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 - A new image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope is helping astronomers understand how dust is recycled in galaxies. The tiny particles - flecks of minerals, ices and carbon-rich molecules - are everywhere in the universe, and are important for making stars, planets and even people. See http://www.astrobio.net/news/mod
ules.phpop=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=2074mode
=thread&order=0&thold=0.
g Abodes - Greenhouse gases might one day be used to warm the cold surface of Mars, and make the planet habitable for humans. See http://www.astrobio.net/news/modules.phpop=modload&name=News
&file=article&sid=17. Note: This article is from 2001.
g Life - A startling revelation about the number of different kinds of bacteria in the deep-sea raises fundamental new questions about microbial life and evolution in the oceans. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/08/060829081744.htm.
g Intelligence - Scientists have provided new insights into how the brain is organized - knowledge which could eventually inform diagnosis of and treatments for conditions like Alzheimer’s Disease and autism. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/08/060820192259.htm.
g Message - Sitting beneath a dark night sky, looking up at the vast array of stars, what human has not wondered, "Are we alone? See http://www.astrobio.net/news/modules.phpop=modload&name
=News&file=article&sid=54. Note: This article is from 2001.
g Cosmicus - The space shuttle Atlantis took off today on its fifth try, kicking off a long-awaited flight to restart assembly of the international space station three years after the Columbia disaster derailed construction. See http://www.spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts115/060909launch/.
g Learning - Here’s a good Web site that gives an general overview of astrobiology for kids: “Astrocentral.” See http://www.astrocentral.co.uk/lifeindex.html.
g Imagining - Like stories about alien anthropology/cultures? Be sure to scour your favorite used bookstores for Mary Gentle’s "Golden Witchbreed" (1983) and "Ancient Light" (1987), which examines a culture of feline aliens.
g Aftermath - Scientists such as the SETI Institute’s John Billingham and Jill Tarter have taken the lead in planning for the day we might receive a signal from life beyond Earth. Working with diplomats and space lawyers, they have helped develop protocols that guide the activities of SETI scientists who think they may have detected extraterrestrial intelligence. See http://www.space.com/searchforlife/seti_protocols_010228.html. Note: This story is a couple of years old.
Saturday, September 09, 2006
Friday, September 08, 2006
Star cluster pinwheels, liquid water may lie beneath Ganymede's crust and New Horizons’ first photo
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 heart of one of the Milky Way galaxy's most massive star clusters harbors as many as five pinwheels, a strange and relatively newly discovered type of stellar object, astronomers say. See article.
g Abodes - Data from the Galileo space probe suggest that liquid water may lie beneath Ganymede's icy crust. See http://www.astrobio.
net/news/modules.phpop=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=93. Note: This article is from 2000.
g Life - Insect bite marks in ancient leaf fossils are shedding new light on how nature bounced back after an asteroid impact killed off the dinosaurs and much of life on Earth 65 million years ago. See http://www.livescience.com/animalworld/060831_KT_biodiversity.
html.
g Intelligence - A tiny island in the middle of nowhere is like a world in miniature, a new study finds. Rapa island lies isolated in the South Pacific, halfway between South America and New Zealand. Initially cooperative, its first settlers turned to violence when faced with the same pressures of environment and competition happening right now across the globe, the research suggests. See
g Cosmicus - NASA's Pluto-bound New Horizons spacecraft has snapped its first high-resolution photo, an image of distant stars that shows the probe's high-resolution camera works. See http://
www.space.com/missionlaunches/060901_new_horizons.html. For related story, see “Pluto: Down But Maybe Not Out” at http://www.
space.com/scienceastronomy/060831_planet_definition.html.
g Learning - Here’s a neat teacher info source, courtesy of PBS: “Life on other Worlds: Our Solar System and Beyond.” See http://
www.pbs.org/teachersource/scienceline/archives/april00/feature.
shtm.
