Is there intelligent life in space?

[spamofdeath]

I think so. About a week ago, my mom was driving me home from Track Practice, and I saw a big circular cloud. It wasn't just a circular, it was pretty much PERFECT, and it was the only cloud in the sky. It was shaped like a discus and perfectly round, not mess-ups or anything.

So that brings up my question? Is there life in outer space and they follow our generic rules of spaceship building, or was I just seeing things?

(I posted in the Politics forum for intelligent answers. I already know there isn't any intelligent life on Earth [Whenever I visit California], but I'm giving it a try)

[Drakim]

As much as I'd like to ask if it was the moon, I'm stopping myself.

Completely circular? I don't know. It sounds kinda thin for being any kind of proof. If you had a really strong light cannon (or whatever they are called. My neighbor has one, and it is cool ^^), you can produce a neat circle up on the clouds if everything is just right.

If there was intelligent life out there, why would it be so secretly? And why would it only pick up crazy Americans and anal probe them and drop them off again? It makes way to little sense and has way too little evidence to be believable. I think it is one of those things people want to be true so badly that they make stuff up.

[Jamessimo]

there Probily is but like if any one has a defo awnser

[sk-champloo]

I think, that somewhere, maybe millions of years from now there will be intelligent life on another planet. In the endless possibilites and intricacies of the solar system it is impossible to think that we are the only intelligent life in the universe. Perhaps, what we perceive our universe to be, makes up only a particular of another, inconceivable universe.
You think about this stuff a lot getting high and looking at the stars.
But let's not get into a thread on existentialism...

[penis-plant]

the borg are out there.

[Danielof2k7]

Yes, and they've been here, and they have communicated with us.

Recently, the SETI institute (which searches for intelligent life in space) has been contacted. This didn't make the news. In fact, it was never publicly released.

Know why? The world will flip it's shit, and things are very fragile right now.

If you don't believe E.T. intelligence has contacted us, you can still consider intelligent life in space. But I'm just saying... it's touched home more than once and been kept quiet.

[Zoraxe7]

There is intelligent life in space if there is intelligent life on the internet...oh wait...

[Danielof2k7]

Google video about the most legitimate 'UFO's - no big deal, we've been dealing with intelligent craft in our skies for over 50 years.

[Brick-top]

Intellegent life? Not likely. Life on other planet? Maybe. As we see on this Planet small forrms of life can live in the harshest of envirnoments. Like some bacteria in the Antarctic can hybernate for centuries and some forms of plant life can live in water 30 times more dangerous than ocean water. Which less than a pint of sea water could kill you if your gag-reflex doesn't kick in, in time.

So the chances of there being life on other planets has increased drumatically however the chance of intellegent life out there is still low.

I myself enjoy the idea of there being life on other planets.

[Mourits]

Yes, most probably. Due to the life on Earth occuring by change due to amino acids and proteins aligning in a biological pattern*, yes, it most likely occured on other planets aswell. Wether it is intelligent life or not, we are not sure because complex organism only started on earth 250 million years ago. Considering the planet is ±4 billion years old and life itself only started on earth ±1 billion years ago, ±750 million years for stuff like mammals to form is a long time. And INTELLIGENT (human) organism only started ±26 thousand years ago, but we werent that intelligent then. I know there is life in other planets, but most likely not intelligent life.

*= The people who do not believe in creationism believe that the amino acids and proteins conjoined and a chemical reaction occured and all that stuff (i wont confuse you), forming a single-cell organism (amoeba), from which the amoeba split and reformed into 2 (asexual reproduction), constantly evolving into more and more complex organisms.
This is what I believe. I also believe that if people could actually understand all of this I'm talking about, they would believe in this too.

[ReiperX]

With how vast the universe is, I would say more than likely there are many forms of life outside of Earth, many of them will probably by more advanced than us while others would be less advanced.

[Dr-Worm]

At 4/18/07 02:40 PM, Mourits wrote: Wether it is intelligent life or not, we are not sure because complex organism only started on earth 250 million years ago. Considering the planet is ±4 billion years old and life itself only started on earth ±1 billion years ago, ±750 million years for stuff like mammals to form is a long time. And INTELLIGENT (human) organism only started ±26 thousand years ago

I think that the whole aliens-have-much-better-technology-than-us thing people come up with is because it's assumed that intelligent life on other planets have been around for much longer than us. If there is intelligent life (which I think there is very very very very far away; we'll probably never meet), they probably would have had to start around the same time as us or before, since no matter what weird-ass conditions you have for survival out there, evolution probably has to stay relatively the same.

