Welcome! “Alien Life” tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. You may notice that this and future entries are shorter than usual; Career, family and book deal commitments have forced me to cut back some of my projects. Now, here’s today’s news
g Abodes - Like a hawk's eyes, the high resolution cameras on NASA's Cassini spacecraft have spotted yet another small, previously unknown moon circling giant Saturn and one which may indicate the existence of other small bodies in the same region. See article.
g Life - Life as we know it on Earth is not the only kind possible in the universe, scientists reminded NASA in a report released earlier this month. See article.
g Message -There’s a nice summary of various astrobiological authors on the Fermi Paradox, or the question of why, if there supposedly are so many aliens, we haven’t met any of them yet, at this site.
g Cosmicus - NASA is looking for a way to accelerate its long-planned Mars sample return mission, possibly by fitting upcoming landers like the 2009 Mars Science Laboratory with sample caches that could be retrieved and delivered back to Earth later. See article.
g Learning - Water. It's essential for life as best we know it. Almost three-fourths of the Earth is covered with water. We live on the pale blue dot, and our lives depend fundamentally on water. Yet, just after Earth formed about 4.5 billion years ago, the surface was mostly dry. "So, where did the water come from?" asked a high school teacher this morning at the Astrobiology Summer Science Institute for Teachers here at San Francisco State University. It's a good question that his students are very likely to ask as they study the evolution of our planetary system. See article.
g Imagining - Like first contact stories? Then be sure to read Timothy Zahn’s novel “Conqueror's Pride,” published by Bantam Spectra in 1994.
g Aftermath -Should we really expect extraterrestrials to be sympathetic to our pleas to be altruistic because of the symbolic kinship we might share with them? See http://www.space.com/searchforlife/seti_vakoch_030321.html. Note: This article is from March 2003.
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Monday, July 30, 2007
Early Earth’s environment, postbiological life and extremophile primer
Welcome! “Alien Life” tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. You may notice that this and future entries are shorter than usual; Career, family and book deal commitments have forced me to cut back some of my projects. Now, here’s today’s news
g Abodes -Astronomers suspect the early Earth was a very harsh place. Temperatures were extreme, and the planet was constantly bombarded by cosmic debris. Many scientists believe that life's starting materials, or building blocks, must have been very resilient to have survived this tumultuous environment. See article.
g Life -The Arizona Radio Observatory is on the lookout for primitive organic molecules in the cold, dense gas clouds of interstellar space. See article.
g Message -Postbiological life might operate (communicate, organize, travel, colonize) on a larger scale than a single galaxy — possibly on the scale of the supercluster. The most advanced postbiological civilizations in our Local Supercluster may have developed in the Virgo Cluster, a rich cluster where intergalactic communication and travel would be easiest. If these advanced civilizations wanted to contact new civilizations elsewhere in the Supercluster they might collectively broadcast from one central location, for the sake of efficiency and to make it easy to find. A powerful, centrally located beacon would tend to replace all others in the Supercluster. This could explain the failure of SETI. The most likely location for this beacon is the giant elliptical galaxy M87. See article.
g Cosmicus - When NASA's latest mission lifts off this week, it carries instruments that will search for signs that life could exist on Mars. See article.
g Learning -Here’s a neat primer (for kids) to understanding extremophiles and how an understanding of them affects astrobiology: “Brave New Biosphere.” See article.
g Imagining - Like first contact stories? Then be sure to read Richard McKenna’s short story, "Mine Own Ways”, anthologized in “Casey Agonistes” (edited by Richard McKenna and published in 1960).
g Aftermath -Will ET be altruistic or hostile? An Internet poll found a strong connection between people’s beliefs about extraterrestrials and their feelings about how meaningful life is. What makes the results even more compelling is that they match the findings of an earlier study conducted under more stringent testing conditions. See article. Note: This article is from February 2002.
g Abodes -Astronomers suspect the early Earth was a very harsh place. Temperatures were extreme, and the planet was constantly bombarded by cosmic debris. Many scientists believe that life's starting materials, or building blocks, must have been very resilient to have survived this tumultuous environment. See article.
g Life -The Arizona Radio Observatory is on the lookout for primitive organic molecules in the cold, dense gas clouds of interstellar space. See article.
g Message -Postbiological life might operate (communicate, organize, travel, colonize) on a larger scale than a single galaxy — possibly on the scale of the supercluster. The most advanced postbiological civilizations in our Local Supercluster may have developed in the Virgo Cluster, a rich cluster where intergalactic communication and travel would be easiest. If these advanced civilizations wanted to contact new civilizations elsewhere in the Supercluster they might collectively broadcast from one central location, for the sake of efficiency and to make it easy to find. A powerful, centrally located beacon would tend to replace all others in the Supercluster. This could explain the failure of SETI. The most likely location for this beacon is the giant elliptical galaxy M87. See article.
g Cosmicus - When NASA's latest mission lifts off this week, it carries instruments that will search for signs that life could exist on Mars. See article.
g Learning -Here’s a neat primer (for kids) to understanding extremophiles and how an understanding of them affects astrobiology: “Brave New Biosphere.” See article.
g Imagining - Like first contact stories? Then be sure to read Richard McKenna’s short story, "Mine Own Ways”, anthologized in “Casey Agonistes” (edited by Richard McKenna and published in 1960).
g Aftermath -Will ET be altruistic or hostile? An Internet poll found a strong connection between people’s beliefs about extraterrestrials and their feelings about how meaningful life is. What makes the results even more compelling is that they match the findings of an earlier study conducted under more stringent testing conditions. See article. Note: This article is from February 2002.
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Looking at chemical isotopes to find life, trying to rehear ‘Wow!’ signal and introducing kids to astrobiology
Welcome! “Alien Life” tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. You may notice that this and future entries are shorter than usual; Career, family and book deal commitments have forced me to cut back some of my projects. Now, here’s today’s news
g Stars -The orbiting X-ray telescopes XMM-Newton and Chandra have caught a pair of galaxy clusters merging into a giant cluster. The discovery adds to existing evidence that galaxy clusters can collide faster than previously thought. See http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0707/18collide/.
g Abodes -Boston University researchers have published the first clear evidence of how gases from volcanoes on a tiny moon of Jupiter can lead to the largest visible gas cloud in the solar system. See http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0707/25io/.
g Life -For Clark Johnson, the quest to see if life might exist elsewhere in the universe begins by looking at chemical isotopes - different forms of the same chemical element. See http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=632456.
g Message -Veteran "Wow!" signal hunter Robert Gray recently turned south in his efforts to track down the elusive signal. In collaboration with the University of Tasmania, Gray used the 26-meter dish in Hobart, Tasmania, to record radio signals from the "Wow!" location for long hours at a time. See what they found at http://www.planetary.org/html/news/articlearchive/headlines/2002/
g Cosmicus -The House Commerce, Justice, Science Appropriations Subcommittee has recommended that NASA receive an 8.2 percent increase in its FY 2008 budget. Under this bill, now being considered on the House floor, NASA's science budget would increase 4.2 percent. See http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=24864.
g Learning -Here’s a neat Web site to introduce kids who go ga-ga over movie aliens to the science of astrobiology: http://www.river
deep.net/current/2002/03/031802_extraterrestrials.jhtml.
g Imagining - While science fiction can prove remarkably accurate on technological development, it falls well short of reality when it comes to biology and behavior. Many of the bug-eyed monsters we see depicted in movies, books and comics are not only very unlikely but also completely unfeasible. And aliens all too often are charmingly naive about such things as violence and love. See http://www.ibiblio./org/astrobiology/print.php?page=concepts01. Note: This article is from 2001.
g Aftermath -We humans are familiar with the back-and-forth of face-to-face contact — something we likely will not have in an interstellar conversation. The timescale of a human life may well not be enough for a meaningful dialogue with another species. Interstellar dialogue may make sense only across generations. See http://www.space.com/searchforlife/seti_vakoch_future_030410.html.
g Stars -The orbiting X-ray telescopes XMM-Newton and Chandra have caught a pair of galaxy clusters merging into a giant cluster. The discovery adds to existing evidence that galaxy clusters can collide faster than previously thought. See http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0707/18collide/.
g Abodes -Boston University researchers have published the first clear evidence of how gases from volcanoes on a tiny moon of Jupiter can lead to the largest visible gas cloud in the solar system. See http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0707/25io/.
g Life -For Clark Johnson, the quest to see if life might exist elsewhere in the universe begins by looking at chemical isotopes - different forms of the same chemical element. See http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=632456.
g Message -Veteran "Wow!" signal hunter Robert Gray recently turned south in his efforts to track down the elusive signal. In collaboration with the University of Tasmania, Gray used the 26-meter dish in Hobart, Tasmania, to record radio signals from the "Wow!" location for long hours at a time. See what they found at http://www.planetary.org/html/news/articlearchive/headlines/2002/
g Cosmicus -The House Commerce, Justice, Science Appropriations Subcommittee has recommended that NASA receive an 8.2 percent increase in its FY 2008 budget. Under this bill, now being considered on the House floor, NASA's science budget would increase 4.2 percent. See http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=24864.
g Learning -Here’s a neat Web site to introduce kids who go ga-ga over movie aliens to the science of astrobiology: http://www.river
deep.net/current/2002/03/031802_extraterrestrials.jhtml.
g Imagining - While science fiction can prove remarkably accurate on technological development, it falls well short of reality when it comes to biology and behavior. Many of the bug-eyed monsters we see depicted in movies, books and comics are not only very unlikely but also completely unfeasible. And aliens all too often are charmingly naive about such things as violence and love. See http://www.ibiblio./org/astrobiology/print.php?page=concepts01. Note: This article is from 2001.
g Aftermath -We humans are familiar with the back-and-forth of face-to-face contact — something we likely will not have in an interstellar conversation. The timescale of a human life may well not be enough for a meaningful dialogue with another species. Interstellar dialogue may make sense only across generations. See http://www.space.com/searchforlife/seti_vakoch_future_030410.html.
Saturday, July 28, 2007
Planets around quadruple-star system, chances of ET’s messages reaching us and SETI for elementary students
Welcome! “Alien Life” tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. You may notice that this and future entries are shorter than usual; Career, family and book deal commitments have forced me to cut back some of my projects. Now, here’s today’s news
g Stars - The Galaxy Evolution Explorer's ultraviolet eyes have captured a globular star cluster, called NGC 362, in our own Milky Way galaxy. In this new image, the cluster appears next to stars from a more distant neighboring galaxy, known as the Small Magellanic Cloud. See http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0707/20band/.
g Abodes - Astronomers used Spitzer's infrared vision to study a dusty disk that swirls around a pair of stars in the quadruple-star system HD 98800. Such disks are thought to give rise to planets. Instead of a smooth, continuous disk, the telescope detected gaps that could be caused by a unique gravitational relationship between the system's four stars. Alternatively, the gaps could indicate planets have already begun to form, carving out lanes in the dust. See http://www.technologynewsdaily.com/node/7556.
g Life - Understanding how life on Earth began requires a clear explanation of the chemical reactions necessary to synthesize the basic building blocks of life. An exciting new report that presents potential mechanisms for nucleobase synthesis in interstellar space and under the conditions of early Earth is featured in the June issue of Astrobiology. See http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=23063.
g Message -What are the chances that an alien signal has been sent our way just at the right moment to splash upon our antennas during that brief interval? If the extraterrestrials beam their broadcasts to the whole galaxy (or at least a big chunk of it), the chances are 100 percent. See http://space.com/searchforlife/060112_shostak_transmit.html.
g Cosmicus -The Pentagon decommissioned its experimental Orbital Express satellites this week, bringing the on-orbit satellite-servicing and robotics demonstration to an irreversible end. See http://www.
space.com/missionlaunches/070725_darpa_orbitalexpress_end.html.
g Learning -Here’s a great book for fourth- through sixth-grade kids: “Is Anybody Out There?” by Heather Couper, Nigel Henbest and Luciano Corbella. Of the book, one reviewer wrote: “Does intelligent life exist beyond our planet? This visually exciting examination looks at both the myth and the science related to the question. The authors, both British science writers, describe what alien lifeforms might look like, how we might communicate with them, and the impact the discovery of extrasolar planets has had on the development of scientific equipment. The book is organized into 17 appealing photo-spreads, comprising color photographs, detailed captions and boxed insets that contain information about a scientist or about a historic scientific event, or suggested activities for would-be scientists. The inclusion of a "count the alien civilizations" foldout board game is a bonus.” See http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0789427982/103-6007180-8832626?v=glance.
g Imagining - A new report, “The Limits of Organic Life in our Solar System” is clear: Life could exist in many forms utterly unfamiliar to us from our experiences on Earth, and if we want to be sure of finding life, we need to expand our ideas of what might qualify. See http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/07/23/weird_life/.
