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Space: The Final Frontier

T

Takuya

Banned
MisterAnderson said:
You're looking at it wrong. The probability of there being life and intelligent life, from a statistical point of view is quite high. The probability of us actually finding it, is quite low. But given how much time we have as a species (assuming we don't kill ourselves in the next few hundred years) it could happen.
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I'm not talking about that. I'm just saying, there IS the possibility that we are alone. I'm not saying that's what I think or believe. But it's there, and you can't say 'there is', or 'there isn't', because both outcomes are possible.
 
H

HephalumpsAndWoozles

Banned
Takuya said:
I'm not talking about that. I'm just saying, there IS the possibility that we are alone. I'm not saying that's what I think or believe. But it's there, and you can't say 'there is', or 'there isn't', because both outcomes are possible.
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And there is a possibility that a giant pink elephant on the other side of the universe is causing dark flow... and you can't say 'there is', or 'there isn't', because both outcomes are possible.

On a more serious note:
We only know of one place in the universe right now that is capable of harboring life as we know it. So in every place we have looked capable of sustaining life as we know it, we have found it.

Id say a 1:1 probability is a pretty good point to start at being open minded about the possibility of other life out there. Id say chances are very good considering all that we know now.
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M

MisterAnderson

Member
Takuya said:
I'm not talking about that. I'm just saying, there IS the possibility that we are alone. I'm not saying that's what I think or believe. But it's there, and you can't say 'there is', or 'there isn't', because both outcomes are possible.
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Well anything's possible, so yeah that's definitely a possibility. But the fact is that there's at least one intelligent species of life in this galaxy (fact: us). So, with that knowledge, and the knowledge that there are BILLIONS (if not trillions) of other galaxies, it's a logical prediction that there is a good chance that at least ONE of those galaxies has ONE species of life that has evolved, and maybe even to intelligence.

At least that's how I see it.
 
S

Scrow

Still Tagged Accordingly
HephalumpsAndWoozles said:
I wonder what the probability of intelligent life forming in the universe.

This proposition means that it would only occur once. We already know that intelligent life can and does exist.

Probability wise, is it not much more of a stretch to say something like this can or will happen once rather than multiple times, considering all the variables in the universe.

Edit: We only know of one place in the universe right now that is capable of harboring life as we know it. So in every place we have looked capable of sustaining life as we know it, we have found it.

Id say a 1:1 probability is a pretty good point to start at being open minded about the possibility of other life out there. Id say chances are very good considering all that we know now.
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what's also interesting is to look at all the life on Earth and see the types of environments they thrive in. there's some pretty crazy extremeophiles around. some that survive in high temperatures, acidic liquids, high radioactivity, no sunlight, freezing cold etc.

that's an extremely broad spectrum of "life friendly" conditions demonstrated on just one planet.

the universe is REALLY big. there's a lot of planets and moons out there.

until we actually find life outside of Earth, no one can say for sure of course... but if I was a betting man i'd put my money on there being more life out there. intelligent life (tribalistic, mastered fire, track stars)? that's another question entirely.
 
H

HephalumpsAndWoozles

Banned
Scrow said:
what's also interesting is to look at all the life on Earth and see the types of environments they thrive in. there's some pretty crazy extremeophiles around. some that survive in high temperatures, acidic liquids, high radioactivity, no sunlight, freezing cold etc.

that's an extremely broad spectrum of "life friendly" conditions demonstrated on just one planet.

the universe is REALLY big. there's a lot of planets and moons out there.

until we actually find life outside of Earth, no one can say for sure of course... but if I was a betting man i'd put my money on there being more life out there. intelligent life (tribalistic, mastered fire, track stars)? that's another question entirely.
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Thats why I said life "as we know it", because Im open to the possibility that we as humans dont understand everything about life, and there could be life out there that doesnt conform to our standards of life, or doesnt require all the ingredients for life that our species and others on this planet do.

In other words, just because something might not be "life friendly" to humans does not necessarily mean life cant exist there.

And if thats the case, we may have already looked directly at planets harboring life and dismissed it entirely because we couldnt possibly live there.