With all the recent shit they're finding on Mars, I sometimes wonder if there was never anything there but dust. Nuclear-esque war a couple million years ago? It would certainly be pretty cool/cryptic.

[vans1170]

i think that if aliens wanted to show themselves to us, they would have made it completely obvious.
and they're probably way smarter than anyone on earth.

[Brick-top]

And lets pray that theres some intellegent life in space because theres bugger all down here on Earth

- Monte Python.

[Kidiri]

Since the universe is extremely large, the chance of a planet in with similar circumstances as Earth exists.

[shootmenow1]

At 4/18/07 01:52 PM, Danielof2k7 wrote: Yes, and they've been here, and they have communicated with us.

Recently, the SETI institute (which searches for intelligent life in space) has been contacted. This didn't make the news. In fact, it was never publicly released.

Know why? The world will flip it's shit, and things are very fragile right now.

then how do you know?

[IllustriousPotentate]

At 4/18/07 11:28 AM, spamofdeath wrote: I think so. About a week ago, my mom was driving me home from Track Practice, and I saw a big circular cloud. It wasn't just a circular, it was pretty much PERFECT, and it was the only cloud in the sky. It was shaped like a discus and perfectly round, not mess-ups or anything.

Sounds like a lenticular cloud, which some people have confused with "flying saucers".

So that brings up my question? Is there life in outer space and they follow our generic rules of spaceship building, or was I just seeing things?

Is there life out there? I wouldn't doubt it. When you consider the extremes at which we have found life here on earth; in hot brine pools, near the summit of Mt. Everest, at the deepest crack in the ocean, it would be surprising if there wasn't any life in outer space.

Intelligent life, though, that's a different manner, and for the sake of sanity, I hope there is. Other wise, humanity floating by itself on a fleck of dust flying around a tiny star in a tiny arm of just one of billions and billions and billions of galaxies makes one feel really, really, lonely.

[Alphabit]

At 4/18/07 12:38 PM, sk-champloo wrote: Stuff

I concur with that.
Except the "getting high" part.

[morefngdbs]

I believe intelligent life out in space is a reality.

It is diminished ,in my opinion, every time we send send humans out there.
If you think that I'm joking... all one need to do is look around at all the wonderful things humans are doing to the planet that sustains us.

Wars large & small on almost every continent.
Rapeing the oceans & land , killing each other like it is our favorite past time.
Poisoning the very air we breath, destabilizing the ecosytem of the entire planet.

If I was an alien, looking at a race of war mongering individuals attempting to colonize & move out into a universe that we were already occupying.
I would introduce a virus that would kill every homo sapient life form on the planet.
Not destroy the planet, it & the other life forms will come back & do great once humans are all gone.

Now I expect to have some of you point out, our sciences, music, etc. are great things mankind has developed
None of that can take away from the murderous, prejudical, religious & self centered extremeism that is present everywhere on this planet.

[Boltrig]

At 4/19/07 10:53 AM, morefngdbs wrote: Now I expect to have some of you point out, our sciences, music, etc. are great things mankind has developed

Thats because they are very valid points

None of that can take away from the murderous, prejudical, religious & self centered extremeism that is present everywhere on this planet.

Yes they can. They all do. It is animal instinct to preserve the self and any other being that is carrying your genetic material, especially through vilence to aggressors. The fact is humans have just become exceedingly good at it.

While this does not immediately explain religious extremeism and the like, if you think about it, other religions could be construed as a threat (in misguided minds, but then it tends to be the misguided ones that are extremeists)

The fact that humanity has begun to shrug off the animalistic instinct of the past and move towards helping others and building a better society is incredible. How many scientists woking on a cure for cancer actually have cancer? Thats not self-centred. They could esily make their money elsewhere, but curing a terrible disease is a worthwhile cause, and would benefit everyone.

Back to the topic though, why does everyone associate intellegent life with visits to this planet? If there were intellegent life up there, whats to stop them being at a pre - space travel level of development? They could be there, just minding their own business with nothing more than a wondering gaze skywards, same as us.

[jobizzie]

I believe in aliens, but I think they exhist in a different galaxy. unlike humans, they probably aren't keen to spread out and search for other life on other planets, so, our paths will never meet. :(

Anyway, maybe the alien got bored of making crop circles so they made their own in the sky out of clouds for fun!

