New Millennium Program's Space Technology 9 Project and exopsychology

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 - Interstellar travelers might want to detour around the star system TW Hydrae to avoid a messy planetary construction site. Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics astronomers have discovered that the gaseous protoplanetary disk surrounding TW Hydrae holds vast swaths of pebbles extending outward for at least 1 billion miles. These rocky chunks should continue to grow in size as they collide and stick together until they eventually form planets. See article.
g Abodes - NASA's Cassini spacecraft has obtained new, detailed images of the south polar region of Saturn's moon Enceladus. The data reveal distinctive geological features and the most youthful terrain seen on the moon. These findings point to a very complex evolutionary history for Saturn's brightest, whitest satellite. See article.
g Life - An international team that includes researchers from the National Human Genome Research Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health, has discovered that mammalian chromosomes have evolved by breaking at specific sites rather than randomly as long thought - and that many of the breakage hotspots are also involved in human cancer. See article.
g Intelligence - Scientists have zeroed in on an answer to why we remember traumatic events better than the mundane. See article.
g Message - In 2001, California astronomers broadened the search for extraterrestrial intelligence with a new experiment to look for powerful light pulses beamed our way from other star systems. Scientists from the University of California's Lick Observatory, the SETI Institute, UC-Santa Cruz, and UC-Berkeley used the Lick Observatory's 40-inch Nickel Telescope with a new pulse-detection system capable of finding laser beacons from civilizations many light-years distant. Unlike other optical SETI searches, this new experiment is largely immune to false alarms that slow the reconnaissance of target stars. See article.
g Cosmicus - NASA's Science Mission Directorate has selected 11 technology investigators as part of the New Millennium Program's Space Technology 9 Project, including solar sails, precision formation flying of spacecraft and descent guidance for pinpoint landings on other worlds. See article.
g Learning - Here’s a neat classroom activity: “Our Sun’s Sizzling Corona.” Imagine walking away from a blazing fireplace and feeling warmer as you get further from the fire. It defies common sense. Nevertheless, that's what happens in the Sun's atmosphere. In this episode students learn about one of the Sun's greatest mysteries and find out what Baked Alaska has to do with our star. See article.
g Imagining - Ever wondered how all those traditional space-opera and epic-fantasy races - the pig-faced warriors, the smug bumheads, and all the rest - came up with their wonderfully clichéd alien vocabularies? It's not difficult; once you've mastered these basic rules, you'll be able to produce names and phrases just as stereotypical as theirs. See article.
g Aftermath - The next social science to be created might be "exopsychology" — the study of behavior, attitudes, personalities and thoughts of alien beings. Although necessarily speculative, exopsychology might eventually be a critical link between humans and aliens. In the meantime, such a study could also provide the additional benefit of informing us about earthbound prejudices. See article.

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Using sound waves to find life, spaceflight anxiety and ‘The Listeners’

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 - Which came first, galaxies or the supermassive black holes at their center? Most cosmologists now think the two are inextricably linked, each depending on the other. And according to researchers, including famed astronomer Sir Martin J. Rees, these supermassive black holes got big, fast. By reviewing quasar data in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, the team has calculated that many supermassive black holes had reached 1 billion times the mass of our Sun in a very short period of time. Even for the largest, most voracious black holes in the universe, that's an amazing feat. See article.
g Abodes - Conceived by scientists at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., the Neutron/Gamma ray Geologic Tomography would be able to generate three-dimensional images of fossils embedded in an outcrop of rock or beneath the soil of Mars or another planet. Tomography uses radiation or sound waves to look inside objects. NUGGET could help determine if primitive forms of life took root on Mars when the planet was awash in water eons ago. See article.
g Life - Volunteers in Montana have announced they currently are working to uncover what is believed to be a never-before-seen species of sauropod dinosaur, perhaps about twice as old as most dinosaur fossils found in the state. See article. For related story, see “Fossil poachers find easy pickings on federal lands”.
g Intelligence - Ever enter a strange hallway or an unfamiliar street after being inside and have trouble getting your bearings? A new study suggests a way to battle the problem by changing habits early in life. See article.
g Message - Forget waiting for ET to call — the most likely place to find an alien message is in our DNA, according to an expert in Australia. See article. Note: This article is from 2004.
g Cosmicus - The return to flight mission of space shuttle Discovery – and subsequent grounding of the shuttle fleet – has spurred anxiety regarding the future of NASA’s human spaceflight programs. See article.
g Learning - Here’s a neat classroom activity: “Life on the Edge.” The lesson plans examine the question, “Is there life on other planets in our solar system? No one knows, but if there is it's probably a microorganism that thrives in extreme environments. In this episode students will follow a dog sled team to a high mountain peak, make "Planets in a Bottle," and learn more about nature's extremophiles. See article.
g Imagining - Like stories about communicating with aliens? Scour a used bookstore for James Gunn’s “The Listeners” (1972).
g Aftermath - Scientists should pay greater attention to discussing the social implications of discovering extraterrestrial life - even though many researchers shy away from the subject because they don't consider it "hard" science. See article.

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Tenth planet discovered, life around M class stars and clichéd alien vocabularies

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 - After two and a half days of discussion, the consensus of the more than 30 scientists attending a July SETI Institute workshop was that we could not rule out habitable planets orbiting M dwarfs but that a number of issues needed to be addressed. See article.
g Abodes - NASA is announcing the discovery of a tenth planet orbiting our Sun. Michael Brown, associate professor of planetary astronomy, at California Institute of Technology says the planet is 1.5 times larger than Pluto and is the most distant known object in the solar system at 97 times further from than the Sun than the Earth. It is bright enough to be seen in amateur telescopes. See article.
g Life - Saving large mammals such as elephants and rhino from extinction could be made more effective by focusing efforts on individual species as well as their habitats, a new report says. See article.
g Intelligence - A major social-cognitive achievement of young children is the understanding that other people act on the basis of their own representations of reality rather than on the basis of reality itself. Developmental psychologists have explored the refinement of mental-state reasoning in children, typically by measuring their ability to pass false-belief tasks, such as the example above. Yet previous research has only been conducted in Western cultures, where children pass such tests around the age of 5. New research reveals that children reach this false-belief milestone at about the same age the world over. See article.
g Message - Book alert: Scour your used bookstore shelves for “Life Beyond Earth,” by Timothy Ferris. Rock-solid science writer Ferris has covered this ground before. In the two-hour PBS documentary that he wrote and narrated - which shares the title, text, and many of the images of this generously illustrated book - Ferris tackles two age-old questions about the potentially universal nature of life: Are we alone, and, if not, is anybody listening? See review.
g Cosmicus - Canada's MOST telescope, no larger than a suitcase, has been dubbed "the humble space telescope." But despite its diminutive size, it has already begun to make a giant contribution to our understanding of extrasolar planets. See article.
g Learning - Here’s a neat classroom activity: “Our Sun has Spots.” In this lesson students learn about sunspots and the solar cycle by making Sunspot Cootie Catchers, coloring solar butterflies and more. See article.
g Imagining - Ever wondered how all those traditional space-opera and epic-fantasy races - the pig-faced warriors, the smug bumheads, and all the rest - came up with their wonderfully clichéd alien vocabularies? It's not difficult; once you've mastered these basic rules, you'll be able to produce names and phrases just as stereotypical as theirs. See article.
g Aftermath - What affect would the discovery of alien life have on the story-telling genre that inspires the search for it — science fiction? See article.

