DailyDirt: We Should Have Written Down ET's Phone Number...
from the urls-we-dig-up dept
The search for extraterrestrial life has been going on for ages, but we still haven't found much convincing evidence that life on other objects in space exists. There's at least one bold prediction that we'll find signs of intelligent life in outer space within the next 25 years, but that's not a bet too many scientists would likely make. Here are just a few more links on the search for ET -- for those bored with the lifeforms on this planet.- Out of about 100 billion galaxies in the observable universe, a couple astrophysicists estimate that only 10% are able to support complex life. Apparently, gamma ray bursts are regularly wiping out anything more complex than microbes in the vast majority of space. That is, assuming that other complex life is similar to our own biosphere and vulnerable to gamma radiation. [url]
- If we're expecting life on other worlds to look similar to our own, we might want to check out a Caribbean shrimp species that lives near hydrothermal vents in a symbiotic relationship with extremophile bacteria. The water near these undersea vents can reach 400°C, and similar conditions could be present elsewhere in our solar system (eg. in Europa's subsurface ocean?). [url]
- Alien hunters could hit the jackpot and discover evidence of intelligent life (beyond Earth) by 2040. The SETI Institute has been looking for several decades now, but we're learning more and more about where best to look (not towards the center of the Milky Way galaxy where gamma ray bursts are more common). As long as the funding to keep listening for signals doesn't completely dry up, we could find out that we're not alone in the universe (maybe). [url]
Filed Under: aliens, astrobiology, biosphere, et. extraterrestrial, extraterrestrial life, extremophiles, lifeforms, seti, space, space exploration