[Schmut]

At 4/20/07 10:02 AM, jobizzie wrote: I believe in aliens, but I think they exhist in a different galaxy. unlike humans, they probably aren't keen to spread out and search for other life on other planets, so, our paths will never meet. :(

I would say that the urge to explore is a driving force of nature. As you may know, human's were nomadic creatures and that is how we came to be so spread out across our planet. By spreading out we gave ourselves better chances of survival and, ultimately, came to dominate the world. A nomadic nature in developing species, is therefore key to survival and domination of the environment. So it is very likely that life on other planets is naturally curious and, should they be more intelligent than we are, could already have developed quantum tunnels from one point in space-time to another. In other words, if there is intelligent life out there and basing my assumptions on current human knowledge, it is very likely that they have already found us.

I use the term quantum tunnel for simplicity. It actually wouldn't be tunnel-like, at all. You would dissapear from one point and re-appear at another, completely unaware of any time-passage. Also, this is not based on science fiction; it is a very real possibility for our technology in the future.

[psycho-squirrel]

well there are trillions of galaxies, maybe much much more, and in each galaxy they have billions of stars that have planets around them. the chances of another life form on another planet are pretty good. lets just say life on earth one a one in a billion chance of happening. a fluke of some kind. one in a billion in the universe are very good odds.

but i think there can be life out there. intelligent as well.

perhaps there are aliens checking down on earth. i can see why the wont come down and say hello. we are too primitive. they would come down and people would kill it to ether cover alien life up or because it was different.

[spamofdeath]

At 4/18/07 11:54 AM, Drakim wrote: As much as I'd like to ask if it was the moon, I'm stopping myself.

I would have thought that too, but it was way too close to the earth.

[Mourits]

Like i said earlier, believe there is life on other planets, but i am sick of the idea that aliens are going to visit earth because we have discovered that there is no life in our solar system, but there might be in the Milky Way or other galaxies.

Now it is absolutely impossible for us the EVER get into another galaxy. They are on average 10 billion light years away. Which means even if it is possible to travel the speed of light (which is completely impossible), it will take us 10 billion years to reach that galaxy. Now the same goes for the aliens. NOTHING CAN GO THE SPEED OF LIGHT, except obviously: light. Second thing is, temperature and fuel. NO fuel tank is big enough to let us travel out of our solar system and the temperate will kill any life who is not adapted to it once there ferther than Jupiter.

So the idea of aliens ever coming to Earth is retarded. And the idea for us to leave the solar system is also retarded.

Sorry to burst your buble

[DeathDementor]

i think that there probly life outside of earth but not so close that people have ever seen then i think that mabye god is testing every person to c wat happens when things happen like science and he probly has like 10 or sothing solar system where there are humans and he set them up with differant things. example earth porbly he is testing to c what pople do when there is evil in the world and on a nother planet no crime so then that would have to mean god and satan are like science partners and are just working together not offence to religios people and so forth like all the other planets in the solar system are just there to confuse us when we get to space. thealltimate test is to c if me can addapt to no air and frezzing conditions like ploto so for god to testy this he must kill the sun inthat galaxy then nonce everything dies and are all sent to heavan he uyses one of the other planets in that solar sytem and makes a new world and a new sun . sio all in all i think there are aliens but they are accauly hums just from another galxy

[Schmut]

At 4/21/07 03:13 AM, Mourits wrote: Now it is absolutely impossible for us the EVER get into another galaxy.

Why are you so certain of that? It is a reasonable hypothesis that quantum physics will yeild practicle solutions to all of our galactic travel problems.

They are on average 10 billion light years away. Which means even if it is possible to travel the speed of light (which is completely impossible), it will take us 10 billion years to reach that galaxy. Now the same goes for the aliens. NOTHING CAN GO THE SPEED OF LIGHT, except obviously: light.

Ah, yes; the good old theory of relativity. It's a nice little theory and what you're stating is correct but why do we need to be moving at a velocity greater than 0 to travel to other galaxies? Why not hypothesize quantum teleporting? I'm not saying it will be possible but I do want you to do some research and then admit that it's a possibility.

So the idea of aliens ever coming to Earth is retarded. And the idea for us to leave the solar system is also retarded.

I'm retarded am I? Not that I want to boast but I had the highest scoring exam paper of anybody else who ever studied particle physics at my secondary school. Hardly relevant, I know, but I don't think a retard could have scored that highly in A level physics.
Also, just because you do not understand something does not make you retarded. If that were the case, then I'd be turning the tables on you now and claiming that you are retarded for not understanding the possibilities implied by quantum physics. But I'm not going to call you retarded because I'm sure you're just ignorant. Here's a definition. I like number two.

Sorry to burst your buble

There are three 'b's in bubble and I assure you that the apology was unnecassary as it appears you have burst nothing.

