To date, around 1700 planets have been discovered outside our solar system.
- Thread starter Richard Feynman
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Hi TF
Nothing turned me around. My previous feedback was based on your previous statement above which is not a fact. I just get very sensitive about drawing the line between facts and beliefs in the right place...
If by aliens, you mean lifeforms that exist on other planets, then yes of course I believe in aliens. As I said to Richard earlier, there is no probability that life exists elsewhere in the Universe, it's a certainty.
redwing, haven't heard of that. Fully gonna suss it, thanks mate.
Rare Earth hypothesis
Some points to add, and consider - taken from the Wikipedia page for the Rare Earth hypothesis:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rare_Earth_hypothesis
In planetary astronomy and astrobiology, the Rare Earth hypothesis argues that the emergence of complex multicellular life on Earth (and, subsequently, intelligence) required an improbable combination of astrophysical and geological events and circumstances.
The hypothesis argues that complex extraterrestrial life requires an Earth-like planet with similar circumstance and that few if any such planets exist. The term "Rare Earth" originates from Rare Earth: Why Complex Life Is Uncommon in the Universe (2000), a book by Peter Ward, a geologist and paleontologist, and Donald E. Brownlee, an astronomer and astrobiologist.
On 4 November 2013, astronomers reported, based on Kepler space mission data, that there could be as many as 40 billion Earth-sized planets orbiting in the habitable zones of sun-like stars and red dwarf stars within the Milky Way Galaxy. 11 billion of these estimated planets may be orbiting sun-like stars.[4] The nearest such planet may be 12 light-years away, according to the scientists.
Current technology limits the testing of important Rare Earth Criteria: surface water, tectonic plates, or a large moon, are currently undetectable, and few of the 146 documented exasolar systems have been found to resemble ours because Earth-sized planets are difficult to detect. However, a large moon and planetary arrangements that resemble that of the solar system are not necessarily important for the development of life in a system
Oxygen is not a requirement for multicellular life.
According to David Darling, the Rare Earth hypothesis is neither hypothesis nor prediction, but merely a description of how life arose on Earth. In his view Ward and Brownlee have done nothing more than select the factors that best suit their case.
What matters is not whether there's anything unusual about the Earth; there's going to be something idiosyncratic about every planet in space. What matters is whether any of Earth's circumstances are not only unusual but also essential for complex life. So far we've seen nothing to suggest there is.
Some points to add, and consider - taken from the Wikipedia page for the Rare Earth hypothesis:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rare_Earth_hypothesis
In planetary astronomy and astrobiology, the Rare Earth hypothesis argues that the emergence of complex multicellular life on Earth (and, subsequently, intelligence) required an improbable combination of astrophysical and geological events and circumstances.
The hypothesis argues that complex extraterrestrial life requires an Earth-like planet with similar circumstance and that few if any such planets exist. The term "Rare Earth" originates from Rare Earth: Why Complex Life Is Uncommon in the Universe (2000), a book by Peter Ward, a geologist and paleontologist, and Donald E. Brownlee, an astronomer and astrobiologist.
On 4 November 2013, astronomers reported, based on Kepler space mission data, that there could be as many as 40 billion Earth-sized planets orbiting in the habitable zones of sun-like stars and red dwarf stars within the Milky Way Galaxy. 11 billion of these estimated planets may be orbiting sun-like stars.[4] The nearest such planet may be 12 light-years away, according to the scientists.
Current technology limits the testing of important Rare Earth Criteria: surface water, tectonic plates, or a large moon, are currently undetectable, and few of the 146 documented exasolar systems have been found to resemble ours because Earth-sized planets are difficult to detect. However, a large moon and planetary arrangements that resemble that of the solar system are not necessarily important for the development of life in a system
Oxygen is not a requirement for multicellular life.
According to David Darling, the Rare Earth hypothesis is neither hypothesis nor prediction, but merely a description of how life arose on Earth. In his view Ward and Brownlee have done nothing more than select the factors that best suit their case.