Id say this is of course more of just random thoughts with no scientific evidence to really back up the conjectures, but Id say that puts it on an even field with "life exists nowhere else in the universe but here" theory, and considering the popularity of that viewpoint, despite any real evidence to back it up, Id say Im comfortable with the possibility of mine being true.
 
K

Kaako

Felium Defensor
Neil deGrasse Tyson in New Cosmos made my day today. I'm humbled every time I watch the original and the night sky.
 
A

astroturfing

Member
Kaako said:
Neil deGrasse Tyson in New Cosmos made my day today. I'm humbled every time I watch the original and the night sky.
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hell yeah. made my day too, and i wanted to post about it :)

i'm going to be so happy sitting down watching every new episode. cannot wait!
 
C

C.Dark.DN

Banned
FFFUUU

I thought directv was going to offer NASA TV in HD but they were saying starting in August only people with a HD receiver can view it in.... SD.
 
D

dragonelite

Member
Kaako said:
Neil deGrasse Tyson in New Cosmos made my day today. I'm humbled every time I watch the original and the night sky.
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Saw on youtube a talk he held at a uni or college.
i always were interested in space.
 
N

Naked Snake

Member
Watching Cosmos for the first time (a decade or so ago, borrowed the DVD box set from a friend) was a turning point in my life, (for one thing it killed any remnant faith I had in creationism) and launched my never ending thirst to learn more about science and cosmology.

They could not have picked a better person to host a new Cosmos series than Neil deGrasse Tyson. The man is the spiritual successor of Sagan and was hugely influenced by him; he fondly talks about Sagan supporting and encouraging him when he was in school. You know he'll do the series great justice.

Can't wait to watch every episode in a pitch black room like I did with the original Cosmos!
 
M

Memphis Reigns

Member
Naked Snake said:
Watching Cosmos for the first time (a decade or so ago, borrowed the DVD box set from a friend) was a turning point in my life, (for one thing it killed any remnant faith I had in creationism) and launched my never ending thirst to learn more about science and cosmology.

They could not have picked a better person to host a new Cosmos series than Neil deGrasse Tyson. The man is the spiritual successor of Sagan and was hugely influenced by him; he fondly talks about Sagan supporting and encouraging him when he was in school. You know he'll do the series great justice.

Can't wait to watch every episode in a pitch black room like I did with the original Cosmos!
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Sagan personally picked him up from the bus station because there was a blizzard before he gave Tyson a tour of the college campus of Cornell when Tyson was looking at different schools to go to. So yeah he's the perfect successor. More importantly though, I had a very similar experience with Cosmos. It's safe to say it changed my life. I was already interested in the universe but this series opened my eyes to a ton of realities. It pretty much changed my perspective on the world and our place within the universe. Etc, etc.
 
I

Izayoi

Banned
Look at it this way. There are estimated to be between 10 sextillion and 1 septillion stars in the Universe. We know of about 1200 planets from a few hundred different stars. Of those 1200 planets, 54 are in "habitable zones". If we assume that 4.5% of all planets are "habitable" (and that's assuming that life needs conditions like Earth to exist), and that half of all stars have planets, and of those half, there is an average of five planets per star, we're looking at trillions, if not quadrillions of "habitable" planets. To think that life exists only on this one insignificant little rock strikes me as incredibly arrogant and/or naive.
 
N

Naked Snake

Member
Izayoi said:
Look at it this way. There are estimated to be between 10 sextillion and 1 septillion stars in the Universe. We know of about 1200 planets from a few hundred different start. Of those 1200 planets, 54 are in "habitable zones". If we assume that 4.5% of all planets are "habitable" (and that's assuming that life needs conditions like Earth to exist), and that half of all stars have planets, and of those half, there is an average of five planets per star, we're looking at trillions, if not quadrillions of "habitable" planets. To think that life exists only on this one insignificant little rock strikes me as incredibly arrogant and/or naive.
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Yes it's the oldest argument in the book. Here's a rather humorous take on it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySZtL9JY-p8
 
F

fallout

Member
Izayoi said:
Look at it this way. There are estimated to be between 10 sextillion and 1 septillion stars in the Universe. We know of about 1200 planets from a few hundred different start. Of those 1200 planets, 54 are in "habitable zones". If we assume that 4.5% of all planets are "habitable" (and that's assuming that life needs conditions like Earth to exist), and that half of all stars have planets, and of those half, there is an average of five planets per star, we're looking at trillions, if not quadrillions of "habitable" planets. To think that life exists only on this one insignificant little rock strikes me as incredibly arrogant and/or naive.
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While I don't necessarily agree with it, the Rare Earth Hypothesis is a reasonable counter argument.
 