Furthermore, put that in your pipe and smoke it. :P

[EndGameOmega]

At 4/21/07 03:13 AM, Mourits wrote: Like i said earlier, believe there is life on other planets, but i am sick of the idea that aliens are going to visit earth because we have discovered that there is no life in our solar system, but there might be in the Milky Way or other galaxies.

Well there still could be life in our star system out side of earth. We haven't really searched for it very hard. It may just be microbial, but still, life. I personally can't wait to see whats under the ice of Europa, there should be enough space in those oceans to form almost anything, possibly even something intelligent. As for out side our solar system, well that is a complete mystery , there could be intelligent life right over at the next star, depending upon what technology they're using we might never know.

Now it is absolutely impossible for us the EVER get into another galaxy. They are on average 10 billion light years away. Which means even if it is possible to travel the speed of light (which is completely impossible), it will take us 10 billion years to reach that galaxy. Now the same goes for the aliens. NOTHING CAN GO THE SPEED OF LIGHT, except obviously: light. Second thing is, temperature and fuel. NO fuel tank is big enough to let us travel out of our solar system and the temperate will kill any life who is not adapted to it once there ferther than Jupiter.

So the idea of aliens ever coming to Earth is retarded. And the idea for us to leave the solar system is also retarded.

While aliens maybe unlikely leaving the solar system isn't. It would be expensive and some what hard to do, but far from impossible. Really the only thing you would need is a decent nuclear rocket (For those who followed my post in the NASA tread I never said nuclear rockets where bad, or unworkable just that they weren't the best idea for getting to mars). If you strap one of these to a ship you could get to Proxima Centauri in about 40 years, while not likely a round trip, it would be doable. Additionally if we ever develop something even higher powered, say a fusion rocket, we could cut that time down to about a decade each way, thus implying a potential round trip. The more local stars could also be visited well with in a life time if fusion rockets could be built.

Temperature isn't really an issues as the vacuum of space is one hell of a good insulator. In fact some times it's to good, and things can possibly over heat. As for fuel, it's not to much of a problem, espechaly if you're using something with a low enough consumption rate, like a nuclear rocket.

Going to another galaxies may prove... difficult. But not impossible, take the Andromeda galaxy, our closest neighbor, at 2.5 MLY. We could build a ship capable of getting us there, though there would be no return trip, and the ship would be very, very expensive and hard to build; but it's doable.

Sorry to burst your buble

At 4/21/07 03:03 PM, Schmut wrote:

Why are you so certain of that? It is a reasonable hypothesis that quantum physics will yeild practicle solutions to all of our galactic travel problems.

No it most likely wont. Quantum physics is governed by GR just like everything else in the universe, and that means its impossible to send information faster then light (at lest in flat spacetime).

Ah, yes; the good old theory of relativity. It's a nice little theory and what you're stating is correct but why do we need to be moving at a velocity greater than 0 to travel to other galaxies? Why not hypothesize quantum teleporting? I'm not saying it will be possible but I do want you to do some research and then admit that it's a possibility.

It's not. The fast speed quantum teleportation can send things is at light speed, as the maximum speed is limited by how fast you can send information between the emitter and receivers.

I'm retarded am I? Not that I want to boast but I had the highest scoring exam paper of anybody else who ever studied particle physics at my secondary school. Hardly relevant, I know, but I don't think a retard could have scored that highly in A level physics.

I personally wouldn't call you retarded, or even dumb, but you don't know enough about ether QM, or GR to understand why FTL is impossible, or what the single possible (if unlikely) loop hole maybe. You should read up on the Alcubierre “warp” drive, this is the most likely idea for FTL, but you should also read the criticisms at the bottom. It would seem that the universe is against sending things faster then light.

[Schmut]

At 4/21/07 04:31 PM, EndGameOmega wrote: I personally wouldn't call you retarded, or even dumb, but you don't know enough about ether QM, or GR to understand why FTL is impossible, or what the single possible (if unlikely) loop hole maybe. You should read up on the Alcubierre “warp” drive, this is the most likely idea for FTL, but you should also read the criticisms at the bottom. It would seem that the universe is against sending things faster then light.

Thankyou very much for your reply. I spent a short while typing up my response and then had a "eureka" moment where I realised exactly what the flaw was with my way of thinking.
I still believe in some of those things I proposed, on some level, as I don't think I yet have enough reason to just throw away everything I thought I knew but I do understand why they wouldn't work according to the laws of conventional interpretations of the greatest theories of our time.
So, yes, thankyou indeed for inspiring thought that led me to see the error of my ways.

[LordJaric]

Most definitely. There are billions of stars in a galaxy and billions of galaxies in the universe.