g Aftermath - Humanity’s foray into the solar system brings out the ethical issue of what we should do if life is found in outer space. Do we send more probes to further investigate and do we have a responsibility to protect that life and allow it to develop naturally? See http://www.dailynews.lk/2007/07/25/fea01.asp.
g Stars - The Galaxy Evolution Explorer's ultraviolet eyes have captured a globular star cluster, called NGC 362, in our own Milky Way galaxy. In this new image, the cluster appears next to stars from a more distant neighboring galaxy, known as the Small Magellanic Cloud. See http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0707/20band/.
g Abodes - Astronomers used Spitzer's infrared vision to study a dusty disk that swirls around a pair of stars in the quadruple-star system HD 98800. Such disks are thought to give rise to planets. Instead of a smooth, continuous disk, the telescope detected gaps that could be caused by a unique gravitational relationship between the system's four stars. Alternatively, the gaps could indicate planets have already begun to form, carving out lanes in the dust. See http://www.technologynewsdaily.com/node/7556.
g Life - Understanding how life on Earth began requires a clear explanation of the chemical reactions necessary to synthesize the basic building blocks of life. An exciting new report that presents potential mechanisms for nucleobase synthesis in interstellar space and under the conditions of early Earth is featured in the June issue of Astrobiology. See http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=23063.
g Message -What are the chances that an alien signal has been sent our way just at the right moment to splash upon our antennas during that brief interval? If the extraterrestrials beam their broadcasts to the whole galaxy (or at least a big chunk of it), the chances are 100 percent. See http://space.com/searchforlife/060112_shostak_transmit.html.
g Cosmicus -The Pentagon decommissioned its experimental Orbital Express satellites this week, bringing the on-orbit satellite-servicing and robotics demonstration to an irreversible end. See http://www.
space.com/missionlaunches/070725_darpa_orbitalexpress_end.html.
g Learning -Here’s a great book for fourth- through sixth-grade kids: “Is Anybody Out There?” by Heather Couper, Nigel Henbest and Luciano Corbella. Of the book, one reviewer wrote: “Does intelligent life exist beyond our planet? This visually exciting examination looks at both the myth and the science related to the question. The authors, both British science writers, describe what alien lifeforms might look like, how we might communicate with them, and the impact the discovery of extrasolar planets has had on the development of scientific equipment. The book is organized into 17 appealing photo-spreads, comprising color photographs, detailed captions and boxed insets that contain information about a scientist or about a historic scientific event, or suggested activities for would-be scientists. The inclusion of a "count the alien civilizations" foldout board game is a bonus.” See http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0789427982/103-6007180-8832626?v=glance.
g Imagining - A new report, “The Limits of Organic Life in our Solar System” is clear: Life could exist in many forms utterly unfamiliar to us from our experiences on Earth, and if we want to be sure of finding life, we need to expand our ideas of what might qualify. See http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/07/23/weird_life/.
g Aftermath - Humanity’s foray into the solar system brings out the ethical issue of what we should do if life is found in outer space. Do we send more probes to further investigate and do we have a responsibility to protect that life and allow it to develop naturally? See http://www.dailynews.lk/2007/07/25/fea01.asp.
Friday, July 27, 2007
Abundant anions, timescales of interstellar communication and SETI-related issues from a social perspective
Welcome! “Alien Life” tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. You may notice that this and future entries are shorter than usual; Career, family and book deal commitments have forced me to cut back some of my projects. Now, here’s today’s news
g Life -A discovery of the largest negatively-charged molecule yet seen in space may force a revision of theoretical models of interstellar chemistry. The finding may have implications for the types and abundance of molecules that could have been delivered to the early Earth from interstellar space. See http://www.astrobio.net/news/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=2408&mode=thread&
order=0&thold=0.
g Message -We humans are familiar with the back-and-forth of face-to-face contact — something we likely will not have in an interstellar conversation. The timescale of a human life may well not be enough for a meaningful dialogue with another species. Interstellar dialogue may make sense only across generations. See http://www.space.com/searchforlife/seti_vakoch_future_030410.html.
g Cosmicus -A Pentagon office is taking advantage of the collaborative nature of the Internet as it studies potential applications for space-based solar power, according to one of the officials leading the effort. See http://www.space.com/businesstech
nology/070725_techwed_pentagon_spacepower.html.
g Learning -Here’s a neat classroom resource courtesy of NASA: “Life on Earth … and Elsewhere?” This booklet contains five classroom activities for grades 5-10 spanning topics from "Defining Life," to "Determining the Chances of Extraterrestrial Life." See http://www.erg.pdf/.
g Imagining - “July Second … (was) the official date of the 1947 ‘Roswell Incident’ and is commemorated by National Flying Saucer Day,” writes Ernest Lilley in the most recent issue of SFRevu. “Though the expected invasion seems to have fizzled, the idea of alien visitors and glowing disks stays with us, even if ‘sightings’ have fallen off in recent years. Like Schroedinger's Cat, they couldn't stand the persistence of vision, and by opening the lid on the box that hid them, we sent them back to the void. See http://sfrevu.com/php/Review-id.php?id=5837.
g Aftermath -Douglas Vakoch is one of a relatively small collection of scientists addressing the question of how to talk back to extraterrestrials. While most researchers involved in the Search for ExtraTerrestrial Intelligence come from physics and engineering backgrounds, Vakoch draws on a background in linguistics, sociology and psychology to explore SETI-related issues. Here’s an interview with him from Aug. 2003 about communicating with ET: http://www.spacedaily.com/news/seti-02a.html.
g Life -A discovery of the largest negatively-charged molecule yet seen in space may force a revision of theoretical models of interstellar chemistry. The finding may have implications for the types and abundance of molecules that could have been delivered to the early Earth from interstellar space. See http://www.astrobio.net/news/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=2408&mode=thread&
order=0&thold=0.
g Message -We humans are familiar with the back-and-forth of face-to-face contact — something we likely will not have in an interstellar conversation. The timescale of a human life may well not be enough for a meaningful dialogue with another species. Interstellar dialogue may make sense only across generations. See http://www.space.com/searchforlife/seti_vakoch_future_030410.html.
g Cosmicus -A Pentagon office is taking advantage of the collaborative nature of the Internet as it studies potential applications for space-based solar power, according to one of the officials leading the effort. See http://www.space.com/businesstech
nology/070725_techwed_pentagon_spacepower.html.
g Learning -Here’s a neat classroom resource courtesy of NASA: “Life on Earth … and Elsewhere?” This booklet contains five classroom activities for grades 5-10 spanning topics from "Defining Life," to "Determining the Chances of Extraterrestrial Life." See http://www.erg.pdf/.
g Imagining - “July Second … (was) the official date of the 1947 ‘Roswell Incident’ and is commemorated by National Flying Saucer Day,” writes Ernest Lilley in the most recent issue of SFRevu. “Though the expected invasion seems to have fizzled, the idea of alien visitors and glowing disks stays with us, even if ‘sightings’ have fallen off in recent years. Like Schroedinger's Cat, they couldn't stand the persistence of vision, and by opening the lid on the box that hid them, we sent them back to the void. See http://sfrevu.com/php/Review-id.php?id=5837.
g Aftermath -Douglas Vakoch is one of a relatively small collection of scientists addressing the question of how to talk back to extraterrestrials. While most researchers involved in the Search for ExtraTerrestrial Intelligence come from physics and engineering backgrounds, Vakoch draws on a background in linguistics, sociology and psychology to explore SETI-related issues. Here’s an interview with him from Aug. 2003 about communicating with ET: http://www.spacedaily.com/news/seti-02a.html.
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Supergiants spewing life molecules distinguishing ETI’s messages from stellar noise and applying earth science to speculations about ET
Welcome! “Alien Life” tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. You may notice that this and future entries are shorter than usual; Career, family and book deal commitments have forced me to cut back some of my projects. Now, here’s today’s news
g Stars -University of Arizona astronomers who are probing the oxygen-rich environment around a supergiant star with one of the world's most sensitive radio telescopes have discovered a score of molecules that include compounds needed for life. See http://www.astrobio.net/news/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=2407&mode=thread&
order=0&thold=0.
g Message -Our most efficient attempts to broadcast our planet's existence to another civilization would resemble the thermal radiation emitted by stars. By analogy, more advanced worlds would likely do the same, making our chances of listening in hard to distinguish from hearing stellar noise. See http://www.astrobio.net/news
/modules.phpop=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=1331. Note: This article is from 2004.
g Cosmicus -Two NASA robots are surveying a rocky, isolated polar desert within a crater in the Arctic Circle. The study will help scientists learn how robots could evaluate potential outposts on the moon or Mars. See http://www.astrobio.net/news/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=2406&mode=thread&
order=0&thold=0.
g Learning -Here’s a neat classroom activity, courtesy of NASA: “The Drake Equation.” Students estimate the number of civilizations in the galaxy by first estimating the number of craters on the Moon and then by performing estimates of multiple-variable systems culminating in the use of the Drake Equation. See http://btc.montana.edu/ceres/html/DrakeEquation/Drake.htm.
g Imagining -Speculation about aliens has typically been left to science fiction authors, science fiction readers and Hollywood writers and directors. But what if we apply what we have learned about life on Earth to speculate about what alien life forms might be like? Here’s a primer: http://science.howstuffworks.com/alien-physiology.htm.
g Aftermath -If we encountered an intelligent species on another planet, could we understand them? In turn, could extrasolar species decipher one of our 8,000 terrestrial languages in use today? See http://www.astrobio.net/news/article1015.html. Note: This article is from June 2004.
g Stars -University of Arizona astronomers who are probing the oxygen-rich environment around a supergiant star with one of the world's most sensitive radio telescopes have discovered a score of molecules that include compounds needed for life. See http://www.astrobio.net/news/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=2407&mode=thread&
order=0&thold=0.
g Message -Our most efficient attempts to broadcast our planet's existence to another civilization would resemble the thermal radiation emitted by stars. By analogy, more advanced worlds would likely do the same, making our chances of listening in hard to distinguish from hearing stellar noise. See http://www.astrobio.net/news
/modules.phpop=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=1331. Note: This article is from 2004.
g Cosmicus -Two NASA robots are surveying a rocky, isolated polar desert within a crater in the Arctic Circle. The study will help scientists learn how robots could evaluate potential outposts on the moon or Mars. See http://www.astrobio.net/news/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=2406&mode=thread&
order=0&thold=0.
g Learning -Here’s a neat classroom activity, courtesy of NASA: “The Drake Equation.” Students estimate the number of civilizations in the galaxy by first estimating the number of craters on the Moon and then by performing estimates of multiple-variable systems culminating in the use of the Drake Equation. See http://btc.montana.edu/ceres/html/DrakeEquation/Drake.htm.
g Imagining -Speculation about aliens has typically been left to science fiction authors, science fiction readers and Hollywood writers and directors. But what if we apply what we have learned about life on Earth to speculate about what alien life forms might be like? Here’s a primer: http://science.howstuffworks.com/alien-physiology.htm.
g Aftermath -If we encountered an intelligent species on another planet, could we understand them? In turn, could extrasolar species decipher one of our 8,000 terrestrial languages in use today? See http://www.astrobio.net/news/article1015.html. Note: This article is from June 2004.
