Black hole swarm, the Golden Rule and Zoom Dinosaurs

Welcome! "Alien Life" tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. Here's today's news:
g Stars – For decades, astronomers have sought to pin down a source for ultra high-energy cosmic rays. The distant sources must be among the more powerful events in the universe, perhaps the creation of black holes or the mergers of galaxies. It appears the first source has been located, a finding that would be considered a major breakthrough in the field. If proved out, it represents the first time scientists have studied a known object from beyond our galaxy by examining actual material (stuff like what you and everything else is made of) instead of electromagnetic radiation (radio waves, visible light, X-rays and so on). See article.
g Abodes – In this excerpt from the new forward to the paperback edition of “Lonely Planets,” planetary scientist David Grinspoon discusses the exciting discoveries unveiled by the twin rovers on Mars. See article. And if you haven’t read “Lonely Planets,” yet, by all means do.
g Life – New research suggests that depending on how deep swordfish and other predatory fish are, and how much light is available, their eyes operate at different temperatures and shutter speeds, allowing them to better track agile prey. See article.
g Intelligence – New research shows the Golden Rule acts as human society’s glue. See article.
g Message – A picture is worth a thousand words, especially if you're trying to get your point across to someone who doesn't speak your language. At least that has been the assumption of many proposals for communicating with extraterrestrials; in a recent image beamed into outer space, the world’s largest radio telescope in Arecibo, Puerto Rico, images of a human being, the double helix of DNA and our solar system were included. But would pictures necessarily be understood at interstellar distances? See article. Note: This article is from 2000.
g Cosmicus – For the second time in less than two months, Intelsat's global fleet of communications spacecraft has suffered a satellite malfunction. This latest incident occurred Friday evening and knocked out the Lockheed Martin-built Intelsat 804 craft. See article.
g Learning – Here’s a great site for children interested in dinosaurs: Zoom Dinosaurs. It’s a comprehensive on-line hypertext book about dinosaurs. It is designed for students of all ages and levels of comprehension. It has an easy-to-use structure that allows readers to start at a basic level on each topic; to progress to much more advanced information as desired, simply by clicking on links. See article.
g Imagining – Here’s an interesting tip sheet from the Science Fiction Writers of America about how to create believable aliens via scientific laws.
g Aftermath – If some day we detect a radio signal from a distant civilization, we’ll have to make some adjustments in the way we view ourselves. After millennia of knowing of no other intelligence in the universe than humankind, we could face a considerable challenge to our terrestrial egotism. In the process, will we simply gain a little healthy humility about our place in the universe? Or would it be downright humiliating to compare our own meager accomplishments with those of more advanced extraterrestrials? See article. Note: This article is from 2000.


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