is a scant 20.5 light years (194 trillion km) from Earth. It was initially thought that this planet could contain liquid water. However, recent computer simulations of the climate on Gliese 581c by Werner Von Bloh and his team at Germany's Institute for Climate Impact Research suggest carbon dioxide and methane in the atmosphere would create a runaway greenhouse effect. This would warm the planet well above the boiling point of water (100 degrees Celsius/212 degrees Fahrenheit), thus dimming the hopes of finding life. As a result of greenhouse models, scientists are now turning their attention to Gliese 581 d, which lies just outside of the star's traditional habitable zone.[23]

On May 29, 2007, the Associated Press released a report stating that scientists have identified twenty-eight exo-solar planetary bodies. One of these newly discovered planets is said to have many similarities with Neptune.[24]

Drake equation

In 1961 astronomer and astrophysicist Dr. Frank Drake devised the Drake equation, which mathematically simplifies the rate of formation of suitable stars, the fraction of those stars which contain planets, the number of Earth-like worlds per planetary system, the fraction of planets where intelligent life develops, and the fraction of possible communicative planets, and the "lifetime" of possible communicative civilizations which scientifically stated there are an estimated 10,000[citation needed] planets containing intelligent life with the possible capability of communicating with Earth in the Milky Way galaxy.

Extraterrestrial life in the Solar System

This planetary habitability chart shows where life might exist on extrasolar planets based on our own Solar System and life on Earth.
This planetary habitability chart shows where life might exist on extrasolar planets based on our own Solar SystemEarth. and life on
Europa, due to the ocean under its icy crust, might host some form of microbial life.
Europa, due to the ocean under its icy crust, might host some form of microbial life.[25][1]

Many bodies in the Solar System have been suggested as being capable of containing conventional organic life. The most commonly suggested ones are listed below; of these, four of the eight are moons, and are thought to have large bodies of underground liquid (streams), where life may have evolved in a similar fashion to deep sea vents.

  • Mars - Life on Mars has been long speculated. Liquid water is widely thought to have existed on Mars in the past and there may still be liquid water beneath the surface. Methane was found in the atmosphere of Mars. Recent photographs from Mars Global Surveyor show evidence of recent (within 10 years) flows of a liquid on the Red Planet's frigid surface.[26]
  • Europa - Europa may contain liquid water beneath its 100-mile ice layer, vents on the bottom of the ocean warm the ice so that 60 miles of liquid could exist beneath the ice layer, perhaps capable of supporting microbes and simple plants.[1]
  • Jupiter - Possible supporter of floating animals, as hypothesized by Carl Sagan for gas giants in general. This point of view is somewhat controversial due to the fact that these creatures would not be water-based, but ammonia-based.[27]
  • Ganymede - Possible underground ocean (see Europa).
  • Callisto - Possible underground ocean (see Europa).
  • Saturn - Possible floating creatures (see Jupiter).
  • Enceladus - Geothermal activity, watervapour. Possible underice oceans heated by tidal effects.
  • Titan (Saturn's largest moon) - The only known moon with a significant atmosphere was recently visited by the Huygens probe. Latest discoveries indicate that there is no global or widespread ocean, but small and/or seasonal liquid hydrocarbon lakes are present on the surface (the first liquid lakes discovered outside of Earth).[28][29][30]
  • Venus - Recently, scientists have speculated the existence of microbes in the stable cloud layers 50 km above the surface, evidenced by hospitable climates and chemical disequilibrium.[31]

Numerous other bodies have been suggested as potential hosts for microbial life. Fred Hoyle has proposed that life might exist on comets, as some Earth microbes managed to survive on a lunar probe for many years. However, it is considered highly unlikely that complex multicellular organisms of the conventional chemistry of terrestrial life (animals, plants) could exist under these living conditions.

Events and objects

Searches for extraterrestrial life

Subjects

Theories

References

  1. ^ a b chttp://www.planetary.org/programs/projects/explore_europa/update_12142005.html"
  2. ^ a bhttp://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/070424_hab_exoplanet.html
  3. ^ Ammonia based life. daviddarling.info.
  4. ^http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/news/topstory/2007/spectrum_plants.html
  5. ^ Variety of extraterrestrial life. daviddarling.info.
  6. ^ Star Struck, a letter to a Rabbi. ohr.edu.
  7. ^ Kaplan, Rabbi Aryeh. Extraterrestrial life. torah.org.
  8. ^ [1]Revelation, Rationality, Knowledge & Truth, by Mirza Tahir Ahmad. Chapter; The Quran and Extraterrestrial Life
  9. ^ Wiker, Benjamin D.. Christianity and the Search for Extraterrestrial Life. crisismagazine.com.
  10. ^ Rheita.htm. cosmovisions.com.
  11. ^ http://controlled-hominization.com
  12. ^ Crichton, Michael (January 17, 2003). Aliens Cause Global Warming. crichton-official.com.
  13. ^ http://www.faqs.org/docs/air/taseti.html
  14. ^http://www.amazon.com/Rare-Earth-Complex-Uncommon-Universe/dp/0387987010
  15. ^http://www.space.com/searchforlife/seti_culberson_060316.html
  16. ^ http://www.spherix.com/mars.html
  17. ^ Berger, Brian. "Exclusive: NASA Researchers Claim Evidence of Present Life on Mars", 2005.
  18. ^ "NASA denies Mars life reports", spacetoday.net, 2005.
  19. ^ Spotts, Peter N.. "Sea boosts hope of finding signs of life on Mars", The Christian Science Monitor, 2005-02-28. Retrieved on 2006-12-18.
  20. ^ The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) in the Optical Spectrum. The Columbus Optical SETI Observatory.
  21. ^ "http://planet.iap.fr/OB05390.news.html".
  22. ^http://articles.adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-iarticle_query?1997AJ....113.1445W
  23. ^http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/space/2007-06-18-earthlike-planet-questioned_N.htm
  24. ^http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6699893.stm
  25. ^ http://people.msoe.edu/~tritt/sf/europa.life.html
  26. ^http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/6214834.stm
  27. ^http://www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia/J/Jupiterlife.html
  28. ^http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/050913_titan_life.html
  29. ^http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/060728_titan_lake.html
  30. ^ Lakes on Titan, Full-Res: PIA08630 (July 24, 2006).
  31. ^ http://www.astrobio.net/news/article311.html

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