N

Naked Snake

Member
ISS Tour (annoying rock music stops halfway through)

Doesn't look as cool from in the inside as it does from the outside. Kubrick would be appalled! :p

I couldn't help but think how "primitive" the interior of the space station looks... Say in a hundred years or so, if human civilization doesn't regress, their space stations must look much nicer from the inside, I'd think.
 
D

Deku

Banned
perseid-meteor-shower-2011-space-station.jpg


Perseid meteor shower from space.
 
R

R2D4

Banned
LovingSteam said:
Anybody here ever see a comet? The only one I saw was Hyakutake in 1996 I believe. Missed Hale Bopp. Really want to see another one :(
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I saw Hale–Bopp. Freaking trippy.
 
L

Lucky Forward

Member
Some astronomy news from The Onion:

Scientists Trace Heat Wave To Massive Star At Center Of Solar System

Groundbreaking new findings announced Monday suggest the record-setting heat wave plaguing much of the United States may be due to radiation emitted from an enormous star located in the center of the solar system.

Scientists believe the star, which they have named G2V65, may in fact be the same bright yellow orb seen arcing over the sky day after day, and given its extreme heat and proximity to Earth, it is likely not only to have caused the heat wave, but to be responsible for every warm day in human history.
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While scientists initially assumed the heat and luminescence of the star must make it the largest in the universe—a theory lent credence by the star appearing much bigger than other objects in the sky—they said the data actually appear to refute such a notion.

"Apparently it's gigantic simply because it's closer to us than any other star," Kivens said. "Which would also account for why we feel this particular star's heat during the day but are not warmed by the tiny blinking stars we see at night."

"It's interesting stuff," he added.
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Residents of heat- and drought-stricken regions welcomed the findings, thankful to finally have an explanation for the high temperatures, if no relief from them.

"That makes sense, because it's usually hotter when that [star] is up in the air," said Stillwater, OK resident Asher Arps, 31, speaking to reporters as temperature rose to 110 degrees over the weekend. "I knew it lit things up, of course, but I didn't realize it could make things hot."

"The big star heats the earth, and the moon cools it—I get it," he added.
Click to expand...
 
D

derFeef

Member
LovingSteam said:
Anybody here ever see a comet? The only one I saw was Hyakutake in 1996 I believe. Missed Hale Bopp. Really want to see another one :(
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Hale-Bob (heh) of course and I think two you only can see in telescopes.
 
S

Stinkles

Clothed, sober, cooperative
Melchiah said:
I won't probably be there to see it. I guess I should have seen it the last time it passed by.
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I totes saw it last time. Kind of a smudge. Was cool though. I plan on seeing it again too, with spidersilk enahnced skin and a robot brain.
 
B

Blue Ninja

Member
LovingSteam said:
Anybody here ever see a comet? The only one I saw was Hyakutake in 1996 I believe. Missed Hale Bopp. Really want to see another one :(
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I saw one, when I was 6 or 7 years old. Dunno which one.

That Pale Blue Dot pic really is character-changing. I've seen it so many times, and it continues to awe me.
 
P

Pixel Pete

Member
Thanks to this thread, I now know about the new Cosmos. I watch the original once a year, and am currently finally getting around to reading all of Carl's books.
 
N

noah111

Still Alive
Pixel Pete said:
Thanks to this thread, I now know about the new Cosmos. I watch the original once a year, and am currently finally getting around to reading all of Carl's books.
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Is it out yet? When does it come on?
 
M

Memphis Reigns

Member
Pixel Pete said:
Thanks to this thread, I now know about the new Cosmos. I watch the original once a year, and am currently finally getting around to reading all of Carl's books.
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I left my hard cover copy of his book, The Cosmos, in a hotel in Hawaii which is basically word for word his dialogue in the series. I don't know which came first...
 
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