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[Lionheart1827]

I've always had my eye on Titan but Europa also had my attention. Scientists believe that there could be a liquid ocean under its icy surface shell. Neat stuff.

 

[KimiNewt]

Working for JPL is pretty much my dream job. They do the coolest stuff.

I don't think those are JPL, though certainly it's still a fairly cool job.

 

[Binabik15]

Hm, fund NASA for another few years or another week in Iraq, a new rocket design or shooting some cruise missiles into insurgent dust bunkers in Afghanistan.

The West should accept donations from all major religions to fund mission searching for life. Just tell them you´re trying to proof that life can´t exist outsde of earth. Discovering life would be an "accident" and covered by your insurance policy :lol

 

[bigmit3737]

Is it possible that we can't see the life forms?

 

[Jay Sosa]

i just hope they can 100% confirm life elsewhere in the universe before i die. is that asking for too much?

That isn't even enough for me, Only aliens I care about are the ones with spaceships and crazy ass weapons and stuff. Not some fucking lifeforms that can't do shit.

 

[abstract alien]

Is it possible that we can't see the life forms?

You know what? They could be some kind of gasous type aliens, resembling fog or something...now that would be awesome. If that happened, we may not be able to see them very well.

All crazy talk(or not) aside, this shit is awesome. I love the universe/multiverse

 

[raphier]

You know what? They could be some kind of gasous type aliens, resembling fog or something...now that would be awesome. If that happened, we may not be able to see them very well.

All crazy talk(or not) aside, this shit is awesome. I love the universe/multiverse

I was more intriqued that what if they can talk in a voices that we don't hear, and they can't hear our voice waves.....

 

[Lamel]

That is pretty damn cool.


And :lol @ the sunset shuttle launch.

 

[abstract alien]

I was more intriqued that what if they can talk in a voices that we don't hear, and they can't hear our voice waves.....

Well, that is certainly within the realm of possibility, as we have creatures on earth that can emit sounds and smells that we have no way of detecting without equipment. Shit, we can't even detect the movements of some insects accurately without it.

 

[abstract alien]

Bumping because I'm excited and you should be too

 

[Joey Fox]

Bumping because I'm excited and you should be too

I would be more excited if the article title wasn't sensational. It's so unscientific.

Even when we find life there, it won't mean anything to me unless it leads to advances in technology, is intelligent, or we can bring it back to Earth in my lifetime. Highly unlikely.

It will be interesting to see how religious-GAF reacts in 2030 though.

 

[abstract alien]

I would be more excited if the article title wasn't sensational. It's so unscientific.

Even when we find life there, it won't mean anything to me unless it leads to advances in technology, is intelligent, or we can bring it back to Earth in my lifetime. Highly unlikely.

It will be interesting to see how religious-GAF reacts in 2030 though.

Well, its all a part of the process. Anything we find that is both alien and living will lead to some startling things in my opinion. I'm excited, even if its microbial, as I would love to know how they function.

 

[Byakuya769]

I'm confused.. has "religious gaf" ever suggested that they believe life cannot exist elsewhere?

Anyway, I'm hoping this pans out to be incredibly interesting!

 

[CurlySaysX]

Most interesting science threads on gaf are ruined by the anti-religious nuts.

 

[abstract alien]

I'm confused.. has "religious gaf" ever suggested that they believe life cannot exist elsewhere?

Anyway, I'm hoping this pans out to be incredibly interesting!

Not to speak for em', but I'm guessing its a reference to the "general" consensus amongst Christian believers. Most I have spoken to do tend to believe that life doesn't exist elsewhere due to Bible scriptures which I have no knowledge of, but I'm not into Religi-gaf or what goes on in there so I can't comment on that.

 

[ArjanN]

I for one welcome Titan to welcome their new Earth overlords. Otherwise, nukes.

“In four billion years’ time, when the Sun swells into a red giant, it could be paradise on Titan.”

I'll go set my alarm clock.

 

[Joey Fox]

I for one welcome Titan to welcome their new Earth overlords. Otherwise, nukes.

How long would it take for a nuke to reach Titan? We'd better mount a launcher to the ISS and get it moving. I knew we built that sucker for a reason.

 

[abstract alien]

I'll go set my alarm clock.