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Galaxy’s youthful glow, facial motion and biogeosciences

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 - A new image from NASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer shows that a galaxy once thought to be rather plain and old is actually endowed with a gorgeous set of young spiral arms. The unusual galaxy, called NGC 4625, is a remarkable find because it is relatively nearby. Until now, astronomers had thought that this kind of youthful glow in galaxies was a thing of the past. See article.
g Abodes - The rivers of South America's Amazon basin are "breathing" far harder - and cycling the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide far faster - than anyone realized. Most of the carbon being exhaled as carbon dioxide from Amazonian rivers and wetlands has spent a mere five years sequestered in the trees, plants and soils of the surrounding landscape, researchers report in the July 28 issue of the journal Nature. See article.
g Life - Grass stretches as far as the eye can see across the U.S. Great Plains, and more than 100 species of grasshoppers live in the swaying fronds. But one plains-dwelling grasshopper species prefers trees. See article.
g Intelligence - New research indicates that facial motion — seeing the range of movement in the arching of an eyebrow or the curve of a smile — is in fact an extremely important part of what makes subtle facial expressions identifiable. See article.
g Message - By 2010 we will know if nearby planets are inhabited. That's the amazing claim that Stuart Clark - director of public astronomy education at the University of Hertfordshire - makes in his thought-provoking book, “Life on Other Worlds and How to Find It.” See reviews.
g Cosmicus - The International Space Station and the fictional Venus Equilateral Station (from a 1942 story by George O. Smith) have a problem in common - a failure of the "air plant." See article.
g Learning - A new section of the Journal of Geophysical Research will focus on biogeosciences of the Earth system in the past, present and future and its applicability to planetary studies. See article.
g Imagining - Like stories about alien anthropology and cultures? Scour your used bookstore or local library for Robert Holdstock’s “Eye Among the Blind” (1976), in which an anthropologist becomes identified with an alien culture.
g Aftermath - In the last quarter of the twentieth century, an international social movement — Communication with Extraterrestrial Intelligence — has emerged which advocates an attempt to achieve communication with extraterrestrial intelligence, and many of its most active members have been leading scientists. Modest efforts to detect radio signals from intelligent extraterrestrials already have been made, both under government aegis and privately funded, and the technical means for a more vigorous search have been developed. If a CETI project were successful, linguists would suddenly have one or more utterly alien languages to study, and some consideration of linguistic issues is a necessary preparation for it. See article.

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Neon stars, salt-loving life and contact pessimists

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 - The Sun likely contains nearly three times more neon than previously thought, according to a new study. The finding, if shown to be accurate, solves a theoretical problem regarding how stars in general work. See article.
g Abodes - On Earth, methane is mostly produced by life. The recent detection of methane in the Martian atmosphere therefore has given rise to much speculation about the possibility for life on the Red Planet. Part three of this four-part series investigates the most likely scenario for producing methane on Mars. See article.
g Life - During the last few decades we have come to realize that where there is liquid water on Earth, virtually no matter what the physical conditions, no matter where, there is life. What we previously imagined were insurmountable physical and chemical barriers to life, such as extremes in temperature, pH and radiation, are now seen as yet another niche harboring so-called "extremophiles." This realization, coupled with new data on the survival of microbes in the space environment, as well as modeling of the potential for transfer of life between planets, suggests that life could be more common than previously thought. See article.
g Intelligence - A rose by any other name may smell just as sweet, but tilt it at an unexpected angle and it may still be easy to smell, just not recognize. That is, unless you saw another object — even an unrelated one — presented at the same angle. See article.
g Message - Today, it is widely recognized that the “contact pessimists” have a rather strong position; most of recent scholarly monographs on the subject are strongly skeptical towards the possibility of finding complex intelligent life elsewhere (e.g. Ward and Brownlee). Why is that so? See article.
g Cosmicus - The House of Representatives on Friday overwhelmingly endorsed President Bush's vision to send man back to the moon and eventually on to Mars as it passed a bill to set NASA policy for the next two years. See article.
g Learning - Splat! There goes another bug on the windshield. But wait, before you scrape off that disgusting mess, look carefully - there's an astronomy lesson in there! See “Horse Flies and Meteors” at article.
g Imagining - Here’s a neat Web site that examines the life cycle of the Alien — the extraterrestrial from said movie. It’s a little light on evolutionary speculation and discussing plausibility, but the life cycle is thoroughly described.
g Aftermath - In a cross-cultural study conducted several years ago, to scientists looked at the attitudes of college students towards the possibility that extraterrestrial life might exist, and if it does, what it might be like for people to learn that it exists. See article. Note: This article is from 2002.