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Black holes like piranhas, first contact between 2054 and 2104 and practical benefits to space exploration
Welcome! “Alien Life” tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. You may notice that this and future entries are shorter than usual; Career, family and book deal commitments have forced me to cut back some of my projects. Now, here’s today’s news:
g Stars -Like gluttonous piranhas, supermassive black holes in young galaxy clusters gorge on bountiful gas until little fuel is left, and then they fade away, a new study suggests. See http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/070724_clusters_agn.html.
g Message -Dan Werthimer, director of the SERENDIP SETI program and chief scientist of SETI@home at the University of California Berkeley, predicts we’ll make first contact with an alien civilization in 50-100 years. See http://www.astroseti.org/danweng.php. Note: This article is from 2004.
g Cosmicus -There are many practical benefits to space exploration. Advances in space technology have a dramatic effect on Earth technology. Benefits range from new ergonomic solutions for people who do repetitive work to industrial medical X-ray machines. Listed below are several of these benefits. See http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/shuttle/benefits/index.html. Note: This article is from 2002.
g Learning -Here’s a neat classroom activity courtesy of DiscoverSchool.com: “Extraterrestrials.” In the activity, a digital radio message, intended to alert any intelligent life in space to the existence of intelligent life on Earth, has been electronically transmitted into space by the Arecibo radio dish in Puerto Rico. Students must ensure the message is effective by showing that the senders (humans from Earth) are capable of advanced thinking — but it must not depend on the ability of extraterrestrials to understand any Earth language. See http://school.discovery.com/lessonplans/
programs/extraterrestrials/extraterrestrials.rtfprograms/extra
terrestrials.rtfprograms/extraterrestrials.rtf.
g Imagining - Those who think aliens with wrinkled noses are an infuriatingly lazy approach to depicting the potential diversity of life in the universe will find a welcome home at Biology in Science Fiction. See http://sciencefictionbiology.blogspot.com/.
g Aftermath -How will the press handle the announcement that we’ve made contact with an etraterrestrial intelligence? See http://www.centauri-dreams.org/?p=1109.
g Stars -Like gluttonous piranhas, supermassive black holes in young galaxy clusters gorge on bountiful gas until little fuel is left, and then they fade away, a new study suggests. See http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/070724_clusters_agn.html.
g Message -Dan Werthimer, director of the SERENDIP SETI program and chief scientist of SETI@home at the University of California Berkeley, predicts we’ll make first contact with an alien civilization in 50-100 years. See http://www.astroseti.org/danweng.php. Note: This article is from 2004.
g Cosmicus -There are many practical benefits to space exploration. Advances in space technology have a dramatic effect on Earth technology. Benefits range from new ergonomic solutions for people who do repetitive work to industrial medical X-ray machines. Listed below are several of these benefits. See http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/shuttle/benefits/index.html. Note: This article is from 2002.
g Learning -Here’s a neat classroom activity courtesy of DiscoverSchool.com: “Extraterrestrials.” In the activity, a digital radio message, intended to alert any intelligent life in space to the existence of intelligent life on Earth, has been electronically transmitted into space by the Arecibo radio dish in Puerto Rico. Students must ensure the message is effective by showing that the senders (humans from Earth) are capable of advanced thinking — but it must not depend on the ability of extraterrestrials to understand any Earth language. See http://school.discovery.com/lessonplans/
programs/extraterrestrials/extraterrestrials.rtfprograms/extra
terrestrials.rtfprograms/extraterrestrials.rtf.
g Imagining - Those who think aliens with wrinkled noses are an infuriatingly lazy approach to depicting the potential diversity of life in the universe will find a welcome home at Biology in Science Fiction. See http://sciencefictionbiology.blogspot.com/.
g Aftermath -How will the press handle the announcement that we’ve made contact with an etraterrestrial intelligence? See http://www.centauri-dreams.org/?p=1109.
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Identifying microbes, questions astrobiology seeks to answer and why there’s no reason to watch for UFOs
Welcome! “Alien Life” tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. You may notice that this and future entries are shorter than usual; Career, family and book deal commitments have forced me to cut back some of my projects. Now, here’s today’s news
g Stars -Astronomers have found a uniquely shaped disk of debris around a distant star. The asymmetry of the disk may be a sign of extrasolar planets, whose orbits could affect its shape. See http://www.astrobio.net/news/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=2401&mode=thread&
order=0&thold=0.
g Life - Less than one percent of microbes living in the environment can be cultured in the laboratory – a big hindrance for researchers trying to identify microbes in extreme environments. But a new device may help identify microbes without having to culture them at all. See http://www.astrobio.net/news/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=2405&mode=thread&
order=0&thold=0.
g Message -Here’s a good primer to astrobiology that discusses what is astrobiology, lists the types of questions astrobiology seeks to answer, describes how one can become an astrobiologist, and recommends some books in the field. See article.
g Cosmicus - The idea of delivering solar energy from space using a microwave beam has been around since the 1960s. Here's a summary of its progress so far: http://www.spacefuture.com/power/timeline.shtml. For related article, see “A very big chip” at http://www.spacefuture.com/power/solarcell.shtml.
g Learning -Here’s a neat new set of afterschool activities for elementary school students: “Astrobiology.” This new resource guide from the American Museum of Natural History brings astrobiology activities to the afterschool arena. As part of an 18-month project, AMNH collected NASA materials originally developed for the formal education setting, and adapted them for use in afterschool programs for participants aged 5-12. Members of NAI's NASA Ames Research Center Lead Team served as science advisors to the guide. See http://www.amnhafterschool.pdf/.
g Imagining -Scientifically speaking, are UFOs worth keeping an eye on? Not exactly. See article.
g Aftermath -Could humanity ever relate to an alien species? Consider the questioning context of these online speculations about why "Star Trek is human centered?" The latter is an interesting question, possibly creating a situation dealing with a prejudice on the behalf of the writers and producers. However, would a series completely dedicated to another species, such as the Romulans, be successful in a television market? Is it possible that the reasons it wouldn’t be might indicate humanity may care little about an alien species other than as a potential threat? See http://www.trek
nation.com/columns/takeontrek/takeontrek_121099.shtml.
g Stars -Astronomers have found a uniquely shaped disk of debris around a distant star. The asymmetry of the disk may be a sign of extrasolar planets, whose orbits could affect its shape. See http://www.astrobio.net/news/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=2401&mode=thread&
order=0&thold=0.
g Life - Less than one percent of microbes living in the environment can be cultured in the laboratory – a big hindrance for researchers trying to identify microbes in extreme environments. But a new device may help identify microbes without having to culture them at all. See http://www.astrobio.net/news/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=2405&mode=thread&
order=0&thold=0.
g Message -Here’s a good primer to astrobiology that discusses what is astrobiology, lists the types of questions astrobiology seeks to answer, describes how one can become an astrobiologist, and recommends some books in the field. See article.
g Cosmicus - The idea of delivering solar energy from space using a microwave beam has been around since the 1960s. Here's a summary of its progress so far: http://www.spacefuture.com/power/timeline.shtml. For related article, see “A very big chip” at http://www.spacefuture.com/power/solarcell.shtml.
g Learning -Here’s a neat new set of afterschool activities for elementary school students: “Astrobiology.” This new resource guide from the American Museum of Natural History brings astrobiology activities to the afterschool arena. As part of an 18-month project, AMNH collected NASA materials originally developed for the formal education setting, and adapted them for use in afterschool programs for participants aged 5-12. Members of NAI's NASA Ames Research Center Lead Team served as science advisors to the guide. See http://www.amnhafterschool.pdf/.
g Imagining -Scientifically speaking, are UFOs worth keeping an eye on? Not exactly. See article.
g Aftermath -Could humanity ever relate to an alien species? Consider the questioning context of these online speculations about why "Star Trek is human centered?" The latter is an interesting question, possibly creating a situation dealing with a prejudice on the behalf of the writers and producers. However, would a series completely dedicated to another species, such as the Romulans, be successful in a television market? Is it possible that the reasons it wouldn’t be might indicate humanity may care little about an alien species other than as a potential threat? See http://www.trek
nation.com/columns/takeontrek/takeontrek_121099.shtml.
Monday, July 23, 2007
Lopsided debris disc, digging into Mars and making a good first impression on ET
Welcome! “Alien Life” tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. You may notice that this and future entries are shorter than usual; Career, family and book deal commitments have forced me to cut back some of my projects. Now, here’s today’s news
g Stars -Astronomers using the W. M. Keck Observatory and NASA's Hubble Space Telescope to study disks of debris around stars have found one that is extremely lopsided. While scientists are accustomed to finding asymmetrical accumulations of dust and larger bodies around stars, the debris disk around a star known as HD 15115 has a needle-like shape. See article.
g Abodes - In an exclusive Astrobiology Magazine interview, Project Scientist Jorge Vago explains why the European Space Agency’s ExoMars rover, scheduled for launch in 2011, will arrive prepared to dig beneath the surface in its search for signs of Martian life. See http://www.astrobio.net/news/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=2404&mode=thread&
order=0&thold=0.
g Intelligence -Book alert: Check out Paul Davies’ new book, “Cosmic Jackpot”. It’s “a thought-provoking look at the Anthropic principle, which may be the single most controversial theory in current cosmology,” writes SF book reviewer Peter Heck. “Davies is an advocate of the principle, which argues that our being present to view the universe gives important information as to the way that universe is put together.” See http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0618592261/
asimovssciencefiA/.
g Message -If some day we decide to transmit intentional messages to the stars, rather than solely listen as current SETI programs do, what would we say? What sort of first impression would we want to give our celestial correspondents? See http://www.space.com/searchforlife/seti_code_vakoch_030116.html.
g Cosmicus - To get a feel for why using solar energy delivered from space is a good idea it helps if you use a little imagination and envisage where it will lead - the world humans will live in when solar power satellites are a major energy source. Then it's easier to understand why it would obviously be a good direction for technological development to aim at today - instead of being almost completely ignored! See http://www.spacefuture.com/power/business.shtml.
g Learning -Here’s a neat classroom activity: “Moons of Jupiter.” In this lesson plan, students build model rovers to learn about engineering and evidence of alien life. See http://www.adlerplanet/arium.org/education/teachers/plans/alien/
Lesson_Plan.pdfarium.org/education/teachers/plans/alien/Lesson_
Plan.pdf.
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 -To create interstellar messages that have a realistic chance of being understood across interstellar distances, we need to identify some information shared by humans and extraterrestrials. We need to identify a foundation for establishing a universal language that will let us bridge the gap between our world and theirs, all without the convenience of face-to-face contact. See http://www.space.com/searchforlife/seti_altruism_vakoch_021219.html. Note: This article is from 2002.
g Stars -Astronomers using the W. M. Keck Observatory and NASA's Hubble Space Telescope to study disks of debris around stars have found one that is extremely lopsided. While scientists are accustomed to finding asymmetrical accumulations of dust and larger bodies around stars, the debris disk around a star known as HD 15115 has a needle-like shape. See article.
g Abodes - In an exclusive Astrobiology Magazine interview, Project Scientist Jorge Vago explains why the European Space Agency’s ExoMars rover, scheduled for launch in 2011, will arrive prepared to dig beneath the surface in its search for signs of Martian life. See http://www.astrobio.net/news/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=2404&mode=thread&
order=0&thold=0.
g Intelligence -Book alert: Check out Paul Davies’ new book, “Cosmic Jackpot”. It’s “a thought-provoking look at the Anthropic principle, which may be the single most controversial theory in current cosmology,” writes SF book reviewer Peter Heck. “Davies is an advocate of the principle, which argues that our being present to view the universe gives important information as to the way that universe is put together.” See http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0618592261/
asimovssciencefiA/.
g Message -If some day we decide to transmit intentional messages to the stars, rather than solely listen as current SETI programs do, what would we say? What sort of first impression would we want to give our celestial correspondents? See http://www.space.com/searchforlife/seti_code_vakoch_030116.html.
g Cosmicus - To get a feel for why using solar energy delivered from space is a good idea it helps if you use a little imagination and envisage where it will lead - the world humans will live in when solar power satellites are a major energy source. Then it's easier to understand why it would obviously be a good direction for technological development to aim at today - instead of being almost completely ignored! See http://www.spacefuture.com/power/business.shtml.
g Learning -Here’s a neat classroom activity: “Moons of Jupiter.” In this lesson plan, students build model rovers to learn about engineering and evidence of alien life. See http://www.adlerplanet/arium.org/education/teachers/plans/alien/
Lesson_Plan.pdfarium.org/education/teachers/plans/alien/Lesson_
Plan.pdf.
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 -To create interstellar messages that have a realistic chance of being understood across interstellar distances, we need to identify some information shared by humans and extraterrestrials. We need to identify a foundation for establishing a universal language that will let us bridge the gap between our world and theirs, all without the convenience of face-to-face contact. See http://www.space.com/searchforlife/seti_altruism_vakoch_021219.html. Note: This article is from 2002.
Sunday, July 22, 2007
The first galaxies, manifestations of advanced extraterrestrial civilizations and using ‘Star Trek’ to explain the human mind
Welcome! “Alien Life” tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. You may notice that this and future entries are shorter than usual; Career, family and book deal commitments have forced me to cut back some of my projects. Now, here’s today’s news
g Stars - Using natural "gravitational lenses," an international team of astronomers claim to have found the first traces of a population of the most distant galaxies yet seen-the light we see from them today left more than 13 billion years ago, when the universe was just 500 million years old. See http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n0707/12mostdistant/.
g Message -What technological manifestations would make an advanced extraterrestrial civilization detectable? See http://www.coseti.org/lemarch1.htm. Note: This paper was written in 1992.
g Cosmicus - The concept of solar power satellites, or SPS, first put forward in the 1960s, is still not widely known by the general public. For example at many public exhibitions about Energy, SPS is not even mentioned. This is mainly because very little funding has been spent on SPS research to date - about 1/1000 of 1 percent of the about $1 trillion that governments have spent subsidizing the development of nuclear power over the past 50 years. See http://www.spacefuture.com/power/introduction.shtml. For related story, see “SPS 2000” at http://www.spacefuture.com/power/sps2000.shtml (Note: this latter article is from the mid-1990s).
g Learning -Here’s a module that provides introductory teaching lessons for classroom coverage of astrobiology and the origin of life that is suitable for use in both general and advanced high school biology courses. See http://www.gecdsb.on.ca/d&g/astro/html
/Exobiology.html.