Nice :lol

In all seriousness though, roughly how long does it take during red giant stage to proceed to black hole? Im guessing its a long time, but how long?

 

[flawfuls]

Nice :lol

In all seriousness though, roughly how long does it take during red giant stage to proceed to black hole? Im guessing its a long time, but how long?

I don't think red giants ever become black holes.

 

[Wallach]

Nice :lol

In all seriousness though, roughly how long does it take during red giant stage to proceed to black hole? Im guessing its a long time, but how long?

Our sun will not form a black hole, it will transition into a white dwarf, which is nearly the ultimate fate of it where it just cools for the rest of existence.

There are theories about what happens to white dwarf stars when they cool to the point where they do not emit detectable light or heat (called a black dwarf), but such a process would take longer than the universe has existed for so far.

 

[koam]

You guys are forgetting that this is nasa. "Life-forms" is most liekly microbes.

 

[UraMallas]

Big whoop. It's only logical there's life outside of earth. We're all part of the same universe. Earth isn't special.

People always say this as if it sounds enlightening but the truth is we are special. Out of the trillions of trillions of atoms and matter that make up this universe we have the ability to understand (or try to) the universe as a whole. To unravel it's mysteries and find our place in all of this. We are unique and Earth is unique in that we are one of a very very small percentile (if you take all matter into account) of entities that can look back at the universe and wonder. We are the mirror onto the universe -- the stardust that is figuring out what stardust is.

 

[RiskyChris]

You guys are forgetting that this is nasa. "Life-forms" is most liekly microbes.

It's kinda bigoted towards less-developed lifeforms to use scare quotes around them!

 

[SoulPlaya]

Not to speak for em', but I'm guessing its a reference to the "general" consensus amongst Christian believers. Most I have spoken to do tend to believe that life doesn't exist elsewhere due to Bible scriptures which I have no knowledge of, but I'm not into Religi-gaf or what goes on in there so I can't comment on that.

Didn't the Catholic Church come out a while ago and say that alien life was OK with their beliefs?

 

[SoulPlaya]

People always say this as if it sounds enlightening but the truth is we are special. Out of the trillions of trillions of atoms and matter that make up this universe we have the ability to understand (or try to) the universe as a whole. To unravel it's mysteries and find our place in all of this. We are unique and Earth is unique in that we are one of a very very small percentile (if you take all matter into account) of entities that can look back at the universe and wonder. We are the mirror onto the universe -- the stardust that is figuring out what stardust is.

Yeah, from everything I've read, from Dawkings to Hawking to Einstein to Kaku, the consensus is that we are special. Billions had to go right for life to exist on Earth, the statistics of which either support God, or a multiverse theory.

 

[Wallach]

Yeah, from everything I've read, from Dawkings to Hawking to Einstein to Kaku, the consensus is that we are special. Billions had to go right for life to exist on Earth, the statistics of which either support God, or a multiverse theory.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlikCebQSlY

 

[Zophar]

Yeah, from everything I've read, from Dawkings to Hawking to Einstein to Kaku, the consensus is that we are special. Billions had to go right for life to exist on Earth, the statistics of which either support God, or a multiverse theory.

Or, just maybe, we arose in such a manner in order to take advantage of those conditions? To look at it as if "all these things went right in order for us to be here" is pretty arrogant. Billions of things didn't "go right", we just happen to be a life form that resulted from those variables. This is a much more logical position to take.

 

[flawfuls]

It's kinda bigoted towards less-developed lifeforms to use scare quotes around them!

It's kinda bigoted to call them less-developed lifeforms. They've been through as much natural selection as we have.

 

[UraMallas]

Or, just maybe, we arose in such a manner in order to take advantage of those conditions? To look at it as if "all these things went right in order for us to be here" is pretty arrogant. Billions of things didn't "go right", we just happen to be a life form that resulted from those variables. This is a much more logical position to take.

We wouldn't be here if we weren't here. Right? I see what you're saying and mostly agree but to say Earth is not special is BS. (I know that wasn't you that said that.) Any place where life can form and evolve to a state like that on Earth's is beyond special because of what comes from self-aware entities. Sure, it is equally as strange to have a whole other list of conditions on the surface of a planet but what differentiates the two is us, or at least a self-aware entity.