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Discovery reaches space, new state of matter and Martian methane

Welcome! First-time visitors may want to read the Jan. 1 entry to gain a better understanding of the blog's format.
g Stars -Physicists have created the state of matter thought to have filled the universe just a few microseconds after the big bang and found it to be different from what they were expecting. Instead of a gas, it is more like a liquid. Understanding why it is a liquid should take physicists a step closer to explaining the earliest moments of our universe. See article.
g Abodes - On Earth, methane is mostly produced by life. The recent detection of methane in the Martian atmosphere therefore has given rise to much speculation about the possibility for life on the Red Planet. In part two of this four-part series, the various ways nature produces methane are considered. See article.
g Life - Researchers have determined that a gene present in mouse cells limits the number of times that a cell can divide. The gene is involved in a process, called senescence, which is thought to ensure that aging cells do not pass on harmful mutations. See article.
g Intelligence - A casual remark by a teenage girl such as "She's so not cool" may be dismissed as typical teen talk. Young women, however, are leading changes in the way adolescents speak, according to a University of Toronto linguistics expert. See article.
g Message - The Earth is at the center of an expanding bubble of electromagnetic radiation. The bubble, expanding at the speed of light, contains all of the man-made electromagnetic transmissions of the earth - radio, TV, radar, and so on. In theory, an alien civilization could receive these signals, and form their opinion about the earth by analyzing them. To most people, it is quite discouraging to think that some alien civilization would form their opinion of Earth based upon our situation comedies. Upon a slightly deeper analysis, the conventional wisdom says, “Aliens might detect our TV signals, but at least they can't form their opinion of our civilization from our TV transmissions. Decoding the transmission is so much harder than detecting it that we don't need to worry about this.” But an editor of the book “SETI 2020” argues that this view considerably underestimates the technologies that aliens might employ. By looking at likely technical improvements - better receivers and feeds, bigger antenna, signal processing, and perhaps stellar focusing, any civilization that can detect our radiations might well be able to decode it as well. Thus aliens can form their impression of Earth from “I Love Lucy.” See article.
g Cosmicus - The Space shuttle Discovery lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center at 7:39 a.m. PT (1439 GMT) on the first space shuttle flight since the 2003 Columbia disaster. Follow the shuttle's mission at article.
g Learning - Here’s a neat interactive Web site for kids: “Are Humans All Alone in the Universe?” In the program, kids get to search for ET — and learn some principles of science along the way. See article.
g Imagining - Like stories about alien biologies and environments? Scour your used bookstores for Stanley Weinbaum’s “The Best of ...” (1974). The volume contains some of first friendly aliens in science fiction.
g Aftermath - If, as “The X-Files'” Fox Mulder might say, "The truth is out there," then the researchers running the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence program are likely to be the first ones to find it. On the other hand, there are numerous people who believe they've already been in contact with aliens. National Geographic's video ”Phantom Quest: The Search for Extraterrestrials” studies the claims of both groups, ultimately seeking to reveal precisely what an encounter with beings from another planet could mean for humanity. See article.

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Energizer supernova, methane on Mars and portrait of humanity

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 - Scientists have found that a star that exploded in 1979 is as bright today in X-ray light as it was when it was discovered years ago, a surprise finding because such objects usually fade significantly after only a few months. See article.
g Abodes - In a feat of astronomical and terrestrial alignment, a group of scientists from MIT and Williams College recently succeeded in observing distant Pluto's tiny moon, Charon, hide a star. Such an event had been seen only once before, by a single telescope 25 years ago, and then not nearly as well. The MIT-Williams consortium spotted it with four telescopes in Chile on the night of July 10-11. See article.
g Life - On Earth, methane is mostly produced by life. The recent detection of methane in the Martian atmosphere therefore has given rise to much speculation about the possibility for life on the Red Planet. Part one of this four-part series about methane and Mars provides an overview of the recent findings. See article.
g Intelligence - Is a car masculine or feminine? It's not a trick question. In Spanish, car is el automobile, making it masculine. But in English, a car is a car and what's more important is its make. But, a study published in the September issue of the Journal of Consumer Research reveals that linguistic gender plays a role as a categorization tool for brand evaluation and recall in both English and Spanish. See article.
g Message - A “portrait of humanity” recently was taken by Simon Bell, a photographer from Toronto. It is half of a stereo pair, two images that when properly focused together, reveal the scene’s third dimension. The photograph was envisioned as part of a message for the Cassini mission to Saturn and its moon Titan, launched in late 1997. It would have been an artifact in the tradition of the Voyager Record and the “Visions of Mars” CD ROM. Unlike the Voyager Record it was not intended to leave the solar system to be found by the crew of an advanced starship. Unlike Visions it was not for humans in the next few centuries. Its fate would have been to remain on the surface of Saturn’s moon Titan, waiting for eons of time against the slim chance that life might someday appear on that strange world, or that some other space traveler might visit Titan and find it. The image, inscribed on a diamond wafer about the size of a coin, was intended to show an intelligent alien on Titan viewer a little about our bodies, about our relationships with each other, and about our planet. See article.
g Cosmicus - Delays for safety improvements have repeatedly thwarted the shuttle's comeback from the Columbia catastrophe. But aging components could eventually add their own setbacks and risks to flying as the shuttles near retirement in just five years, according to authorities on space travel. See article.
g Learning - The question of whether we are alone in our universe has fascinated humanity since the earliest of times. Stories of mysterious beings from the sky permeate the mythology of many cultures and make a regular appearance in fiction, while the number of UFO sightings continues to rise. Yet aside from the myths and sensationalism, the study of astrobiology — the search for life elsewhere in the universe -has become widely accepted as a valid and important area of research. Astrobiology encompasses cosmology, astrophysics, planetary science, paleontology, chemistry, biochemistry, biology, genetics and anthropology. Monica Grady, head of petrology and meteoritics in the department of mineralogy at the Natural History Museum, presents a comprehensive introduction to astrobiology online course.
g Imagining - A complaint lodged again and again against science fiction aliens is that they look too much like us. Is that complaint valid? Is it so unlikely that extraterrestrials would look at least similar (though not identical) to humans? If so, then what would beings, intelligent or not so intelligent, who evolved on another world look like? That's what Cliff Pickover explores in The Science of Aliens. Though the book is a few years old, it’s still worth reading. Here’s a review of it and an interview with the author.
g Aftermath - Reactions to the announcement that scientists had found evidence for primitive life in a meteorite from Mars have been intense. Some concerned the scientific evidence, some the implications of extraterrestrial life, especially if intelligent. Underlying these reactions are assumptions, or beliefs, which often have a religious grounding. The two divergent beliefs, for and against the plurality of life in the universe, are examined historically and through religious traditions, particularly the Judeo-Christian. This examination guides the formulation of the right relation between science and religion as one that respects the autonomy of each discipline, yet allows for each to be open to the discoveries of the other. Based on this relationship, perspectives from scientific exploration are developed that can help individuals to respect and cope with the new phenomena that science brings, whether these imply that we might be alone in the universe or co-creatures of God with the ancient Martians. See article.