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. For reviews, see http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/07167
32793/scifimoviescom/002-5433233-4801635.
g Aftermath -The structure of terrestrial music might provide clues to creating interstellar messages that could be understood by extraterrestrial intelligence. In the process, he suggests that music may provide a means of communicating "something of our consciousness that is essentially human, regardless of the civilization from which it emerges." See http://www.space.com/searchforlife/seti_music_vakoch_020912.html. Note: This article is from 2002.
g Stars - Using natural "gravitational lenses," an international team of astronomers claim to have found the first traces of a population of the most distant galaxies yet seen-the light we see from them today left more than 13 billion years ago, when the universe was just 500 million years old. See http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n0707/12mostdistant/.
g Message -What technological manifestations would make an advanced extraterrestrial civilization detectable? See http://www.coseti.org/lemarch1.htm. Note: This paper was written in 1992.
g Cosmicus - The concept of solar power satellites, or SPS, first put forward in the 1960s, is still not widely known by the general public. For example at many public exhibitions about Energy, SPS is not even mentioned. This is mainly because very little funding has been spent on SPS research to date - about 1/1000 of 1 percent of the about $1 trillion that governments have spent subsidizing the development of nuclear power over the past 50 years. See http://www.spacefuture.com/power/introduction.shtml. For related story, see “SPS 2000” at http://www.spacefuture.com/power/sps2000.shtml (Note: this latter article is from the mid-1990s).
g Learning -Here’s a module that provides introductory teaching lessons for classroom coverage of astrobiology and the origin of life that is suitable for use in both general and advanced high school biology courses. See http://www.gecdsb.on.ca/d&g/astro/html
/Exobiology.html.
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. For reviews, see http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/07167
32793/scifimoviescom/002-5433233-4801635.
g Aftermath -The structure of terrestrial music might provide clues to creating interstellar messages that could be understood by extraterrestrial intelligence. In the process, he suggests that music may provide a means of communicating "something of our consciousness that is essentially human, regardless of the civilization from which it emerges." See http://www.space.com/searchforlife/seti_music_vakoch_020912.html. Note: This article is from 2002.
Saturday, July 21, 2007
Supernovas, Martian clay and how discovery of microbial life beyond Earth will change human society
Welcome! “Alien Life” tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. You may notice that this and future entries are shorter than usual; Career, family and book deal commitments have forced me to cut back some of my projects. Now, here’s today’s news
g Stars - When stars are more massive than about 8 times the Sun, they end their lives in a spectacular explosion called a supernova. The outer layers of the star are hurtled out into space at thousands of miles an hour, leaving a debris field of gas and dust. See article.
g Abodes -A study of Martian clay suggests that little carbon dioxide was present during their formation. This contradicts current ideas of what the early Martian atmosphere was like, and could have implications for the potential of past life on Mars. See http://www.astrobio.net/news/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=2402&mode=thread
&order=0&thold=0.
g Message -Among the most important SETI work is being done at Harvard University. The Harvard SETI home page is at http://seti.harvard.edu/seti/ and discusses the Radio Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence, The Arecibo Search for Early Hydrogen and Optical SETI.
g Cosmicus - In order for people to be able to travel economically to space, for space tourism and for other purposes, we need reusable launch vehicles. All commercial transport industries use reusable vehicles - and so will the commercial space transport industry. Luckily research aimed at developing low-cost reusable launch vehicles has increased recently - though total funding is still barely 2 percent of government funding for space activities. See http://www.spacefuture.com/vehicles/designs.shtml.
g Learning -Here’s a good introduction to learning about the characteristics of living things is to get the kids brainstorming as to what makes a living thing living: “Glue Critters.” See http://teachers.net/lessons/posts/168.html.
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 http://www.xibalba.demon.co.uk/jbr/lingo.htmllingo.html.
g Aftermath -Even if the public seems less than awestruck by the prospect that alien life is a bunch of microscopic bugs, astrobiologists say unequivocal discovery of microbial life beyond Earth will change human society in profound ways, some unfathomable today. See http://nai.arc.nasa.gov/news_stories/news_print.cfm?ID=138. Note: This article is from 2001.Welcome! “Alien Life” tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. You may notice that this and future entries are shorter than usual; Career, family and book deal commitments have forced me to cut back some of my projects. Now, here’s today’s news
g Stars - When stars are more massive than about 8 times the Sun, they end their lives in a spectacular explosion called a supernova. The outer layers of the star are hurtled out into space at thousands of miles an hour, leaving a debris field of gas and dust. See http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n0707/12partner/.
g Abodes -A study of Martian clay suggests that little carbon dioxide was present during their formation. This contradicts current ideas of what the early Martian atmosphere was like, and could have implications for the potential of past life on Mars. See http://www.astrobio.net/news/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=2402&mode=thread
&order=0&thold=0.
g Message -Among the most important SETI work is being done at Harvard University. The Harvard SETI home page is at http://seti.harvard.edu/seti/ and discusses the Radio Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence, The Arecibo Search for Early Hydrogen and Optical SETI.
g Cosmicus - In order for people to be able to travel economically to space, for space tourism and for other purposes, we need reusable launch vehicles. All commercial transport industries use reusable vehicles - and so will the commercial space transport industry. Luckily research aimed at developing low-cost reusable launch vehicles has increased recently - though total funding is still barely 2 percent of government funding for space activities. See http://www.spacefuture.com/vehicles/designs.shtml.
g Learning -Here’s a good introduction to learning about the characteristics of living things is to get the kids brainstorming as to what makes a living thing living: “Glue Critters.” See http://teachers.net/lessons/posts/168.html.
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 http://www.xibalba.demon.co.uk/jbr/lingo.htmllingo.html.
g Aftermath -Even if the public seems less than awestruck by the prospect that alien life is a bunch of microscopic bugs, astrobiologists say unequivocal discovery of microbial life beyond Earth will change human society in profound ways, some unfathomable today. See http://nai.arc.nasa.gov/news_stories/news_print.cfm?ID=138. Note: This article is from 2001.
g Stars - When stars are more massive than about 8 times the Sun, they end their lives in a spectacular explosion called a supernova. The outer layers of the star are hurtled out into space at thousands of miles an hour, leaving a debris field of gas and dust. See article.
g Abodes -A study of Martian clay suggests that little carbon dioxide was present during their formation. This contradicts current ideas of what the early Martian atmosphere was like, and could have implications for the potential of past life on Mars. See http://www.astrobio.net/news/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=2402&mode=thread
&order=0&thold=0.
g Message -Among the most important SETI work is being done at Harvard University. The Harvard SETI home page is at http://seti.harvard.edu/seti/ and discusses the Radio Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence, The Arecibo Search for Early Hydrogen and Optical SETI.
g Cosmicus - In order for people to be able to travel economically to space, for space tourism and for other purposes, we need reusable launch vehicles. All commercial transport industries use reusable vehicles - and so will the commercial space transport industry. Luckily research aimed at developing low-cost reusable launch vehicles has increased recently - though total funding is still barely 2 percent of government funding for space activities. See http://www.spacefuture.com/vehicles/designs.shtml.
g Learning -Here’s a good introduction to learning about the characteristics of living things is to get the kids brainstorming as to what makes a living thing living: “Glue Critters.” See http://teachers.net/lessons/posts/168.html.
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 http://www.xibalba.demon.co.uk/jbr/lingo.htmllingo.html.
g Aftermath -Even if the public seems less than awestruck by the prospect that alien life is a bunch of microscopic bugs, astrobiologists say unequivocal discovery of microbial life beyond Earth will change human society in profound ways, some unfathomable today. See http://nai.arc.nasa.gov/news_stories/news_print.cfm?ID=138. Note: This article is from 2001.Welcome! “Alien Life” tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. You may notice that this and future entries are shorter than usual; Career, family and book deal commitments have forced me to cut back some of my projects. Now, here’s today’s news
g Stars - When stars are more massive than about 8 times the Sun, they end their lives in a spectacular explosion called a supernova. The outer layers of the star are hurtled out into space at thousands of miles an hour, leaving a debris field of gas and dust. See http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n0707/12partner/.
g Abodes -A study of Martian clay suggests that little carbon dioxide was present during their formation. This contradicts current ideas of what the early Martian atmosphere was like, and could have implications for the potential of past life on Mars. See http://www.astrobio.net/news/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=2402&mode=thread
&order=0&thold=0.
g Message -Among the most important SETI work is being done at Harvard University. The Harvard SETI home page is at http://seti.harvard.edu/seti/ and discusses the Radio Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence, The Arecibo Search for Early Hydrogen and Optical SETI.
g Cosmicus - In order for people to be able to travel economically to space, for space tourism and for other purposes, we need reusable launch vehicles. All commercial transport industries use reusable vehicles - and so will the commercial space transport industry. Luckily research aimed at developing low-cost reusable launch vehicles has increased recently - though total funding is still barely 2 percent of government funding for space activities. See http://www.spacefuture.com/vehicles/designs.shtml.
g Learning -Here’s a good introduction to learning about the characteristics of living things is to get the kids brainstorming as to what makes a living thing living: “Glue Critters.” See http://teachers.net/lessons/posts/168.html.
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 http://www.xibalba.demon.co.uk/jbr/lingo.htmllingo.html.
g Aftermath -Even if the public seems less than awestruck by the prospect that alien life is a bunch of microscopic bugs, astrobiologists say unequivocal discovery of microbial life beyond Earth will change human society in profound ways, some unfathomable today. See http://nai.arc.nasa.gov/news_stories/news_print.cfm?ID=138. Note: This article is from 2001.
Friday, July 20, 2007
Indecipherable messages from ETI, first contact in real time and Charon as ice machine
Welcome! “Alien Life” tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. You may notice that this and future entries are shorter than usual; Career, family and book deal commitments have forced me to cut back some of my projects. Now, here’s today’s news
g Stars - The orbiting X-ray telescopes XXM-Newton and Chandra have caught a pair of galaxy clusters merging into a giant cluster. The discovery adds to existing evidence that galaxy clusters can collide faster than previously thought. See http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n0707/18collide/.
g Abodes - Frigid geysers spewing material up through cracks in the crust of Pluto's companion Charon and recoating parts of its surface in ice crystals could be making this distant world into the equivalent of an outer solar system ice machine. See http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n0707/17charon/.
g Message -The chances are there's life out there, but any messages could be thousands of years old and indecipherable. See http://www.opinion.telegraph.co.uk/connected/main.jhtmlxml=. Note: This article is from May 2005.
g Cosmicus -Quote of the Day: "Men are weak now, and yet they transform the Earth's surface. In millions of years their might will increase to the extent that they will change the surface of the Earth, its oceans, the atmosphere and themselves. They will control the climate and the Solar System just as they control the Earth. They will travel beyond the limits of our planetary system; they will reach other suns, and use their fresh energy instead of the energy of their dying luminary." — Konstantin Tsiolkovsky
g Learning -Here’s a great educational tool for teaching astrobiology and various principles of science: COTI. COTI is an educational experiment in creation — students design an integrated world, alien life form and culture, and simulate contact with a future human society. One team constructs a solar system, a world and its ecology, an alien life form and its culture, basing each step on the previous one and utilizing the principles of science as a guide to imagination. The other team designs a future human colony, planetary or spacefaring, "creating and evolving" its culture as an exercise in cultural structure, dynamics and adaptation. Through a structured system of progressive revelation, the teams then simulate — and experience — contact between the two cultures in real time, exploring the problems and possibilities involved in inter-cultural encounters. See http://www.contact-conference.com/archive/educoti.html.
