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.