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Millisecond pulsars, cold Mars and what really happened Oct. 31, 1938

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 - New Chandra observations give the best information yet on why millisecond pulsars are rotating so fast. The key, as in real estate, is location, location, location - in this case the crowded confines of the globular star cluster 47 Tucanae, where stars are less than a tenth of a light year apart. See article.
g Abodes - The current mean temperature on the equator of Mars is a blustery 69 degrees below zero Fahrenheit. Scientists have long thought that the Red Planet was once temperate enough for water to have existed on the surface, and for life to possibly have evolved. But a new study by Caltech and MIT scientists gives this idea the cold shoulder. See article.
g Life - A signaling pathway required for plants to grow to their normal size appears to have an unexpected dual purpose of keeping the plant from wallpapering itself with too many densely clustered stomata. Understanding the mechanisms that control stomata patterning offers insights into such questions as how plants evolved to protect themselves when they moved from water to land. See article.
g Intelligence - Are you disgusted when you hear about Elvis Presley's fried peanut butter 'n 'nanner sandwiches? A new study shows that it could all be in your head. In fact, our taste preferences may have little to do with whether we can even recognize the substance we're eating or drinking. See article.
g Message - The Search for Extraterrestrial Artifacts, or SETA, is about delineating between the artificial and the real. In the case of radio detection from other stellar systems, the artificial is what is labeled the real signal that intelligent communications are on-air. See article. Note: This article is a couple of years old.
g Cosmicus - Aircraft flying over Mars and supersonic transports so quiet they can fly over land on Earth are in NASA's view of the future at Experimental Aircraft Association's AirVenture 2005, July 25-31 in Oshkosh, Wis. See article.
g Learning - Americans love science in their movies and TV shows, yet recent reports indicate we are losing our scientific dominance to the rest of the world. Can science-themed entertainment get Americans off the couch and into the lab? See article.
g Imagining - Like first contact stories? Then be sure to read Vonda N. McIntyre’s “The Starfarers Series”: “Starfarers” (1989), “Transition” (1990), “Metaphase” (1992) and “Nautilus” (1994). In the series, a ship staffed by an international crew goes out to contact alien life. It eventually discovers dying squidmoth, which leads them into further contacts.
g Aftermath - The recent Hollywood movie “War of the Worlds” by Steven Spielberg is garnering much attention, but it's nothing like that accorded the 1938 radio version of H.G. Wells' novel. The extent of the panic that broadcast caused is still debated. So what really happened that night? See article.

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Warm dust, violet sky and ‘War of the Worlds’ radio broadcast

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 - A relatively young star located about 300 light-years away is greatly improving our understanding of the formation of Earth-like planets. The dustiest environment ever seen so close to a Sun-like star well after its formation shrouds the star. The warm dust is believed to be from recent collisions of rocky bodies at distances from the star comparable to that of the Earth from the Sun. See article.
g Abodes - The sky is blue, physicists tell us, because blue light in the Sun's rays bends more than red light. But this extra bending, or scattering, applies just as much to violet light, so it is reasonable to ask why the sky isn't purple. The answer, explained fully for the first time in a new scientific paper, is in the eye of the beholder. See article.
g Life - What could the fierce dinosaur T. rex and a modern songbird such as the sparrow possibly have in common? Their pulmonary systems may have been more similar than scientists previously thought, according to new research from Ohio University and Harvard University. See article.
g Intelligence - Howard Hughes Medical Institute researchers have discovered a novel way in which the brain size of developing mammals may be regulated. They have identified a signaling pathway that controls the orientation in which dividing neural progenitor cells are cleaved during development. The researchers speculate that this type of regulatory decision point may play a powerful role in determining the ultimate size of the mammalian brain. See article.
g Message - In 2001, a group of Russian teens from Moscow, Kaluga, Voronezh and Zheleznogorsk participated directly and via the Internet in composing a Teen-Age Message to extraterrestrial intelligence, and in the selection of target stars. Their message was transmitted in the autumn of that year, from the Evpatoria Deep Space Center. See article.
g Cosmicus - To inspire the American people about the Vision for Space Exploration, and to focus the agency on its central mission, NASA should immediately establish a Moon and Mars Astronaut Corps. This elite cadre, set up within the existing astronaut body, would bring together the heroes who will lead the great journey ahead. See article.
g Learning - Sign up for classes at the SETI Institute with instructor Seth Shostak! See article.
g Imagining - England's Astronomer Royal says he believes aliens could exist, possibly as balloon-like creatures floating in dense atmospheres. See article.
g Aftermath - Want to hear the famous 1938 radio broadcast of “War of the Worlds,” which caused widespread panic as listeners believed Martians actually were invading Earth? See recording.

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Extrasolar planets, 550 million year-old fossils and God creating aliens

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 - The Sloan Digital Sky Survey is entering a new phase with new goals. SDSS is already the most ambitious astronomical survey project ever undertaken. During its five years of operation, the 300-plus scientists in the SDSS consortium have mapped galaxies, stars and quasars by the hundreds of millions over a large swath of sky. Now, with new partners and a new round of funding, the SDSS team is ramping up in a new way. See article.
g Abodes - In the past decade, more than 130 extrasolar planets have been discovered. Almost all have been found using a technique that measures tiny changes in a star's radial velocity, the speed of its motion relative to Earth. Astronomer Alan Boss tells the story how the first of these discoveries came about. See article.
g Life - A research team from Virginia Tech and Nanjing Institute of Geology and Paleontology in China has discovered uniquely well-preserved fossils form from 550 million year old rocks of the Ediacaran Period. See article.
g Intelligence - Everyone knows money can't buy happiness, and a new study suggests brains won't guarantee it, either. See article.
g Message - While advanced civilizations might be tempted to use optical means such as lasers to send information between the stars, there are some good reasons that nearly all the major Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence experiments are looking for radio waves instead. See article.
g Cosmicus - China's next manned space endeavor could occur as early as October, according to state media reports. The mission would come two years after the first Chinese piloted flight. See article.
g Learning - Here’s a neat interactive Web site for kids: “Are Humans All Alone in the Universe?” In the program, kids get to search for ET — and learn some principles of science along the way. See article.
g Imagining - Watch the film "Alien vs. Predator” and you might feel there was little left to lose in seeing "Exorcist: The Beginning". As it happens, both movies, although undeniably bad, are thought provoking. Humans have a longstanding fascination with powerful, malevolent entities, whether extraterrestrial or supernatural, and the existence of such entities, however farfetched in its cinematic presentation, is a fair topic for inquiry and speculation. See article.
g Aftermath - The discovery that alien life exists would mean that we are not the center of the universe. While most religions now recognize that the Earth is just a lump of rock, they still believe that we human beings are the most important thing in creation, that we occupy a special place in God's plan. The existence of aliens would seem to make this implausible especially if they are more advanced than we are (on all levels, intellectually, spiritually). This would mean that God has acted in the development of the aliens in a way he did not act in ours, which in turn would mean that we do not occupy the paramount role in God's creation. See article.

