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 -Could the nearby star UV Ceti or other red dwarfs support life? See article.
g Abodes - Scientists have developed new computer models that can help us understand the atmospheric composition of distant worlds, such as the Earth-like planet Gliese 581. Determining atmospheric composition is an important step in understanding if and how life might survive on such locations. See http://www.astrobio.net/news/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=2374&mode=thread&
order=0&thold=0.
g Life - Scientists have managed to create and artificially evolve unique proteins in the lab from scratch. The research can help answer fundamental questions about the origin and evolution of proteins, and can ultimately yield clues about the origin of life. See http://www.astrobio.net/news/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=2385&mode=thread&
order=0&thold=0.
g Message -Quote of the Day: “Glendower: I can call spirits from the vasty deep./“Hotspur: Why, so can I, or so can any man,/but will they come when you do call for them?” — Shakespeare (Henry IV, Part I, Act 3 scene I)
g Cosmicus - A giant dust storm on Mars is affecting the operations of NASA Mars Exploration Rovers. The storm is expected to last for at least another week, and Opportunity must wait before entering Victoria Crater. See http://www.astrobio.net/news/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=2386&mode=thread&
order=0&thold=0.
g Learning - Here’s a neat classroom activity courtesy of NASA: “Who Can Live Here?” Students explore the limits of life on Earth to extend their beliefs about life to include its possibility on other worlds. See http://btc.montana.edu/ceres/html/ExtremeEnviron
ment/Extreme.htm.
g Imagining -Could silicon-based lifeforms, such as Star Trek’s Horta, actually exist? Here’s an overview of how various science fiction writers have approached silicon-based life: http://www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia/S/siliconlife.html.
g Aftermath - What would be the social consequences in case a SETI-project would actually be successful or mankind would be confronted in another way with the existence of an extraterrestrial civilization? See http://www.astrosociology.com/Library/PDF/Contributions/
SETIandConsequences_ENG.pdf.
The Drake Equation
This formula estimates the number of intelligent civilizations in our galaxy.N=(R*)(Ns)(Fp)(Ne)(Fl)(Fi)(Fc)(L)
Where:- N = Number of civilizations we can communicate with
- R* = Average star formation rate
- Ns = Percentage of stars capable of supporting earth-like planets
- Fp = Percentage of those stars with planets
- Ne = Average umber of planets in those stars' habitable zones
- Fl = Percentage of those planets where life begins
- Fi = Percentage of planets with life where an intelligent species evolves
- Fc = Percentage of those intelligent species that develop communication technology
- L = Average lifetime, in years, of a civilization that develops such technology
About Me
- Rob Bignell
- I'm the owner and chief editor at Inventing Reality Editing Service, which meets the editing and proofreading needs of writers both new and published. For more than two decades, I worked as an award-winning journalist, with half of those years spent as an editor. Several of my short stories in the literary and science fiction genres have been published, and I am the author of the nonfiction “Hikes with Tykes” series, a novel "Windmill", and a collection of poetry, "Love Letters to Sophie's Mom". For seven years I worked as an English teacher or a community college journalism instructor. I hold a master's degree in English and a bachelor's in journalism and English.