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 http://www.orionbooks.co.uk/MP-28822/Downward-To-The-Earth.htm.
g Aftermath -Two-thirds of adults think there are other forms of intelligent life in the universe, according to a recent Roper poll. This belief tends to be more prevalent among males, adults ages 64 or younger, and residents of the Northeast as opposed to North Central and South. See http://www.scifi.com/ufo/roper/05.html.
g Stars - The orbiting X-ray telescopes XXM-Newton and Chandra have caught a pair of galaxy clusters merging into a giant cluster. The discovery adds to existing evidence that galaxy clusters can collide faster than previously thought. See http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n0707/18collide/.
g Abodes - Frigid geysers spewing material up through cracks in the crust of Pluto's companion Charon and recoating parts of its surface in ice crystals could be making this distant world into the equivalent of an outer solar system ice machine. See http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n0707/17charon/.
g Message -The chances are there's life out there, but any messages could be thousands of years old and indecipherable. See http://www.opinion.telegraph.co.uk/connected/main.jhtmlxml=. Note: This article is from May 2005.
g Cosmicus -Quote of the Day: "Men are weak now, and yet they transform the Earth's surface. In millions of years their might will increase to the extent that they will change the surface of the Earth, its oceans, the atmosphere and themselves. They will control the climate and the Solar System just as they control the Earth. They will travel beyond the limits of our planetary system; they will reach other suns, and use their fresh energy instead of the energy of their dying luminary." — Konstantin Tsiolkovsky
g Learning -Here’s a great educational tool for teaching astrobiology and various principles of science: COTI. COTI is an educational experiment in creation — students design an integrated world, alien life form and culture, and simulate contact with a future human society. One team constructs a solar system, a world and its ecology, an alien life form and its culture, basing each step on the previous one and utilizing the principles of science as a guide to imagination. The other team designs a future human colony, planetary or spacefaring, "creating and evolving" its culture as an exercise in cultural structure, dynamics and adaptation. Through a structured system of progressive revelation, the teams then simulate — and experience — contact between the two cultures in real time, exploring the problems and possibilities involved in inter-cultural encounters. See http://www.contact-conference.com/archive/educoti.html.
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 http://www.orionbooks.co.uk/MP-28822/Downward-To-The-Earth.htm.
g Aftermath -Two-thirds of adults think there are other forms of intelligent life in the universe, according to a recent Roper poll. This belief tends to be more prevalent among males, adults ages 64 or younger, and residents of the Northeast as opposed to North Central and South. See http://www.scifi.com/ufo/roper/05.html.
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Relic from the early Solar System, probing for alien beacons and FAQ about ‘Star Trek’ aliens
Welcome! “Alien Life” tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. You may notice that this and future entries are shorter than usual; Career, family and book deal commitments have forced me to cut back some of my projects. Now, here’s today’s news
g Abodes -Scientists have found that Saturn's moon Iapetus is a well-preserved relic from the early Solar System. Studying the moon could yield important clues about the history of the outer Solar System. See http://www.astrobio.net/news/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=2399&mode=thread
&order=0&thold=0.
g Message -When NASA's Voyager spacecraft left the boundaries our solar system in 2003, it carried a golden record with greetings from our civilization for posterity - or for eventual discovery by space archaeologists from another civilization. The golden record was a beacon to the future. The idea of our own civilization using its probes as surrogate representatives prompts the question: Can we probe for such beacons in our own solar system? See http://www.spacedaily.com/news/seti04c.html. Note: This article is from 2004.
g Cosmicus -Scientists are designing new spacesuits that will provide increased mobility for human explorers on the Moon and Mars. The less bulky suits will allow humans to travel more easily and perform intricate scientific experiments on the surface of these distant worlds. See http://www.astrobio.net/news/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=2398;mode=thread&
order=0&thold=0.
g Learning -Here’s a neat classroom activity courtesy of NASA: “Planets in a Bottle.” The lesson plan involves yeast experiments intended for 2nd through 4th grade students. See http://science.nasa.gov/newhome/headlines/msad16mar99_1a.htm.
g Imagining -Here’s an interesting Web site: FAQ about Star Trek aliens: http://www.tcs.informatik.uni-muenchen.de/~hwloidl/FAQL-aliens-rasm.html. Though light on evolutionary origin, it’s questions (and answers) often point toward the need for writers to consider that issue.
g Aftermath -If we hear from ET, not only can we expect his civilization to be an old one with a great time lag in correspondence, a SETI astronomer says. Could this limit the impact of extraterrestrial contact upon humanity? See http://www.space.com/searchforlife/seti_long_distance_011227.html. Note: This article is from December 2001.
g Abodes -Scientists have found that Saturn's moon Iapetus is a well-preserved relic from the early Solar System. Studying the moon could yield important clues about the history of the outer Solar System. See http://www.astrobio.net/news/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=2399&mode=thread
&order=0&thold=0.
g Message -When NASA's Voyager spacecraft left the boundaries our solar system in 2003, it carried a golden record with greetings from our civilization for posterity - or for eventual discovery by space archaeologists from another civilization. The golden record was a beacon to the future. The idea of our own civilization using its probes as surrogate representatives prompts the question: Can we probe for such beacons in our own solar system? See http://www.spacedaily.com/news/seti04c.html. Note: This article is from 2004.
g Cosmicus -Scientists are designing new spacesuits that will provide increased mobility for human explorers on the Moon and Mars. The less bulky suits will allow humans to travel more easily and perform intricate scientific experiments on the surface of these distant worlds. See http://www.astrobio.net/news/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=2398;mode=thread&
order=0&thold=0.
g Learning -Here’s a neat classroom activity courtesy of NASA: “Planets in a Bottle.” The lesson plan involves yeast experiments intended for 2nd through 4th grade students. See http://science.nasa.gov/newhome/headlines/msad16mar99_1a.htm.
g Imagining -Here’s an interesting Web site: FAQ about Star Trek aliens: http://www.tcs.informatik.uni-muenchen.de/~hwloidl/FAQL-aliens-rasm.html. Though light on evolutionary origin, it’s questions (and answers) often point toward the need for writers to consider that issue.
g Aftermath -If we hear from ET, not only can we expect his civilization to be an old one with a great time lag in correspondence, a SETI astronomer says. Could this limit the impact of extraterrestrial contact upon humanity? See http://www.space.com/searchforlife/seti_long_distance_011227.html. Note: This article is from December 2001.
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Collecting Martian soil samples, water in M dwarf’s habitable zones and nuts-and-bolts walkthrough of SETI
Welcome! “Alien Life” tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. You may notice that this and future entries are shorter than usual; Career, family and book deal commitments have forced me to cut back some of my projects. Now, here’s today’s news
g Abodes - A new paper by Jack Lissauer (NASA Ames) argues that planets inside an M dwarf’s habitable zone are probably lacking in water and other volatiles, and are thus unable to produce life as we know it. See http://www.centauri-dreams.org/?p=1136.
g Message -Would anyone deliberately beam high-powered signals into space? Can we assume that extraterrestrial societies would broadcast in ways that would mark their location as plainly as a flag on a golf green? See http://www.space.com/searchforlife/shostak_quantum_030522.html.
g Cosmicus - NASA's Phoenix lander is designed to land on Mars and dig into the planet's subsurface to collect ice and soil samples. Researchers are now making sure that exhaust plumes during the craft's arrival on Mars will not complicate the lander's ability to collect and test its samples. See http://www.astrobio.net/news/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=2369&mode=thread&order
=0&thold=0.
g Learning -Here’s a neat classroom activity: “Designer Genes for a Designer World.” In this series of guided inquiry activities, students explore how organisms adapt to their environments through changes in their genetic codes. See http://btc.montana.edu/ceres/astro
biology/LabActivities/DesignerDNA.doc.
g Imagining -Among the more famous alien races from “Star Trek” are the Gorn, bipedal reptilians who are much larger and stronger than humans (for picture, see http://www.startrek.com/startrek/view/library/aliens/article/70610.
html;jsessionid=C77EB0588DCD77DDD414511703FBBB6A). The Gorn are an unlikely alien species but a splendid example of how we so often portray extraterrestrials based not on scientific principles but our own psychology — like the insect alien, most humans naturally find the reptilian alien repulsive. For science fiction, it’s a good choice to create suspense: creatures out of our nightmares that we keep going back to out of a fascination over what frightens us. But could the Gorn evolve on another world? Probably not. The most troubling feature of the Gorn is the remarkable parallel evolution that would have to occur on Gorn Prime to Earth for a few billion years, at least up to our Age of Dinosaurs. Also disconcerting is the Gorn’s snout; this adds weight to the head and with a large brain size creates excessive and unbalanced weight for the neck muscles to hold up. Another problem is the Gorn’s slow movements; certainly a species that evolved to intelligence would have to move a little faster, or it could not succeed in hunting. A caveat here is that its lack of agility may in part have propelled it to intelligence, as it needed to outthink faster moving prey. Some “Star Trek” fans have speculated that Gorn Prime possesses a harsh environment and a relatively high local gravity (1.4 Gs!), which accounts for the Gorn’s increased strength and endurance levels. This seems unlikely, though, as the Gorn then would be able to move swiftly on the asteroid presented in the episode, which Kirk shifts about on as if it were Earth normal gravity.
g Aftermath -Book alert: As many Earthlings already know —including more than 2 million computer users with firsthand experience — our best hope for finding extraterrestrial intelligence might just lie with an ingenious little screensaver. So it's not surprising that “Beyond Contact: A Guide to SETI and Communicating with Alien Civilizations” (by Brian S. McConnell), an introduction to searching for and communicating with intelligent life, begins with some of the details behind UC Berkeley's groundbreaking, massively distributed SETI@home project, which processes intergalactic noise for pennies on the teraflop. But that's just the start of the story. Inventor and software developer Brian McConnell continues with an overview of whether and why we might find something out there, who's doing what to look for it (including the folks at Berkeley), and — once some ET picks up on the other end — what we might say and how we might say it. This last problem, which occupies the final half of the book, proves to be the most thought provoking, and McConnell has put together a methodical, nuts-and-bolts walkthrough of both the challenges involved and how binary code might be enlisted to solve them. For reviews, see http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos
/ASIN/0596000375/ref=ase_gtexts/102-4363226-7844928.
g Abodes - A new paper by Jack Lissauer (NASA Ames) argues that planets inside an M dwarf’s habitable zone are probably lacking in water and other volatiles, and are thus unable to produce life as we know it. See http://www.centauri-dreams.org/?p=1136.
g Message -Would anyone deliberately beam high-powered signals into space? Can we assume that extraterrestrial societies would broadcast in ways that would mark their location as plainly as a flag on a golf green? See http://www.space.com/searchforlife/shostak_quantum_030522.html.
g Cosmicus - NASA's Phoenix lander is designed to land on Mars and dig into the planet's subsurface to collect ice and soil samples. Researchers are now making sure that exhaust plumes during the craft's arrival on Mars will not complicate the lander's ability to collect and test its samples. See http://www.astrobio.net/news/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=2369&mode=thread&order
=0&thold=0.
g Learning -Here’s a neat classroom activity: “Designer Genes for a Designer World.” In this series of guided inquiry activities, students explore how organisms adapt to their environments through changes in their genetic codes. See http://btc.montana.edu/ceres/astro
biology/LabActivities/DesignerDNA.doc.
g Imagining -Among the more famous alien races from “Star Trek” are the Gorn, bipedal reptilians who are much larger and stronger than humans (for picture, see http://www.startrek.com/startrek/view/library/aliens/article/70610.
html;jsessionid=C77EB0588DCD77DDD414511703FBBB6A). The Gorn are an unlikely alien species but a splendid example of how we so often portray extraterrestrials based not on scientific principles but our own psychology — like the insect alien, most humans naturally find the reptilian alien repulsive. For science fiction, it’s a good choice to create suspense: creatures out of our nightmares that we keep going back to out of a fascination over what frightens us. But could the Gorn evolve on another world? Probably not. The most troubling feature of the Gorn is the remarkable parallel evolution that would have to occur on Gorn Prime to Earth for a few billion years, at least up to our Age of Dinosaurs. Also disconcerting is the Gorn’s snout; this adds weight to the head and with a large brain size creates excessive and unbalanced weight for the neck muscles to hold up. Another problem is the Gorn’s slow movements; certainly a species that evolved to intelligence would have to move a little faster, or it could not succeed in hunting. A caveat here is that its lack of agility may in part have propelled it to intelligence, as it needed to outthink faster moving prey. Some “Star Trek” fans have speculated that Gorn Prime possesses a harsh environment and a relatively high local gravity (1.4 Gs!), which accounts for the Gorn’s increased strength and endurance levels. This seems unlikely, though, as the Gorn then would be able to move swiftly on the asteroid presented in the episode, which Kirk shifts about on as if it were Earth normal gravity.
g Aftermath -Book alert: As many Earthlings already know —including more than 2 million computer users with firsthand experience — our best hope for finding extraterrestrial intelligence might just lie with an ingenious little screensaver. So it's not surprising that “Beyond Contact: A Guide to SETI and Communicating with Alien Civilizations” (by Brian S. McConnell), an introduction to searching for and communicating with intelligent life, begins with some of the details behind UC Berkeley's groundbreaking, massively distributed SETI@home project, which processes intergalactic noise for pennies on the teraflop. But that's just the start of the story. Inventor and software developer Brian McConnell continues with an overview of whether and why we might find something out there, who's doing what to look for it (including the folks at Berkeley), and — once some ET picks up on the other end — what we might say and how we might say it. This last problem, which occupies the final half of the book, proves to be the most thought provoking, and McConnell has put together a methodical, nuts-and-bolts walkthrough of both the challenges involved and how binary code might be enlisted to solve them. For reviews, see http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos
/ASIN/0596000375/ref=ase_gtexts/102-4363226-7844928.