 

[noah111]

The whole 'we are special' argument is silly to begin with because there is no such thing as being special or not. Everything is special, thus everything isn't. It's just language, get past it.

 

[Zophar]

We wouldn't be here if we weren't here. Right? I see what you're saying and mostly agree but to say Earth is not special is BS. (I know that wasn't you that said that.) Any place where life can form and evolve to a state like that on Earth's is beyond special because of what comes from self-aware entities. Sure, it is equally as strange to have a whole other list of conditions on the surface of a planet but what differentiates the two is us, or at least a self-aware entity.

Again, arrogance. Like the guy that posted the Drake equation, life could be so abundantly common in the universe that any notion of uniqueness would rapidly lose meaning. Thinking like this stems from a human desire to attain purpose in an unfathomably massive and uncaring universe and is fundamentally irrational.

 

[UraMallas]

The whole 'we are special' argument is silly to begin with because there is no such thing as being special or not. Everything is special, thus everything isn't. It's just language, get past it.

Good point.

Again, arrogance. Like the guy that posted the Drake equation, life could be so abundantly common in the universe that any notion of uniqueness would rapidly lose meaning. Thinking like this stems from a human desire to attain purpose in an unfathomably massive and uncaring universe and is fundamentally irrational.

Not a good point. You keep missing what I'm saying. I know this because you keep arguing against a point I'm not making. Even if intelligent life is abundantly common it would still be relatively uncommon when comparing it to what makes up the universe.

 

[Zophar]

Good point.


Not a good point. You keep missing what I'm saying. I know this because you keep arguing against a point I'm not making. Even if intelligent life is abundantly common it would still be relatively uncommon when comparing it to what makes up the universe.

By that logic visible matter is uncommon and special since 80% of the universe consists of dark matter, going by current theories. This would be literally everything we know and understand.

 

[UltimaPooh]

Good point.
Not a good point. You keep missing what I'm saying. I know this because you keep arguing against a point I'm not making. Even if intelligent life is abundantly common it would still be relatively uncommon when comparing it to what makes up the universe.

We're literally nothing. We can't even get ourselves out of our own planet's gravitational pull. You can't even tell we're a planet if you go out far enough. Existence on Earth has been destroyed 6 times over the course of the Earth's history.

How are we special again?

 

[SoulPlaya]

Or, just maybe, we arose in such a manner in order to take advantage of those conditions? To look at it as if "all these things went right in order for us to be here" is pretty arrogant. Billions of things didn't "go right", we just happen to be a life form that resulted from those variables. This is a much more logical position to take.

Yeah, yeah, OK, however you want to say. Either way, billions of things had to happen for us to be here.

 

[Zophar]

Yeah, yeah, OK, however you want to say. Either way, billions of things had to happen for us to be here.

The fact that this is a thread about Titan and the possibilities of life existing there, in an ecosystem completely different from ours, arising from a completely different set of variables invalidates this position entirely. Billion's of things went "right" because we want to see them that way. Nature has no ordinance or understanding of correct or incorrect action, it is only human observation.

 

[noah111]

We're literally nothing. We can't even get ourselves out of our own planet's gravitational pull. You can't even tell we're a planet if you go out far enough. Existence on Earth has been destroyed 6 times over the course of the Earth's history.

How are we special again?

Because we merely exist. That's the point being made, no mater what our actions have been or will be, our existence (along with all the other life on this planet) isn't 'ordinary'. Point is you're thinking about 'special' in terms of humanity from a human standpoint, i.e. how respectable are we etc, whereas the argument being made is from a simple scientific standpoint of how we got here.

 

[KHarvey16]

Billions of things had to happen the way they happened for us to be here, not for anyone to be here. The fallacy at play here is best demonstrated by my favorite analogy, the many-sided die. Say we have a die with a trillion sides. When we roll it and get one number, we don't look back and say "wow, getting that number was a 1-in-a-trillion shot, think of how special it must be!" or unlikely or unique or whatever way you want to phrase it. The overlooked part is that the process of rolling a die guarantees some outcome, just not which one. The rolls of the dice resulted in us this time around. We're just one outcome of many, resulting from a process that guarantees at least some kind of outcome.

 

[Zophar]

Because we merely exist. That's the point being made, no mater what our actions have been or will be, our existence (along with all the other life on this planet) isn't 'ordinary'. Point is you're thinking about 'special' in terms of humanity from a human standpoint, i.e. how respectable are we etc, whereas the argument being made is from a simple scientific standpoint of how we got here.