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Exception to the rule, living in the Dead Sea and ‘Contact’

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 - Every rule has an exception. One rule in astronomy, supported by considerable evidence, states that dust disks around newborn stars disappear in a few million years. Most likely, they vanish because the material has collected into full-sized planets. Astronomers have discovered the first exception to this rule - a 25-million-year-old dust disk that shows no evidence of planet formation. See article.
g Abodes - Last August, two groups of scientists announced the discovery of the smallest extrasolar planets found to date. But just what are these Neptune-size worlds? Are they gas giants, ice giants, or oversized Earths? Astronomer Alan Boss examines the possibilities. See article.
g Life - How have the molecules essential to life, such as proteins, adapted to function in extreme environments? The proteins that may help answer this question have been isolated from halophilic (salt-loving) microorganisms from the Dead Sea. So what's living in the Dead Sea anyway? See article.
g Intelligence - The insertion of human stem cells into monkey brains runs a "real risk" of altering the animals' abilities in ways that might make them more like us, scientists said last week. See article.
g Message - To subject the Fermi Paradox to needed experimental testing, a researcher has offered the Artifact Hypothesis: A technologically advanced extraterrestrial civilization has undertaken a long-term program of' interstellar exploration via transmission of material artifacts. article.
g Cosmicus - As the 21st century gets underway, the impact of space activities upon the welfare of humanity will only increase. See article.
g Learning - Splat! There goes another bug on the windshield. But wait, before you scrape off that disgusting mess, look carefully - there's an astronomy lesson in there! See “Horse Flies and Meteors” at article.
g Imagining - Like first contact stories? Then be sure to read Carl Sagan’s “Contact” (1985). See article.
g Aftermath - When an alien lands on the White House lawn, who should greet him (her? it?): Someone from the Immigration and Naturalization Service or someone from the Fish and Wildlife Commission? What legal rights would an extraterrestrial have? See article. Note: This article is from 1977, but the issue has been thought about very little.

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Starquake, triple-star system planet and Apollo 11 anniversary

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 - The biggest starquake ever recorded resulted in oscillations in the X-ray emission from the shaking neutron star. Astronomers hope these oscillations will crack the mystery of what neutron stars are made of. See article.
g Abodes - A NASA-funded astronomer has discovered a world where the sun sets over the horizon, followed by a second sun and then a third. The new planet, called HD 188753 Ab, is the first known to reside in a classic triple-star system. See article.
g Life - Life thrives in all sorts of hostile environments, including the extreme salinity of the Dead Sea. A team of scientists at the Weizmann Institute of Science has uncovered a strategy that helps molecules essential to life, such as proteins, have adapted to function in extreme environments. See article.
g Intelligence - When we listen to speech, our brain processes different information concerning vowels and consonants. In fact, it is mostly consonant sounds that guide us to identify words within the flow of speech, according to a recent study by researchers of the Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati in Trieste and other institutes. See article.
g Message - The two Voyager deep-space probes each hold gold-plated copper discs - called the "Golden Record" - to be played on a record player (supplied on board) and containing a snapshot of information from Earth. Assuming the aliens can assemble the player and figure out the instructions, they're in for quite a treat: a deep-space personal ad for the entire human race, assembled under the direction of Carl Sagan. But while the first couple of plaques are neat - they deal with basic number systems and offer cryptic hieroglyphic instructions on how to play the records - the remainder of the album is pretty poor, a Yale graduate student says. See article. Note: This article is from 2004.
g Cosmicus - One of the defining moments of the 20th century was mankind's voyage to the moon. This video selection allows you to relive the mission of Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins on Apollo 11. See article.
g Learning -A new section of the Journal of Geophysical Research will focus on biogeosciences of the Earth system in the past, present and future and its applicability to planetary studies. See article.
g Imagining - Book alert: Of course, quality science fiction is really less about aliens than the human condition. That’s why you ought to scour some used bookstores for this rare edition: “Star Trek on the Brain: Alien Minds, Human Minds,” by Robert Sekuler and Randolph Blake. An educational and entertaining nonfiction work that uses Star Trek to explain the workings of the human mind, the authors (both psychology professors) have put together an excellent and highly readable neurology primer. Their two-pronged task is to give a Star Trek example and then link it to contemporary science of the nervous system. Do you want to better understand emotions, their cultural implications and universal expressions? Then this is the book. See reviews.
g Aftermath - It was not suggested outside of science fiction — and there only after the 1890s — that extraterrestrials might come to Earth, except for a few believers in interplanetary spirit travel by mortals (an idea now well established among occultists). Among these was the well-known Belgian writer Maurice Maeterlinck, who, in what was perhaps the earliest conception of ETs as “gods from outer space,” reasoned that since no beings from other worlds have used their advanced science to abolish suffering on Earth, “Is there not reason to fear that we are for ever alone in the universe, and that no other world has ever been more intelligent or better than our own?” But this, the first serious “Where are they?” argument, was not known to the general public and in any case would not have carried weight, since it depended on the concept of disembodied spirits. Physical contact between worlds was not thought possible outside of fiction. See article.