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Mars’ water ice deposits, universal fear of aliens and why weightlessness isn’t weird
Welcome! “Alien Life” tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. You may notice that this and future entries are shorter than usual; Career, family and book deal commitments have forced me to cut back some of my projects. Now, here’s today’s news
g Abodes - By combining data from Mars Express and Mars climate models, scientists are gaining new knowledge about the behavior of water ice deposits at the South Pole of Mars. See article.
g Message - Will universal fear doom SETI to a continuation of the Great Silence? In a response to David Brin’s Zoo Hypothesis argument (see http://brin-l.stock-consulting.com/downloads/silence.pdf), here’s a SETI League editorial: http://www.setileague.org/editor/wimps.htm.
g Cosmicus - Many people think that weightlessness is a strange and even dangerous condition, but there's nothing particularly weird about it. Anyone can experience it (briefly!) by just jumping into the air, or for up to about a second by jumping off a wall. While you're airborne your body is in weightlessness. Trampolinists and high divers experience weightlessness for up to a few seconds. See http://www.spacefuture.com/habitat/zerog.shtml.
g Learning - Looking for an overview of the astrobiological field? Try "Introduction to Exobiology" (http://www.chem.duke.edu/~jds/cruise_chem/Exobiology/), which explores the field from a lay perspective and includes a self-test. It's part of the Cruising Chemistry project at Duke.
g Imagining - While I’m researching our next alien, browse the local used bookstores for this volume, which examined the scientific plausibility of many alien creatures in “Star Trek”: “To Seek Out New Life: The Biology of Star Trek.” Published about four years ago, Athena Andreadis' book makes a good read, boosted by her background as a molecular biologist and neurosurgeon. There’s a review of the book at http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/sf_and_society/48298.
g Aftermath - Here’s an interesting, albeit “older,” personal essay that appeared right after “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” and the original “Star Wars” came out, which appeared in “Theology Today” about what organized religion should do in light of the growing belief of alien’s existence. See http://www.obspm.fr/encycl/encycl.html.
Get your SF book manuscript edited
g Abodes - By combining data from Mars Express and Mars climate models, scientists are gaining new knowledge about the behavior of water ice deposits at the South Pole of Mars. See article.
g Message - Will universal fear doom SETI to a continuation of the Great Silence? In a response to David Brin’s Zoo Hypothesis argument (see http://brin-l.stock-consulting.com/downloads/silence.pdf), here’s a SETI League editorial: http://www.setileague.org/editor/wimps.htm.
g Cosmicus - Many people think that weightlessness is a strange and even dangerous condition, but there's nothing particularly weird about it. Anyone can experience it (briefly!) by just jumping into the air, or for up to about a second by jumping off a wall. While you're airborne your body is in weightlessness. Trampolinists and high divers experience weightlessness for up to a few seconds. See http://www.spacefuture.com/habitat/zerog.shtml.
g Learning - Looking for an overview of the astrobiological field? Try "Introduction to Exobiology" (http://www.chem.duke.edu/~jds/cruise_chem/Exobiology/), which explores the field from a lay perspective and includes a self-test. It's part of the Cruising Chemistry project at Duke.
g Imagining - While I’m researching our next alien, browse the local used bookstores for this volume, which examined the scientific plausibility of many alien creatures in “Star Trek”: “To Seek Out New Life: The Biology of Star Trek.” Published about four years ago, Athena Andreadis' book makes a good read, boosted by her background as a molecular biologist and neurosurgeon. There’s a review of the book at http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/sf_and_society/48298.
g Aftermath - Here’s an interesting, albeit “older,” personal essay that appeared right after “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” and the original “Star Wars” came out, which appeared in “Theology Today” about what organized religion should do in light of the growing belief of alien’s existence. See http://www.obspm.fr/encycl/encycl.html.
Get your SF book manuscript edited
Monday, July 16, 2007
Density wave features in galaxies, science fiction’s versions of communicating with aliens and Messier’s thoughts on ET
Welcome! “Alien Life” tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. You may notice that this and future entries are shorter than usual; Career, family and book deal commitments have forced me to cut back some of my projects. Now, here’s today’s news:
g Stars - In a paper published in The Astronomical Journal, researchers report that they have developed an accurate and widely-applicable method for characterizing density wave features in galaxies. See article.
g Intelligence - The name Messier is synonymous with the deep sky. The man himself was an unfaltering 18 th century French astronomer who changed the course of astronomy with his catalogue of " Star Clusters and nebulae ", as well as the discovery of over 20 comets. Messier's revolution in the observation of galaxies, nebulae and star clusters is significant enough in the history of astrobiology. But what did Charles Messier make of the alien life debate? See article.
g Message - When looking for ET, we may have to consider other strategies beyond radio waves. See http://www.zeitlin.net/OpenSETI/NewSearches.html. As a side note, one of those strategies might by looking for optical signals; see http://www.astrobio.net/news/modules.phpop=modload&name=News
&file=article&sid=174 for more.
g Cosmicus - Mars orbiter missions are currently monitoring a large dust storm brewing on Mars. The storm is delaying operations of the Mars Exploration Rovers, but the robotic explorers are expected to continue gathering data at the surface of the planet once the storm dissipates. See article.
g Learning - Here’s a neat set of lessons, designed for at-risk students: “The Plausibility of Interstellar Communication and Related Phenomena Depicted in Science Fiction Literature and the Movies.” The curriculum has four major objectives: first, to educate students to develop concepts about the proximity of our solar system in relation to other probable solar systems in the Milky Way Galaxy; second, to give students the opportunity to use these concepts to evaluate the plausibility of interstellar communication depicted in science fiction literature and movies; third, to create an opportunity for students not only to look out on the universe but to turn it inward to look at the world, their own society, and themselves as individuals; and fourth, an objective that will be integrated with all of the others is to give students to opportunity to learn and/or sharpen skills in: using the scientific method, research, reading, writing, collaboration, discussion and in critical thinking. See http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/1998/6/98.06.02.x.html.
g Imagining - Here’s an interesting tip sheet from the Science Fiction Writers of America about how to create believable aliens via scientific laws: http://www.sff.net/people/mmolvray/aliens.htm.
g Aftermath - Quote of the Day: “Sometimes I think we’re alone. Sometimes I think we’re not. In either case, the thought is staggering.” — Buckminster Fuller
Get your SF book manuscript edited
g Stars - In a paper published in The Astronomical Journal, researchers report that they have developed an accurate and widely-applicable method for characterizing density wave features in galaxies. See article.
g Intelligence - The name Messier is synonymous with the deep sky. The man himself was an unfaltering 18 th century French astronomer who changed the course of astronomy with his catalogue of " Star Clusters and nebulae ", as well as the discovery of over 20 comets. Messier's revolution in the observation of galaxies, nebulae and star clusters is significant enough in the history of astrobiology. But what did Charles Messier make of the alien life debate? See article.
g Message - When looking for ET, we may have to consider other strategies beyond radio waves. See http://www.zeitlin.net/OpenSETI/NewSearches.html. As a side note, one of those strategies might by looking for optical signals; see http://www.astrobio.net/news/modules.phpop=modload&name=News
&file=article&sid=174 for more.
g Cosmicus - Mars orbiter missions are currently monitoring a large dust storm brewing on Mars. The storm is delaying operations of the Mars Exploration Rovers, but the robotic explorers are expected to continue gathering data at the surface of the planet once the storm dissipates. See article.
g Learning - Here’s a neat set of lessons, designed for at-risk students: “The Plausibility of Interstellar Communication and Related Phenomena Depicted in Science Fiction Literature and the Movies.” The curriculum has four major objectives: first, to educate students to develop concepts about the proximity of our solar system in relation to other probable solar systems in the Milky Way Galaxy; second, to give students the opportunity to use these concepts to evaluate the plausibility of interstellar communication depicted in science fiction literature and movies; third, to create an opportunity for students not only to look out on the universe but to turn it inward to look at the world, their own society, and themselves as individuals; and fourth, an objective that will be integrated with all of the others is to give students to opportunity to learn and/or sharpen skills in: using the scientific method, research, reading, writing, collaboration, discussion and in critical thinking. See http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/1998/6/98.06.02.x.html.
g Imagining - Here’s an interesting tip sheet from the Science Fiction Writers of America about how to create believable aliens via scientific laws: http://www.sff.net/people/mmolvray/aliens.htm.
g Aftermath - Quote of the Day: “Sometimes I think we’re alone. Sometimes I think we’re not. In either case, the thought is staggering.” — Buckminster Fuller
Get your SF book manuscript edited
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Infrared universe, Communication with Extraterrestrial Intelligence and NASA exploration systems administrator stepping down
Welcome! “Alien Life” tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. You may notice that this and future entries are shorter than usual; Career, family and book deal commitments have forced me to cut back some of my projects. Now, here’s today’s news:
g Stars -One year after the beginning of its scientific operations, the high-capability infrared satellite AKARI continues to produce stunning views of the infrared Universe. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/07/070711134450.htm.
g Message -Researchers in the former USSR were long interested in the detection of radio signals originating from extraterrestrial intelligence. The Soviets named their program CETI, or Communication with Extraterrestrial Intelligence. The acronym SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) was adopted by the Workshop and by the Ames Research Center to differentiate our own efforts from those of the Soviet Union and to emphasize the search aspects of the proposed program. The Soviet plans for their CETI efforts have been summarized in "The CETI Program," Sov. Astron., vol. 18, no. 5, March-April 1975, which is available in total at http://www.myspacebooks.com/nasa_sp_419/s3.11.htm.
g Cosmicus - Scott "Doc" Horowitz, NASA's associate administrator for exploration systems since late 2005, plans to step down this fall. See http://www.space.com/news/070712_nasa_horowitz.html.
g Learning - There may be numerous intelligent civilizations on planets throughout our galaxy. That's the hypothesis driving SETI research. We seek evidence of extraterrestrial technology using optical and radio telescopes to search for signals that emanate from other civilized worlds. These places are far, far away. But, when discussing the search with school children, they often simply ask, "Why don't we just go there?" This can be a teachable moment. See http://www.space.com/searchforlife/seti_devore_distance_031204.html. Note: This article is from Dec. 2003.
g Imagining -Why weren’t there classes like this when I was in school? Recently, Prof. Joan Slonczewski taught “Biology 103: Biology in Science Fiction” at Kenyon College. Here’s her book reading list: http://biology.kenyon.edu/slonc/bio3/books-03.htm. It’s all great reading, whether you’re in the class or not. Of course, if Slonczewski taught in Dover, Pa., her class would first have to be read the statement, “The theory that human authors wrote this book is not a fact and continues to be tested. Intelligent Design is an explanation of the origin of these books that differs from publishers’ views."
g Aftermath - Quote of the Day: “There are two possibilities: Maybe we're alone. Maybe we're not. Both are equally frightening" — Isaac Asimov
g Stars -One year after the beginning of its scientific operations, the high-capability infrared satellite AKARI continues to produce stunning views of the infrared Universe. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/07/070711134450.htm.
g Message -Researchers in the former USSR were long interested in the detection of radio signals originating from extraterrestrial intelligence. The Soviets named their program CETI, or Communication with Extraterrestrial Intelligence. The acronym SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) was adopted by the Workshop and by the Ames Research Center to differentiate our own efforts from those of the Soviet Union and to emphasize the search aspects of the proposed program. The Soviet plans for their CETI efforts have been summarized in "The CETI Program," Sov. Astron., vol. 18, no. 5, March-April 1975, which is available in total at http://www.myspacebooks.com/nasa_sp_419/s3.11.htm.
g Cosmicus - Scott "Doc" Horowitz, NASA's associate administrator for exploration systems since late 2005, plans to step down this fall. See http://www.space.com/news/070712_nasa_horowitz.html.
g Learning - There may be numerous intelligent civilizations on planets throughout our galaxy. That's the hypothesis driving SETI research. We seek evidence of extraterrestrial technology using optical and radio telescopes to search for signals that emanate from other civilized worlds. These places are far, far away. But, when discussing the search with school children, they often simply ask, "Why don't we just go there?" This can be a teachable moment. See http://www.space.com/searchforlife/seti_devore_distance_031204.html. Note: This article is from Dec. 2003.
g Imagining -Why weren’t there classes like this when I was in school? Recently, Prof. Joan Slonczewski taught “Biology 103: Biology in Science Fiction” at Kenyon College. Here’s her book reading list: http://biology.kenyon.edu/slonc/bio3/books-03.htm. It’s all great reading, whether you’re in the class or not. Of course, if Slonczewski taught in Dover, Pa., her class would first have to be read the statement, “The theory that human authors wrote this book is not a fact and continues to be tested. Intelligent Design is an explanation of the origin of these books that differs from publishers’ views."