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 Stars - The heart of one of the Milky Way galaxy's most massive star clusters harbors as many as five pinwheels, a strange and relatively newly discovered type of stellar object, astronomers say. See article.
g Abodes - Data from the Galileo space probe suggest that liquid water may lie beneath Ganymede's icy crust. See http://www.astrobio.
net/news/modules.phpop=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=93. Note: This article is from 2000.
g Life - Insect bite marks in ancient leaf fossils are shedding new light on how nature bounced back after an asteroid impact killed off the dinosaurs and much of life on Earth 65 million years ago. See http://www.livescience.com/animalworld/060831_KT_biodiversity.
html.
g Intelligence - A tiny island in the middle of nowhere is like a world in miniature, a new study finds. Rapa island lies isolated in the South Pacific, halfway between South America and New Zealand. Initially cooperative, its first settlers turned to violence when faced with the same pressures of environment and competition happening right now across the globe, the research suggests. See
g Cosmicus - NASA's Pluto-bound New Horizons spacecraft has snapped its first high-resolution photo, an image of distant stars that shows the probe's high-resolution camera works. See http://
www.space.com/missionlaunches/060901_new_horizons.html. For related story, see “Pluto: Down But Maybe Not Out” at http://www.
space.com/scienceastronomy/060831_planet_definition.html.
g Learning - Here’s a neat teacher info source, courtesy of PBS: “Life on other Worlds: Our Solar System and Beyond.” See http://
www.pbs.org/teachersource/scienceline/archives/april00/feature.
shtm.
g Imagining - Like first contact stories? Then be sure to read Timothy Zahn’s novel “Conqueror's Pride,” published by Bantam Spectra in 1994.
Thursday, September 07, 2006
Star formation rate, chemical signatures of alien life and the anthropic principle
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 combined hundreds of thousands of Spitzer Space Telescope images into a map of the whole Large Magellanic Cloud. They see features throughout the galaxy in such sharp detail that they can count newly formed stars, determine how much dust old stars are pumping into the galaxy and, for the first time, to sensitively map the rate at which stars are forming across an entire galaxy. See http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n0609/01spitzerlmc/.
g Abodes - Advanced space telescopes might soon probe far-off worlds for the chemical signatures of alien life. See http://www.astrobio.
net/news/modules.phpop=modload&name=News&file
=article&sid=203. Note: This article is from 2001.
g Life - Researchers at the University of Michigan and the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic have uncovered two previously unknown roles for water in RNA enzymes, molecules which themselves play critical roles in living cells. See http://www.astrobio.
net/news/modules.phpop=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=
2061mode=thread&order=0&thold=0.
g Intelligence - Using information theory, researchers have show that power in monkey society emerges through consensus. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/09/060901160603.htm.
g Message - About 31 years ago, humanity sent its first and only deliberate radio message to extraterrestrials. Nobody has called back yet, but that's OK - we weren't really expecting an answer. See http://www.spaceref.com:16080/news/viewpr.html?pid=109. Note: This article is from 1999.
g Cosmicus - It has been a long, hard drive on Mars for NASA's Opportunity rover. Wheeling across the open, parking lot-like dune fields of Meridiani Planum, the robot is nearing a major milestone: rolling up to "Victoria", a crater that is roughly half a mile (750 meters) wide and 230 feet (70 meters) deep. See http://www.
space.com/missionlaunches/060907_rover_update.html
g Learning - Here’s an interesting classroom activity: “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/astrobiology/LabActivities/
ExtremeEnvironments.doc.
g Imagining - Like first contact stories? Then be sure to read Poul Anderson’s novel “The Enemy Stars” (published by Lippincott in 1959).
g Aftermath - The issue of stability of conditions prevailing on (at least potentially) habitable planets throughout the Galaxy is the central question of the nascent science of astrobiology. We are lucky enough to live in an epoch of great astronomical discoveries, the most distinguished probably being the discovery of dozens of planets orbiting nearby stars. This particular discovery brings about a profound change in our thinking about the universe, and prompts further questions on thefrequency of Earth-like habitats elsewhere in the galaxy. In a sense, it answers a question posed since antiquity: are there other, potentially inhabited or inhabitable, worlds in the vastness of space? In asking that question, obviously, we take into account our properties as intelligent observers, as well as physical, chemical and other pre-conditions necessary for our existence. The latter are the topic of the so-called anthropic principle(s), the subject of much debate and controversy in cosmology, fundamental physics, and philosophy of science. See http://66.102.7.104/search?q=cache:XmrDGnkdyV0J:www.anthropic-principle.com/preprints/MilanFirst.pdf+astrobiology&hl=en.