What matters is not whether there's anything unusual about the Earth; there's going to be something idiosyncratic about every planet in space. What matters is whether any of Earth's circumstances are not only unusual but also essential for complex life. So far we've seen nothing to suggest there is.
And if Aliens did exist, wouldn't you consider them to be 'powerful beings that have special powers'?
...lunar eclipse rising over Melbourne?s eastern skies
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/weather-bureau-predicts-mostly-clear-skies-for-lunar-eclipse-rising-over-melbournes-eastern-skies/story-e6frf7jo-1226883912131 - Thomas O'Byrne - Maroondah Leader - April 14, 2014
A RED moon will rise tomorrow night.
Melburnians should look to the eastern skies about 5.49pm tomorrow, when the colourful eclipse is expected to become visible.
A lunar eclipse - not to be confused with a solar eclipse - is when the sun, earth and moon fall into close alignment.
The moon will appear red because it is low to the horizon and the sun?s light will pass through the earth's atmosphere before reaching the moon.
Unlike solar eclipses, lunar eclipses can be safely observed without the need for protective eyewear.
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/weather-bureau-predicts-mostly-clear-skies-for-lunar-eclipse-rising-over-melbournes-eastern-skies/story-e6frf7jo-1226883912131 - Thomas O'Byrne - Maroondah Leader - April 14, 2014
A RED moon will rise tomorrow night.
Melburnians should look to the eastern skies about 5.49pm tomorrow, when the colourful eclipse is expected to become visible.
A lunar eclipse - not to be confused with a solar eclipse - is when the sun, earth and moon fall into close alignment.
The moon will appear red because it is low to the horizon and the sun?s light will pass through the earth's atmosphere before reaching the moon.
Unlike solar eclipses, lunar eclipses can be safely observed without the need for protective eyewear.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discoveries_of_exoplanets said:
We're approaching 2,000 now.
Carl Sagan said for me best:
"The major religions on the Earth contradict each other left and right. You can't all be correct. And what if all of you are wrong? It's a possibility, you know. You must care about the truth, right? Well, the way to winnow through all the differing contentions is to be sceptical. I'm not any more sceptical about your religious beliefs than I am about every new scientific idea I hear about. But in my line of work, they're called hypotheses, not inspiration and not revelation."
Or more concisely Hitchens razor:
https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/...VuVrnRqGwuA3WRvNvHWFRk7YBeK-1qlEhcdAN-lr3OBCK
"That which can be asserted without evidence can be dismissed without evidence."
I think major religions agree in most matters. Idiots pick the few differences and make a big deal out of it.
That's because aliens exist.
I'm loving this thread. Makes a great coffee lounge discussion.
In the scope of how massive our galaxy is or how massive the universe is, our planet is so small, it's utterly insignificant and thus are the beliefs that people on earth have (religions, etc). The statistical probability of other life forms existing elsewhere in the universe is extremely high. I'd say it's a certainty, but science needs evidence which doesn't exist YET. There could even be multiple life forms in multiple planets/galaxies and they could be more advanced or more primitive.
Just that the earth happens to be in a right location at a right time for life including humans to evolve exist. And that the sun (our primary source of energy) happens to be at the right age too. A few billion years from now, the sun will literally 'grow older' and will become a red super giant star. When that happens, it is expected to swallow (if you will) Mercury and Venus. Earth is expected to be very close to the sun when that happens. But all these are predictions and we learn more every day.
In the scope of how massive our galaxy is or how massive the universe is, our planet is so small, it's utterly insignificant and thus are the beliefs that people on earth have (religions, etc). The statistical probability of other life forms existing elsewhere in the universe is extremely high. I'd say it's a certainty, but science needs evidence which doesn't exist YET. There could even be multiple life forms in multiple planets/galaxies and they could be more advanced or more primitive.
Just that the earth happens to be in a right location at a right time for life including humans to evolve exist. And that the sun (our primary source of energy) happens to be at the right age too. A few billion years from now, the sun will literally 'grow older' and will become a red super giant star. When that happens, it is expected to swallow (if you will) Mercury and Venus. Earth is expected to be very close to the sun when that happens. But all these are predictions and we learn more every day.