The very instant that it's verified that life exists on another world we will cease to be special or out of the the ordinary.

 

[noah111]

The fact that this is a thread about Titan and the possibilities of life existing there, in an ecosystem completely different from ours, arising from a completely different set of variables invalidates this position entirely. Billion's of things went "right" because we want to see them that way. Nature has no ordinance or understanding of correct or incorrect action, it is only human observation.

False. However I see your position on human interpretation, but that can go both ways. Point is if you look at things the way you are in this argument everything becomes pointless, you have to, one way or another, view and see things from the human perspective. We are not not special, but we aren't exactly special either. Back to fucking language again. Nature may not see things as going a correct or incorrect way, but the arise of life in many ways intervenes in much of the natural law and order (i.e. how things were to go without life), even though (we) life is nature in itself..

The very instant that it's verified that life exists on another world we will cease to be special or out of the the ordinary.

Depends, are we talking about life as a living organism, i.e. consciousness, or just us? If it's just us than you're not even taking into account the vast variety of life on earth that got there through different means and conditions (even though we all cross paths eventually). If you were to say "as soon as it's verified that human life exists on another world we will cease to be special" then you may have an argument, but as far as i'm concerned it's a fact life exists elsewhere in many places, doesn't mean we are 'ordinary' though, as they (other life) aren't either.

This comes back to the language and meaning of these meaningless words anyway.

 

[SmokeMaxX]

Because we merely exist. That's the point being made, no mater what our actions have been or will be, our existence (along with all the other life on this planet) isn't 'ordinary'. Point is you're thinking about 'special' in terms of humanity from a human standpoint, i.e. how respectable are we etc, whereas the argument being made is from a simple scientific standpoint of how we got here.

Let me know when you can change the laws of physics. Or at least that's one argument I read in my world religions book. "Oh man, if these laws of physics were SLIGHTLY different...." Well guess what? They're not. And they won't be. The laws of physics aren't some variable that changes depending on the day.

 

[jdogmoney]

 

[Wallach]

Let me know when you can change the laws of physics. Or at least that's one argument I read in my world religions book. "Oh man, if these laws of physics were SLIGHTLY different...." Well guess what? They're not. And they won't be. The laws of physics aren't some variable that changes depending on the day.

Well, the laws of physics are things we still don't yet understand that well. Especially when it pertains to the creation and existence of the universe.

 

[Big-ass Ramp]

let's try to keep this on topic and off of nihilism please. :/

 

[BananaBomb]

Billions of things had to happen the way they happened for us to be here, not for anyone to be here. The fallacy at play here is best demonstrated by my favorite analogy, the many-sided die. Say we have a die with a trillion sides. When we roll it and get one number, we don't look back and say "wow, getting that number was a 1-in-a-trillion shot, think of how special it must be!" or unlikely or unique or whatever way you want to phrase it. The overlooked part is that the process of rolling a die guarantees some outcome, just not which one. The rolls of the dice resulted in us this time around. We're just one outcome of many, resulting from a process that guarantees at least some kind of outcome.

*thumbs-up*

 

[viciouskillersquirrel]

I'm not going to get excited until I can see a goddamn microscope image that confirms that it is indeed life and not (say) some funky chemical reaction.

NOT GETTING EXCITED >:-0

 

[MaximumX2]

I was always more excited about Europa, but Titan > Europa.

 

[-COOLIO-]

how do they taste?

 

[Black-Wind]

I fucking hate this thread's title.

I came expecting a fucking picture of something the size of a mouse . . . don't call me until they can get that at the very fucking least.

 

[abstract alien]

I don't think red giants ever become black holes.

Our sun will not form a black hole, it will transition into a white dwarf, which is nearly the ultimate fate of it where it just cools for the rest of existence.

There are theories about what happens to white dwarf stars when they cool to the point where they do not emit detectable light or heat (called a black dwarf), but such a process would take longer than the universe has existed for so far.

Sorry, I thought it was a stage in every stars life. I need to go back and check up on black hole formation and known info. Thanks

The very instant that it's verified that life exists on another world we will cease to be special or out of the the ordinary.

Especially one right next door of all places.