g Stars - Astronomers have combined hundreds of thousands of Spitzer Space Telescope images into a map of the whole Large Magellanic Cloud. They see features throughout the galaxy in such sharp detail that they can count newly formed stars, determine how much dust old stars are pumping into the galaxy and, for the first time, to sensitively map the rate at which stars are forming across an entire galaxy. See http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n0609/01spitzerlmc/.
g Abodes - Advanced space telescopes might soon probe far-off worlds for the chemical signatures of alien life. See http://www.astrobio.
net/news/modules.phpop=modload&name=News&file
=article&sid=203. Note: This article is from 2001.
g Life - Researchers at the University of Michigan and the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic have uncovered two previously unknown roles for water in RNA enzymes, molecules which themselves play critical roles in living cells. See http://www.astrobio.
net/news/modules.phpop=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=
2061mode=thread&order=0&thold=0.
g Intelligence - Using information theory, researchers have show that power in monkey society emerges through consensus. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/09/060901160603.htm.
g Message - About 31 years ago, humanity sent its first and only deliberate radio message to extraterrestrials. Nobody has called back yet, but that's OK - we weren't really expecting an answer. See http://www.spaceref.com:16080/news/viewpr.html?pid=109. Note: This article is from 1999.
g Cosmicus - It has been a long, hard drive on Mars for NASA's Opportunity rover. Wheeling across the open, parking lot-like dune fields of Meridiani Planum, the robot is nearing a major milestone: rolling up to "Victoria", a crater that is roughly half a mile (750 meters) wide and 230 feet (70 meters) deep. See http://www.
space.com/missionlaunches/060907_rover_update.html
g Learning - Here’s an interesting classroom activity: “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/astrobiology/LabActivities/
ExtremeEnvironments.doc.
g Imagining - Like first contact stories? Then be sure to read Poul Anderson’s novel “The Enemy Stars” (published by Lippincott in 1959).
g Aftermath - The issue of stability of conditions prevailing on (at least potentially) habitable planets throughout the Galaxy is the central question of the nascent science of astrobiology. We are lucky enough to live in an epoch of great astronomical discoveries, the most distinguished probably being the discovery of dozens of planets orbiting nearby stars. This particular discovery brings about a profound change in our thinking about the universe, and prompts further questions on thefrequency of Earth-like habitats elsewhere in the galaxy. In a sense, it answers a question posed since antiquity: are there other, potentially inhabited or inhabitable, worlds in the vastness of space? In asking that question, obviously, we take into account our properties as intelligent observers, as well as physical, chemical and other pre-conditions necessary for our existence. The latter are the topic of the so-called anthropic principle(s), the subject of much debate and controversy in cosmology, fundamental physics, and philosophy of science. See http://66.102.7.104/search?q=cache:XmrDGnkdyV0J:www.anthropic-principle.com/preprints/MilanFirst.pdf+astrobiology&hl=en.
Wednesday, September 06, 2006
Does universe have an edge, astrobiology returning to Mars and analyzing a signal from 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 - Does the universe have an edge? See http://www.livescience.com/mysteries/.
g Abodes - At the Viking 30th anniversary celebration, Noel Hinners pushed for a Mars Sample Return mission. "The science imperative for Mars Sample Return is equally compelling to what Viking was looking for," said Hinners, "and in many ways associated with some of the same goals related to life." See http://www.astrobio.net/
news/modules.phpop=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=2073
mode=thread&order=0&thold=0.
g Life - New research published by Rice University biologists in this week's issue of Nature finds that even the simplest of social creatures - single-celled amoebae - have the ability not only to recognize their own family members but also to selectively discriminate in favor of them. See http://www.astrobio.net/
news/modules.phpop=modload&name=News&file=article&sid
=2063mode=thread&order=0&thold=0.