g Aftermath - Quote of the Day: “There are two possibilities: Maybe we're alone. Maybe we're not. Both are equally frightening" — Isaac Asimov
Saturday, July 14, 2007
Planetary debris polluting dwarf stars, Mars’ shifting ice caps and the case against ‘little green men’
Welcome! “Alien Life” tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. You may notice that this and future entries are shorter than usual; Career, family and book deal commitments have forced me to cut back some of my projects. Now, here’s today’s news:
g Stars - Scientists have found that the iron-enriched surfaces of dwarf stars that harbor planets may be caused by planetary debris 'polluting' the stars. The findings could yield new information about distant planetary systems. See article.
g Abodes - Mars' eccentric wobble once shifted ice caps from one pole to the other. See article.
g Message - Quote of the Day: “Where is everybody?” — Enrico Fermi
g Cosmicus - NASA's next Mars mission is ready for an August launch. When it reaches Mars, the Phoenix Mars Lander will dig beneath the icy martian soil to see if frozen water near the surface could periodically melt and provide a habitat for past or present life. See article.
g Learning - Here’s a neat classroom activity, courtesy of NASA: “The Drake Equation.” Students estimate the number of civilizations in the galaxy by first estimating the number of craters on the Moon and then by performing estimates of multiple-variable systems culminating in the use of the Drake Equation. See article.
g Imagining - Not so long ago, putative extraterrestrials were the color of moss. Generic space aliens were inevitably described as “Little Green Men,” probably because an avocado complexion is dramatically unlike any human skin tint. Green was alien, in other words. Today, scientists dismiss that sci fi idea. So what’s their case against “little green men”? See http://publish.seti.org/general/articles.php?id=178. Note: This article is from May.
g Aftermath - A SETI detection will have important consequences for society. So at the International Astronautics Federation’s annual get-together in Rio de Janeiro a few years ago, Hungarian astronomer Ivan Almar and SETI Institute researcher Jill Tarter proposed the Rio Scale for ranking both the importance and credibility of claims that evidence for extraterrestrial intelligence has been found. See http://www.space.com/searchforlife/seti_rio_scale_021031.html.
Get your SF book manuscript edited
g Stars - Scientists have found that the iron-enriched surfaces of dwarf stars that harbor planets may be caused by planetary debris 'polluting' the stars. The findings could yield new information about distant planetary systems. See article.
g Abodes - Mars' eccentric wobble once shifted ice caps from one pole to the other. See article.
g Message - Quote of the Day: “Where is everybody?” — Enrico Fermi
g Cosmicus - NASA's next Mars mission is ready for an August launch. When it reaches Mars, the Phoenix Mars Lander will dig beneath the icy martian soil to see if frozen water near the surface could periodically melt and provide a habitat for past or present life. See article.
g Learning - Here’s a neat classroom activity, courtesy of NASA: “The Drake Equation.” Students estimate the number of civilizations in the galaxy by first estimating the number of craters on the Moon and then by performing estimates of multiple-variable systems culminating in the use of the Drake Equation. See article.
g Imagining - Not so long ago, putative extraterrestrials were the color of moss. Generic space aliens were inevitably described as “Little Green Men,” probably because an avocado complexion is dramatically unlike any human skin tint. Green was alien, in other words. Today, scientists dismiss that sci fi idea. So what’s their case against “little green men”? See http://publish.seti.org/general/articles.php?id=178. Note: This article is from May.
g Aftermath - A SETI detection will have important consequences for society. So at the International Astronautics Federation’s annual get-together in Rio de Janeiro a few years ago, Hungarian astronomer Ivan Almar and SETI Institute researcher Jill Tarter proposed the Rio Scale for ranking both the importance and credibility of claims that evidence for extraterrestrial intelligence has been found. See http://www.space.com/searchforlife/seti_rio_scale_021031.html.
Get your SF book manuscript edited
Friday, July 13, 2007
Eta Carinae’s demise, under what conditions life might arise on other planets and visions of people living in space
Welcome! “Alien Life” tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. You may notice that this and future entries are shorter than usual; Career, family and book deal commitments have forced me to cut back some of my projects. Now, here’s today’s news:
g Stars - Eta Carinae is a mysterious, extremely bright and unstable star located a mere stone's throw - astronomically speaking - from Earth at a distance of only about 7,500 light years. The star is thought to be consuming its nuclear fuel at an incredible rate, while quickly drawing closer to its ultimate explosive demise. See article.
g Life - One of the biggest puzzles in astrobiology is how did life emerge on Earth, and under what conditions might it arise on other planetary bodies? From Astrobiology Magazine, European Edition is a review of “From Suns to Life,” which investigates the various pieces of this puzzle. See article.
g Message -We’ve all heard of SETI, bit what about METI — “Messaging to Extraterrestrial Intelligence,” or sending both scientific and artistic messages to the stars? See article.
g Cosmicus - Plenty of books have 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 -Quote of the Day: "There was a time, not so long ago, when most scientists considered the possibility of life elsewhere as a kind of science fiction subject to be readily dismissed. You don't come upon such opinions so often anymore. . . There is a good reason for that. For the first time we are able to actually explore the question. For thousands of years you could only guess. Now there are experiments that can be done." — Carl Sagan
g Imagining - You may not have noticed (but only if you've been living in a hermetically sealed shipping container). This month is the sixtieth anniversary of what's politely termed the Roswell incident. See http://www.space.com/searchforlife/070712_seti_roswell.html.
g Aftermath - When we first meet extraterrestrials, will we and they be able to converse? An MIT professor argues that we will — provided they are motivated to cooperate — because we'll both think similar ways. See http://web.media.mit.edu/~minsky/papers/AlienIntelligence.html. Note: This article is from 1985.
Get your SF book manuscript edited
g Stars - Eta Carinae is a mysterious, extremely bright and unstable star located a mere stone's throw - astronomically speaking - from Earth at a distance of only about 7,500 light years. The star is thought to be consuming its nuclear fuel at an incredible rate, while quickly drawing closer to its ultimate explosive demise. See article.
g Life - One of the biggest puzzles in astrobiology is how did life emerge on Earth, and under what conditions might it arise on other planetary bodies? From Astrobiology Magazine, European Edition is a review of “From Suns to Life,” which investigates the various pieces of this puzzle. See article.
g Message -We’ve all heard of SETI, bit what about METI — “Messaging to Extraterrestrial Intelligence,” or sending both scientific and artistic messages to the stars? See article.
g Cosmicus - Plenty of books have 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 -Quote of the Day: "There was a time, not so long ago, when most scientists considered the possibility of life elsewhere as a kind of science fiction subject to be readily dismissed. You don't come upon such opinions so often anymore. . . There is a good reason for that. For the first time we are able to actually explore the question. For thousands of years you could only guess. Now there are experiments that can be done." — Carl Sagan
g Imagining - You may not have noticed (but only if you've been living in a hermetically sealed shipping container). This month is the sixtieth anniversary of what's politely termed the Roswell incident. See http://www.space.com/searchforlife/070712_seti_roswell.html.
g Aftermath - When we first meet extraterrestrials, will we and they be able to converse? An MIT professor argues that we will — provided they are motivated to cooperate — because we'll both think similar ways. See http://web.media.mit.edu/~minsky/papers/AlienIntelligence.html. Note: This article is from 1985.
Get your SF book manuscript edited
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Rare orbits for supermassive Jupiters, teen-age message to extraterrestrial intelligence and inflatable space stations
Welcome! “Alien Life” tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. You may notice that this and future entries are shorter than usual; Career, family and book deal commitments have forced me to cut back some of my projects. Now, here’s today’s news:
g Stars - In just the past several weeks, two supernovae have flared up in an obscure galaxy in the constellation Hercules. Never before have astronomers observed two of these powerful stellar explosions occurring in the same galaxy so close together in time. See article.
g Abodes - Astronomers who used powerful telescopes in Arizona and Chile in a survey for planets around nearby stars have discovered that extrasolar planets more massive than Jupiter are extremely rare in other outer solar systems. See article.
g Life - A new report from the National Research Council discusses why the search for life in the solar system may need to include looking for life that doesn't have the same biochemistry as life on Earth. See http://www.astrobio.net/news/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=2390&mode=thread
&order=0&thold=0.
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 http://www.cplire.ru/html/ra&sr/irm/teen-age-message.html.
g Cosmicus - The next step in one man's vision to populate Earth orbit with a network of private space stations was realized in late June, when the entrepreneur's company launched its second inflatable module from Russia on a test flight. See http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n0706/28genesis2/.
g Learning - Here’s a neat classroom activity, courtesy of NASA: “Ergonomics For Extraterrestrials,” in which students develop an extraterrestrial life form, and to create a workstation that accommodates its unique characteristics. See http://www.nasaexplorers.com/show_912_teacher_st.php?id=030106130336.
g Imagining - Hollywood loves movies about extraterrestrials, but most silver screen aliens — from E.T. to Star Wars — are remarkably anthropomorphic. Scientists say the real aliens may be far stranger than we think. But intelligent life elsewhere in the universe almost certainly won't resemble Tinseltown's take. An episode of SETI’s “Are We Alone?” radio series recently discussed the matter with guest Phil Plait, an astronomer and author of Bad Astronomy. For an archive of the broadcast, see http://www.seti.org/site/pp.asp?c=ktJ2J9MMIsE&b=259249 for “Hollywood Aliens: What’s Right and What’s Wrong.”
g Aftermath - Quote of the Day: “If we realize that there is other life at a higher order of multi-cellular organization of even adaptation of environment, I think that would profoundly rock our boat.” — Jim Garvin
Get your SF book manuscript edited
g Stars - In just the past several weeks, two supernovae have flared up in an obscure galaxy in the constellation Hercules. Never before have astronomers observed two of these powerful stellar explosions occurring in the same galaxy so close together in time. See article.
g Abodes - Astronomers who used powerful telescopes in Arizona and Chile in a survey for planets around nearby stars have discovered that extrasolar planets more massive than Jupiter are extremely rare in other outer solar systems. See article.
g Life - A new report from the National Research Council discusses why the search for life in the solar system may need to include looking for life that doesn't have the same biochemistry as life on Earth. See http://www.astrobio.net/news/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=2390&mode=thread
&order=0&thold=0.
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 http://www.cplire.ru/html/ra&sr/irm/teen-age-message.html.
g Cosmicus - The next step in one man's vision to populate Earth orbit with a network of private space stations was realized in late June, when the entrepreneur's company launched its second inflatable module from Russia on a test flight. See http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n0706/28genesis2/.
g Learning - Here’s a neat classroom activity, courtesy of NASA: “Ergonomics For Extraterrestrials,” in which students develop an extraterrestrial life form, and to create a workstation that accommodates its unique characteristics. See http://www.nasaexplorers.com/show_912_teacher_st.php?id=030106130336.
g Imagining - Hollywood loves movies about extraterrestrials, but most silver screen aliens — from E.T. to Star Wars — are remarkably anthropomorphic. Scientists say the real aliens may be far stranger than we think. But intelligent life elsewhere in the universe almost certainly won't resemble Tinseltown's take. An episode of SETI’s “Are We Alone?” radio series recently discussed the matter with guest Phil Plait, an astronomer and author of Bad Astronomy. For an archive of the broadcast, see http://www.seti.org/site/pp.asp?c=ktJ2J9MMIsE&b=259249 for “Hollywood Aliens: What’s Right and What’s Wrong.”
g Aftermath - Quote of the Day: “If we realize that there is other life at a higher order of multi-cellular organization of even adaptation of environment, I think that would profoundly rock our boat.” — Jim Garvin
Get your SF book manuscript edited
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Water vapor on scorching exoplanet, visionary zeal to seek new worlds and new civilizations, building accurate science fiction aliens
Welcome! “Alien Life” tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. You may notice that this and future entries are shorter than usual; Career, family and book deal commitments have forced me to cut back some of my projects. Now, here’s today’s news:
g Stars - Nearly 12.5 million light-years away in the dwarf galaxy NGC 4449 a veritable stellar "fireworks" is on display - here shown in exquisite detail through the eyes of the Hubble Space Telescope. See article.
g Abodes - A scorching-hot gas planet beyond our solar system is steaming up with water vapor, according to new observations from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. See http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n0707/11watervapor/.
g Message - How might we detect an extraterrestrial messenger probe already in the solar system? See http://www.rfreitas.com/Astro/WhereAreThey1983.htm. Note: This article is from 1983.