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Elusive neutron star, understanding zero, and estimating the odds

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 - An international team has uncovered a rare type of neutron star so elusive that it took three satellites to identify it. See article.
g Abodes - The nearest, youngest star with dusty debris disk - the stuff from which planets form - has been found by Berkeley and Hawaii astronomers a mere 33 light-years away. See article. Note: This article is from 2004.
g Life - A University of Florida study has found that mutations in the mitochondria caused by obesity and lack of exercise - not oxidative stress from free radicals - may be a key factor in the aging process. See article.
g Intelligence - During the course of human evolution, our ancestors eventually grasped the abstract concept of counting nothing, or '”zero.” Is this a unique component of human intelligence? Or does one of the most sophisticated abstractions discovered yet among animals tell us anything about the evolution of intelligence, on Earth or elsewhere? See article.
g Cosmicus - Join this community of students and space aficionados who are working together to plan a manned mission to Mars. The academy's online "courses" are free, and dedicated participants can earn a "Mars Expert" degree. See article.
g Learning - How many extraterrestrial civilizations exist in our galaxy? Frank Drake's now-famous equation makes an educated guess. Check out this video on the topic and make your own guess. Click here and look for “Multimedia.”
g Imagining - Like stories about efforts to communicate with aliens? Then be sure to read Frank Herbert’s “Whipping Star” (1970). See review.
g Aftermath - The good news is that polls continue to show that between one and two-thirds of the public thinks that extraterrestrial life exists. The weird news is that a similar fraction think that some of it is visiting Earth. See article.

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Evolving intelligence, good intergalactic neighbors and farming Mars

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 - The European Space Agency’s Markus Landgraf and his colleagues have found the first direct evidence that a bright disc of dust surrounds our Solar System, starting beyond the orbit of Saturn. Remarkably, their discovery gives astronomers a way to determine which other stars in the galaxy are most likely to harbor planets and allows mission planners to draw up a 'short-list' of stars to be observed by future planet-search missions, such as Eddington and Darwin. See article. Note: This article is from 2002.
g Abodes - It was Valentine's Day 1990 when a sleeping eye awoke after nearly nine year's of inactivity, and for a few brief moments, from a distance of nearly 4 billion miles, took its last look at the cosmic neighborhood from whence it came. See article.
g Life - For a good Web site that focuses on the latest advances and thought in evolutionary theory, see Alec’s Evolution Page. It’s part of the Evolution Education Site Ring.
g Intelligence - Since intelligent life took a long time to develop on Earth, some believe it will take just as long on other worlds. Other scientists disagree with this conclusion. They suggest that animal life - or something resembling it - may have developed more rapidly on other worlds. One proponent of this theory is Chris McKay, who wrote the essay, "Time for Intelligence on Other Planets," in order to determine the shortest possible time it would take for intelligence to develop after the origin of life. See article.
g Message - To design an interstellar message, does one have to find ways to communicate that humankind has the potential to be friendly, loving and altruistic toward non-kin individuals or strangers? How to announce our stewardship of the planet as a good neighbor? See article. Note: This article is from 2003.
g Cosmicus - Although Mars may once have been warm and wet, the Red Planet today is a frozen wasteland. Most scientists agree, it's highly unlikely that any living creature — even a microbe — could survive for long on the surface of Mars. When the first humans travel there to explore the Red Planet up close, they will have to grow their food in airtight, heated greenhouses. The Martian atmosphere is far too cold and dry for edible plants to grow in the open air. But if humans ever hope to establish long-term colonies on their planetary neighbor, they will no doubt want to find a way to farm outdoors. Imre Friedmann has an idea of how they might take the first step. See article. Note: This article is from 2001.
g Learning - Here’s a neat classroom activity: “Chores on the International Space Station.” Students discover what astronauts do to keep the station running – and who has to take out the trash. See article.
g Imagining - Like stories about alien anthropology and cultures? Then be sure to read Lloyd Biggle’s “The Light That Never Was” (1972). See review.
g Aftermath -In the last quarter of the twentieth century, an international social movement — Communication with Extraterrestrial Intelligence — has emerged which advocates an attempt to achieve communication with extraterrestrial intelligence, and many of its most active members have been leading scientists. Modest efforts to detect radio signals from intelligent extraterrestrials already have been made, both under government aegis and privately funded, and the technical means for a more vigorous search have been developed. If a CETI project were successful, linguists would suddenly have one or more utterly alien languages to study, and some consideration of linguistic issues is a necessary preparation for it. See article.

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Are we smart enough to recognize intelligent life, nanotechnology and ‘Discord in Scarlet’

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 - New calculations estimate giant planet formation may take only centuries instead of tens of millions of years. See article. Note: This article is from 2002.
g Abodes - An international team of marine research scientists working for the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program have found new evidence that links catastrophic sand avalanches in deep Gulf waters to rapid sea level changes. By analyzing downhole measurements and freshly retrieved sediment cores, the scientists are reconstructing the history of a basin formed approximately 20,000 years ago, when sea level fell so low that the Texas shoreline shifted almost 100 miles to the south. The data are important to reconstructing climate change history and gathering insights about the development and placement of natural resources, particularly gas and oil deposits. See article.
g Life - From the Big Bang, to the formation of galaxies, to the birth of the solar system, to the emergence of life, to the evolution of intelligence and culture, the universe has evolved from simplicity to complexity. We are the result of an incredibly complex chain of events that spanned billions of years. Were those events random, making us unique, or are they in some sense natural, so that technological civilization is inevitable? Put another way, are we alone in the universe, or are we just one among countless other intelligent life forms in our galaxy? Can our understanding of the he development of life on Earth help us assess the likelihood of finding intelligent life elsewhere in the cosmos? See article.
g Intelligence - The appearance of intelligence in Earth entails a paradox: We only recognize it and appraise it directly because we are intelligent. Other forms of life, the environment, and now, even the sidereal space, are at the receiving end of our intelligence, our acts and doings, but they cannot understand it. See article.
g Message - Most people see the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence as a project for merely listening for signals from other stars, but Yvan Dutil and Stephane Dumas from the Defence Research Establishment Valcartier in Canada had other ideas in mind when they composed a message recently sent to the stars. See article.
g Cosmicus - Today, in the young field of nanotechnology, scientists and engineers are taking control of atoms and molecules individually, manipulating them and putting them to use with an extraordinary degree of precision. Word of the promise of nanotechnology is spreading rapidly, and the air is thick with news of nanotech breakthroughs. Governments and businesses are investing billions of dollars in nanotechnology R&D, and political alliances and battle lines are starting to form. Public awareness of nanotech is clearly on the rise, too, partly because references to it are becoming more common in popular culture—with mentions in movies (like “The Hulk” and “The Tuxedo”), books (Michael Crichton recent bestseller, “Prey”), video games (such as the “Metal Gear Solid” series), and television (most notably in various “Star Trek” incarnations). Yet there remains a great deal of confusion about just what nanotechnology is, both among the ordinary people whose lives will be changed by the new science, and among the policymakers who wittingly or unwittingly will help steer its course. See article.
g Learning - Here’s a neat classroom activity: “What Space Needs – The Human Touch,” in which students examine the many reasons for people to explore new places vs. reliance on much safer robots. See article.
g Imagining - Like stories about alien biologies/environments? Be sure to read A.E. VanVogt’s "Discord in Scarlet" (1939) in which alien lays eggs in human hosts and out of court settlement is reached for the alien. See article.
g Aftermath - The scientific search for extraterrestrial intelligence is accelerating its pace and adopting fresh strategies. This increases the likelihood of successful detection in the near future. Humanity's first contact with alien intelligence will trigger extraordinary attention from the media, from government authorities, and from the general public. By improving our readiness for contact, especially for security during the first 30 days, we can avoid the most negative scenarios — and also enhance humanity's benefits from this first contact with an alien intelligence. Six potential problem areas include communicating with the media and the public, communicating with scientific colleagues, government control, an assassin or saboteur, well-meaning officials and lawsuits. See article.