g Cosmicus - A visionary zeal to seek new worlds and new civilizations is a factual enterprise for a new generation of galactic explorers. They are taking on spacetime and hoping to boldly go where no spacecraft has gone before — out to far-flung stars and the planets that circle them. There is no doubt there are worlds out there beyond our own cabal of planets, but even if you've got the heaviest of foot on the accelerator, plotting a speedy route to the stars is not easy. See http://www.space.com/businesstechnology/
technology/interstellar_travel_031217-1.html.
g Learning - What are university students learning about astrobiology? Check out "An Introduction to Astrobiology." Compiled by a team of experts, this textbook has been designed for elementary university courses in astrobiology. It begins with an examination of how life may have arisen on Earth and then reviews the evidence for possible life on Mars, Europa and Titan. The potential for life in exoplanetary systems and the search for extraterrestrial intelligence are also discussed. The text contains numerous useful learning features such as boxed summaries, student exercises with full solutions, and a glossary of terms. It is also supported by a Web site hosting further teaching materials. Written in an accessible style that avoids complex mathematics, this book is suitable for self-study and will appeal to amateur enthusiasts as well as undergraduate students. It contains numerous helpful learning features such as boxed summaries, student exercises with full solutions, and a glossary of terms. The book is also supported by a Website hosting further teaching materials. See http://www.sciencedaily./com/cgibin/apf4/amazon_products_feed.cgi
Operation=ItemLookup&ItemId=0521546214com/cgibin/apf4/amazon_
products_feed.cgiOperation=ItemLookup&ItemId=0521546214.
g Imagining - Many science fiction story lines involve alien life forms. From a literary prospective, aliens often serve as metaphors for something more familiar. From a practical prospective, they make stories more interesting and TV more eye-catching. But what of scientific accuracy? A professor offers his advice about “How to Build an Alien” at http://people.msoe.edu/~tritt/sf/BuildAnAlien.pdf.
g Aftermath - Quote of the Day: “… the universe vacant of life ... one asks why the proof is piled so high ... So intolerable is the despair that settles upon us that we instinctively protest against Mr. Wallace’s limitation... A planet may die, but a lifeless universe! — ‘that way madness lies.’” — a review of Alfred Russel Wallace’s book “Man’s Place in the Universe” (1903), which declared man was alone in the universe.”
Get your SF book manuscript edited
g Stars - Nearly 12.5 million light-years away in the dwarf galaxy NGC 4449 a veritable stellar "fireworks" is on display - here shown in exquisite detail through the eyes of the Hubble Space Telescope. See article.
g Abodes - A scorching-hot gas planet beyond our solar system is steaming up with water vapor, according to new observations from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. See http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n0707/11watervapor/.
g Message - How might we detect an extraterrestrial messenger probe already in the solar system? See http://www.rfreitas.com/Astro/WhereAreThey1983.htm. Note: This article is from 1983.
g Cosmicus - A visionary zeal to seek new worlds and new civilizations is a factual enterprise for a new generation of galactic explorers. They are taking on spacetime and hoping to boldly go where no spacecraft has gone before — out to far-flung stars and the planets that circle them. There is no doubt there are worlds out there beyond our own cabal of planets, but even if you've got the heaviest of foot on the accelerator, plotting a speedy route to the stars is not easy. See http://www.space.com/businesstechnology/
technology/interstellar_travel_031217-1.html.
g Learning - What are university students learning about astrobiology? Check out "An Introduction to Astrobiology." Compiled by a team of experts, this textbook has been designed for elementary university courses in astrobiology. It begins with an examination of how life may have arisen on Earth and then reviews the evidence for possible life on Mars, Europa and Titan. The potential for life in exoplanetary systems and the search for extraterrestrial intelligence are also discussed. The text contains numerous useful learning features such as boxed summaries, student exercises with full solutions, and a glossary of terms. It is also supported by a Web site hosting further teaching materials. Written in an accessible style that avoids complex mathematics, this book is suitable for self-study and will appeal to amateur enthusiasts as well as undergraduate students. It contains numerous helpful learning features such as boxed summaries, student exercises with full solutions, and a glossary of terms. The book is also supported by a Website hosting further teaching materials. See http://www.sciencedaily./com/cgibin/apf4/amazon_products_feed.cgi
Operation=ItemLookup&ItemId=0521546214com/cgibin/apf4/amazon_
products_feed.cgiOperation=ItemLookup&ItemId=0521546214.
g Imagining - Many science fiction story lines involve alien life forms. From a literary prospective, aliens often serve as metaphors for something more familiar. From a practical prospective, they make stories more interesting and TV more eye-catching. But what of scientific accuracy? A professor offers his advice about “How to Build an Alien” at http://people.msoe.edu/~tritt/sf/BuildAnAlien.pdf.
g Aftermath - Quote of the Day: “… the universe vacant of life ... one asks why the proof is piled so high ... So intolerable is the despair that settles upon us that we instinctively protest against Mr. Wallace’s limitation... A planet may die, but a lifeless universe! — ‘that way madness lies.’” — a review of Alfred Russel Wallace’s book “Man’s Place in the Universe” (1903), which declared man was alone in the universe.”
Get your SF book manuscript edited
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Brightest red dwarf in our sky, workable starship design and how proof of extraterrestrial intelligence would affect humanity’s ‘world’ view
Welcome! “Alien Life” tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. You may notice that this and future entries are shorter than usual; Career, family and book deal commitments have forced me to cut back some of my projects. Now, here’s today’s news:
g Stars -Small, cool, faint, and feeble, most red dwarfs struggle for centuries to generate the same amount of visible light that the Sun throws off in a year. Although red dwarfs outnumber all their brighter brethren put together, not a single one glows brightly enough to stir the unaided eye. Still, one of these dim red suns must be the brightest in Earth's sky. But which one? See article.
g Abodes - Epsilon Eridani, at 10.5 light years, is a relatively nearby star, and we know it has planets. Can we find a way to view those planets, a way that will show us not just pinpoints of light but surface details? See article.
g Message - Quote of the Day: “(Are we alone:) the greatest question ever posed.” — George T. Whitesides
g Cosmicus - Could we develop a workable starship design that doesn't require any technologies that don't seem possible within the next 50 years. See http://www.ibiblio.org/lunar/school/InterStellar/
Explorer_Class/ExplorerClass.html.
g Learning - Here’s a neat classroom activity that examines if yeast, a common yet tenacious microbe, can survive boiling water, salt, UV radiation and citric acid? Students find out for themselves by creating "Planets in a Bottle" which illustrate extreme conditions on other worlds. See http://science.nasa.gov/newhome/headlines/msad16mar99_1a.htm.
g Imagining -There’s a neat Web site, Sector 001, that reviews the appearance of dozens of Star Trek aliens at http://www.powernet.net/~jcrafton/extra-in.html. It also includes some speculations about each one, particularly why so many are humanoid.
g Aftermath - How would proof of extraterrestrial intelligence affect humanity’s “world” view? Astronomer Steve Dick discusses the matter in this transcribed Smithsonian Institute lecture, from 1999, at http://www.sil.si.edu/silpublications/dibner-library-lectures/extraterrestrial-life/etcopy-kr.htm.
Get your SF book manuscript edited
g Stars -Small, cool, faint, and feeble, most red dwarfs struggle for centuries to generate the same amount of visible light that the Sun throws off in a year. Although red dwarfs outnumber all their brighter brethren put together, not a single one glows brightly enough to stir the unaided eye. Still, one of these dim red suns must be the brightest in Earth's sky. But which one? See article.
g Abodes - Epsilon Eridani, at 10.5 light years, is a relatively nearby star, and we know it has planets. Can we find a way to view those planets, a way that will show us not just pinpoints of light but surface details? See article.
g Message - Quote of the Day: “(Are we alone:) the greatest question ever posed.” — George T. Whitesides
g Cosmicus - Could we develop a workable starship design that doesn't require any technologies that don't seem possible within the next 50 years. See http://www.ibiblio.org/lunar/school/InterStellar/
Explorer_Class/ExplorerClass.html.
g Learning - Here’s a neat classroom activity that examines if yeast, a common yet tenacious microbe, can survive boiling water, salt, UV radiation and citric acid? Students find out for themselves by creating "Planets in a Bottle" which illustrate extreme conditions on other worlds. See http://science.nasa.gov/newhome/headlines/msad16mar99_1a.htm.
g Imagining -There’s a neat Web site, Sector 001, that reviews the appearance of dozens of Star Trek aliens at http://www.powernet.net/~jcrafton/extra-in.html. It also includes some speculations about each one, particularly why so many are humanoid.
g Aftermath - How would proof of extraterrestrial intelligence affect humanity’s “world” view? Astronomer Steve Dick discusses the matter in this transcribed Smithsonian Institute lecture, from 1999, at http://www.sil.si.edu/silpublications/dibner-library-lectures/extraterrestrial-life/etcopy-kr.htm.
Get your SF book manuscript edited
Interstellar messaging, communicating with extraterrestrial intelligence and Dawn delayed
Welcome! “Alien Life” tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. You may notice that this and future entries are shorter than usual; Career, family and book deal commitments have forced me to cut back some of my projects. Now, here’s today’s news:
g Stars - astronomers agree that Epsilon Eridani may be a window to the past, though, a view of our solar system some four billion years ago, shortly after the planets formed. See article. Note: This article is from 2002.
g Abodes - Although the discrepancy is not large, it is significant: Geodesists from the University of Bonn have remeasured the size of the Earth in a long lasting international cooperation project. The blue planet is accordingly some millimeters smaller than up to now assumed. The results are important, for example, to be able to demonstrate a climate contingent rise in sea level. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/07/070705110225.htm.
g Message -Here’s a neat Web site: “Interstellar Messaging.” You’ll find discussion, history and real-world examples of mankind's methods and ongoing attempts to communicate with extraterrestrials. See http://www.seti.housenet.org/.
g Cosmicus - The scientist leading NASA's Dawn spacecraft on a three-billion-mile reconnaissance mission to explore a massive asteroid and a "dwarf planet" believed to harbor water has been designing the project for more than a decade. Liftoff was supposed to happen this weekend, yet troubles interfered. And officials Saturday ordered another launch delay - all the way to September. See http://www.spaceflightnow.com/delta/d325/070707delay.html.
g Learning - There’s a neat set of online activities, primarily for older teens or young adults, about communicating with extraterrestrial intelligence at http://ethel.as.arizona.edu/~collins/astro/subjects/ceti.html. It helps students learn about SETI while they send one another messages then decode them, as if they were alien civilizations on distant worlds.
g Imagining -In Ridley Scott's 1979 slimy monster masterpiece "Alien," the extraterrestrial life form discovered by Sigourney Weaver and crew goes through two startlingly different phases after it hatches. Is such a change during the life of an animal mere sci fi license? Not really. In fact, many earthlings go through similar drastic changes in form. See http://www.astrobio.net/news/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=101. Note: This article is from March 2001.
g Aftermath - Quote of the Day: “… discovering life on another planet might be one of the most fantastic things for humans.” — J. Craig Venter
g Stars - astronomers agree that Epsilon Eridani may be a window to the past, though, a view of our solar system some four billion years ago, shortly after the planets formed. See article. Note: This article is from 2002.
g Abodes - Although the discrepancy is not large, it is significant: Geodesists from the University of Bonn have remeasured the size of the Earth in a long lasting international cooperation project. The blue planet is accordingly some millimeters smaller than up to now assumed. The results are important, for example, to be able to demonstrate a climate contingent rise in sea level. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/07/070705110225.htm.
g Message -Here’s a neat Web site: “Interstellar Messaging.” You’ll find discussion, history and real-world examples of mankind's methods and ongoing attempts to communicate with extraterrestrials. See http://www.seti.housenet.org/.
g Cosmicus - The scientist leading NASA's Dawn spacecraft on a three-billion-mile reconnaissance mission to explore a massive asteroid and a "dwarf planet" believed to harbor water has been designing the project for more than a decade. Liftoff was supposed to happen this weekend, yet troubles interfered. And officials Saturday ordered another launch delay - all the way to September. See http://www.spaceflightnow.com/delta/d325/070707delay.html.
g Learning - There’s a neat set of online activities, primarily for older teens or young adults, about communicating with extraterrestrial intelligence at http://ethel.as.arizona.edu/~collins/astro/subjects/ceti.html. It helps students learn about SETI while they send one another messages then decode them, as if they were alien civilizations on distant worlds.
g Imagining -In Ridley Scott's 1979 slimy monster masterpiece "Alien," the extraterrestrial life form discovered by Sigourney Weaver and crew goes through two startlingly different phases after it hatches. Is such a change during the life of an animal mere sci fi license? Not really. In fact, many earthlings go through similar drastic changes in form. See http://www.astrobio.net/news/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=101. Note: This article is from March 2001.
g Aftermath - Quote of the Day: “… discovering life on another planet might be one of the most fantastic things for humans.” — J. Craig Venter
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