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Microflares, studying the mesosphere and jellyplants on Mars

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 - A great mystery about our own star is why its atmosphere is hotter than its surface. By studying microflares, solar physicists believe some of this energy is coming from the smaller but more frequent explosions on our typical dwarf star. See article. Note: This article is from 2003.
g Abodes - A new research radar based in Antarctica is giving scientists the chance to study the highest layer of the Earth's atmosphere at the very edge of space. Using the new radar, scientists will be able to investigate climate change and explore the theory that while the lower atmosphere is warming, the upper atmosphere is cooling by as much as 1 degree centigrade each year. They also will be able to find out more about the complex waves, tides and other mechanisms that link this region - known as the mesosphere - to the lower regions of the atmosphere. See article.
g Life - Bacteria? Are astronomers looking through the wrong end of the telescope? "We're pioneering something here," said Woody Sullivan, a University of Washington radio astronomer and one of the lead creators of the UW's innovative NASA-funded program in astrobiology - the study of life in a cosmic context. "We've got to start thinking outside the typical disciplinary boundaries.” See article. Note: This article is from 2003.
g Intelligence - Intelligence brought to humans many gifts and consequences. One of them, self-awareness, allows us to interpret reality in a subjective way and to conceptualize our existence in comparison with other animals and other human beings. Self-realization also allowed pre-historic humans to develop strategies and to anticipate the future. Another one is the ability to produce symbols and abstractions, i.e., internal mental representations of reality, "thought inventions" and beliefs not grounded on reality. Language gave us the ability to communicate using an open system of sound symbols (words), therefore enabling us to pass these realizations, beliefs, inventions, understandings and knowledge to other humans, from generation to generation. All this produced three of the most distinctive characteristics of humankind: religion, art and culture. See article.
g Message - Book alert: Sixteen scientists (including Philip Morrison, Carl Sagan, Freeman Dyson, and Nobel laureate Melvin Calvin) discuss their work, their lives and this new field of science in “SETI Pioneers: Scientists Talk About Their Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence,” by David W. Swift. Their stories, collected in interviews by sociologist Swift (University of Hawaii) show how the image of a new research field can change over time from lunatic fringe to scientific respectability. See reviews.
g Cosmicus - What effect will surface gravity have on interstellar settlement? See article.
g Learning - Here’s a neat classroom activity: “Jellyplants on Mars.” Scentists are creating a new breed of glowing plants - part mustard and part jellyfish - to help humans explore Mars. In this lesson, students learn about the plants and bioregeneration. See activity.
g Imagining - Like first contact stories? Then be sure to read Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle’s “The Mote in God's Eye” (1974), a classic hard science fiction novel. See reviews.
g Aftermath - What would an intelligent signal from another planet change about human destiny? This large question is the topic of the book “The SETI Factor,” by Frank White, who also analyzes how to announce such an historic finding and whether it would unite or divide nations. See article. Note: This article is from 2003.

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Photosynthesis alternatives, living in space for fun and ‘A for Andromeda’

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 - A star that has begun eclipsing every 48 days shows the remarkable time scales of stellar evolution. The eclipsing star may be “winking,” according to Harvard-Smithsonian astronomers, because of a protoplanetary disk that beckons a solar system coming of age. Such changes may give scientists a first-row seat to witness what usually eludes a lifetime of study: planets as they form. See article. Note: This article is from 2003.
g Abodes - Mars is a rocky planet with an ancient volcanic past, but new findings show the planet is more complex and active than previously believed - at least in certain places. See article.
g Life - The possibility of complex life on other worlds may depend on green plant photosynthesis. But could this sunlight-dependent process evolve on worlds that orbit stars different from our sun? See article. Note: This article is from 2003.
g Intelligence - Alongside language, the ability of inventing and making new tools is considered one of the most distinctive features of Homo. No other living animals have these abilities, and probably the extinct hominids had them in a primitive, initial stage, setting the difference with other non-human primates. Therefore, the emergence of a technology to manufacture stone tools during the evolution of hominids represents a radical social and behavioral departure from apes, and is the first documented evidence for a cultural tradition with value for survival, i.e., based upon learning. See article.
g Message - Book alert: Despite an evidently open-minded attitude, Barry R. Parker in his new book “Alien Life: The Search for Extraterrestrials and Beyond” delivers the hard line to ET enthusiasts: "Strangely, we haven't found a single sign of life beyond our solar system." In “Alien Life,” the emeritus Idaho State University professor of astronomy and physics summarizes recent scientific conjecture on extraterrestrial life without venturing much personal speculation. He considers the "architecture of life" and the mystery of DNA as related to its possible exploitation elsewhere; the possibility of non-carbon-based life forms; the history of Mars exploration (including the recent "meteorite from Mars" discovery); the results of NASA space probes; the discovery of distant planets through advanced telescopy; and SETI's search for alien radio signals. Parker acknowledges the contentions of UFO believers, but devotes few pages to claims of alien encounters such as the well-known Roswell incident. Steering clear of that controversy as "an argument not likely to be resolved in the near future," Parker's hopeful and energetic book ends up reinforcing the science establishment's lonely outlook for humanity, but still leaves room for the possibility that if they are out there, we will find them - or they, us. See article.
g Cosmicus - Plenty of copy has been written about living in space, but they tend to concentrate on the past experience of people who have stayed in orbit. These people have nearly all been in the unusual situation of doing scientific research. And they have all undergone extensive selection and training, because going to orbit is so expensive today that it would be very wasteful if they were ill or failed to do some of their planned work. And so they've mostly been very busy all the time. So most books don't say much about how it will be for people to live in space for fun — for example in an orbiting hotel. See article.
g Learning - Here’s a neat lesson: “All the World’s a Stage ... for Dust.” In this lesson, students tune in to a NASA website and watch giant dust clouds as they ride global rivers of air, cross-pollinating continents with topsoil and microbes. See lesson.
g Imagining - Like stories about efforts to communicate with alien? Then be sure to read Fred Hoyle’s “A for Andromeda” (1962). See article.
g Aftermath - While formal principles have been adopted for the eventuality of detecting intelligent life in our galaxy, no such guidelines exist for the discovery of non-intelligent extraterrestrial life within the solar system. Current scientifically based planetary protection policies for solar system exploration address how to undertake exploration, but do not provide clear guidance on what to do if and when life is detected. Considering that Martian life could be detected under several different robotic and human exploration scenarios in the coming decades, it is appropriate to anticipate how detection of non-intelligent, microbial life could impact future exploration missions and activities, especially on Mars. See article.


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Limits on organic life, contact by 2010 and astrosociology

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 - When unusually warm dust was first discovered around the nearby star Zeta Leporis, infrared astronomers begun hunting in detail for the heat source. According to research at UCLA, what the star may be undergoing is asteroid and planet formation similar to that of our own early solar system. For infrared astronomers the warm particle halo may reveal more than just a hot cloud. It may reveal a dusty disk that resembles an asteroid belt. See article. Note: This article is from 2001.
g Abodes - Geologists at Queen's University have discovered that the time it takes for mountain ranges to form is millions of years shorter than previously thought. See article.
g Life - What are the limits of organic life in planetary systems? It’s a heady question that, if answered, may reveal just how crowded the cosmos could be with alien biology. See article. Note: This article is from 2002.
g Intelligence - Despite all differences that separate humans from other animals, especially non-human primates, it is the capacity for symbolic language that truly set us uniquely apart. Many differences we have in respect to other primates are relatively small, and incremental in nature, but there is nothing like our ability for language, in all its forms. According to authors Terrence Deacon (in "The Symbolic Species") and Ian Tattersal (in "Becoming Humans"), our brains must have a fundamental difference in respect to other primate's brains, because although they seem to have some capacity for use of symbols and for communication using signs and vocalizations, there are enormous differences in the complexity of human symbolic language and it cannot be explained by a simple increase in volume of neural tissue. See article.
g Message - By 2010 we will know if nearby planets are inhabited. That's the amazing claim that Dr. Stuart Clark - director of public astronomy education at the University of Hertfordshire - makes in his thought-provoking book, “Life on Other Worlds and How to Find It.” See reviews.
g Cosmicus - As we become a spacefaring civilization, one field that will grow in prominence is “astrosociology.” For an examination of current, practical problems that the field examines, see article.
g Learning - Here’s a neat classroom activity: “Sizzling Comets.” It explores the future of our solar system as the Sun becomes a red giant. See activity.
g Imagining - Like stories about alien anthropology and cultures? Then be sure to read Robert Silverberg’s “Downward to the Earth” (1970), in which a colonial administrator tries to do justice to alien culture. See reviews.
g Aftermath - The scientific discussion of the evolution of life in the universe raises some key philosophical and theological issues: Will life and intelligence be found throughout the universe, or will it turn out to be exceedingly rare? Will intelligent life be capable of both rationality and moral agency? Will evolutionary biology determine its moral content or will it merely bequeath intelligent life with moral capacity, leaving moral content to be determined independently of biology? If moral agency evolves, will these species inevitably exhibit moral failure, or is our generic human experience of moral failure strictly the result of our particular evolution, leaving us to expect there to be other civilizations that are entirely benign? The discussion of these issues, though largely hypothetical, can offer insight into the theological and cultural implications of the discovery of extraterrestrial intelligence as well into a better understanding of the human condition. See article.

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Star bright, The Planetary Society and ‘Voyage of the Space Beagle’

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 - In January 2002, a dull star in an obscure constellation suddenly became the brightest star in our Milky Way galaxy. The mysterious star's three-dimensional structure of dust-shells provided the Hubble telescope with a glimpse of an aging star's 15 minutes of fame. See article. Note: This article is from 2003.
g Abodes - New research found that phytoplankton population and size can change dramatically due to the physical processes associated with the climate phenomena known as El Niño and La Niña. In turn, these changes not only affect ocean ecology, but also influence our climate by impacting carbon storage in the ocean. See article.
g Life - A parrot has grasped the concept of zero, something humans can't do until at least the toddler phase, researchers say. See article.
g Intelligence - Children who use "baby talk" for too long may be showing signs of language delay, one expert warns. See article.
g Message - Book alert: Scour your used book store shelves for “Life Beyond Earth,” by Timothy Ferris. Rock-solid science writer Ferris has covered this ground before. In the two-hour PBS documentary that he wrote and narrated - which shares the title, text, and many of the images of this generously illustrated book - Ferris tackles two age-old questions about the potentially universal nature of life: Are we alone, and, if not, is anybody listening? See reviews.
g Cosmicus - If you are serious about seeing humanity become a spacefaring civilization, please join The Planetary Society – the largest nonprofit, nongovernmental space advocacy group on the planet. See website.
g Learning - Here’s a neat classroom activity: “Building a Droid.” Inspired by the science fiction classics “Star Wars” and “Star Trek,” NASA scientists are building a robotic helper for astronauts; in this lesson, students learn about the latest droid research. See activity.
g Imagining - Like stories about alien biologies/environments? Be sure to read A.E. VanVogt’s “Voyage of the Space Beagle” (1939;1950), which include classic encounters with BEMs. See reviews.
g Aftermath - What are the challenges to comprehension in initiating and maintaining strategic dialogue in highly uncertain situations — such as with extraterrestrials? See article.

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