g Intelligence - Humans have more copies of a possibly important brain gene in their genomes than other apes, a new study finds. See http://www.livescience.com/humanbiology/060831_braingene_copies.
html.
g Message - Here’s a neat interactive Web game where you analyze a signal from space, just as would a SETI astronomer: http://mystery.sonoma.edu/alien_bandstand/.
g Cosmicus - NASA managers late Wednesday ruled out an attempt to launch the shuttle Atlantis Thursday but held open the possibility of a last-ditch Friday launching if engineers can resolve a problem with one of the ship's three electrical generators before time runs out. See http://www.spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts115/060906postmmt/.
g Learning - This module, from the Japan Science and Technology Corporation, provides excellent background to the search for life in the universe, for kids. There is information about all the planets in the solar system and possibilities for life beyond, as well as descriptions of spacecraft and signals that originate from Earth (requires Flash plug-in). See http://jvsc.jst.go.jp/universe/et_e/index_e.htm.
g Imagining - Like first contact stories? Then be sure to read Marc Bilgrey’s "Random Acts," in the anthology “First Contact,” edited by Martin H. Greenberg & Larry Segriff (published by DAW in 1997).
g Aftermath - Book alert: The authentic discovery of extraterrestrial life would usher in a scientific revolution on par with Copernicus or Darwin, says Paul Davies in “Are We Alone?: Philosophical Implications of the Discovery of Extraterrestrial Life.” Just as these ideas sparked religious and philosophical controversy when they were first offered, so would proof of life arising away from Earth. With this brief book (160 pages, including two appendices and an index), Davies tries to get ahead of the curve and begin to sort out the metaphysical mess before it happens. Many science fiction writers have preceded him, of course, but here the matter is plainly put. This is a very good introduction to a compelling subject.
g Stars - Does the universe have an edge? See http://www.livescience.com/mysteries/.
g Abodes - At the Viking 30th anniversary celebration, Noel Hinners pushed for a Mars Sample Return mission. "The science imperative for Mars Sample Return is equally compelling to what Viking was looking for," said Hinners, "and in many ways associated with some of the same goals related to life." See http://www.astrobio.net/
news/modules.phpop=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=2073
mode=thread&order=0&thold=0.
g Life - New research published by Rice University biologists in this week's issue of Nature finds that even the simplest of social creatures - single-celled amoebae - have the ability not only to recognize their own family members but also to selectively discriminate in favor of them. See http://www.astrobio.net/
news/modules.phpop=modload&name=News&file=article&sid
=2063mode=thread&order=0&thold=0.
g Intelligence - Humans have more copies of a possibly important brain gene in their genomes than other apes, a new study finds. See http://www.livescience.com/humanbiology/060831_braingene_copies.
html.
g Message - Here’s a neat interactive Web game where you analyze a signal from space, just as would a SETI astronomer: http://mystery.sonoma.edu/alien_bandstand/.
g Cosmicus - NASA managers late Wednesday ruled out an attempt to launch the shuttle Atlantis Thursday but held open the possibility of a last-ditch Friday launching if engineers can resolve a problem with one of the ship's three electrical generators before time runs out. See http://www.spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts115/060906postmmt/.
g Learning - This module, from the Japan Science and Technology Corporation, provides excellent background to the search for life in the universe, for kids. There is information about all the planets in the solar system and possibilities for life beyond, as well as descriptions of spacecraft and signals that originate from Earth (requires Flash plug-in). See http://jvsc.jst.go.jp/universe/et_e/index_e.htm.
g Imagining - Like first contact stories? Then be sure to read Marc Bilgrey’s "Random Acts," in the anthology “First Contact,” edited by Martin H. Greenberg & Larry Segriff (published by DAW in 1997).
g Aftermath - Book alert: The authentic discovery of extraterrestrial life would usher in a scientific revolution on par with Copernicus or Darwin, says Paul Davies in “Are We Alone?: Philosophical Implications of the Discovery of Extraterrestrial Life.” Just as these ideas sparked religious and philosophical controversy when they were first offered, so would proof of life arising away from Earth. With this brief book (160 pages, including two appendices and an index), Davies tries to get ahead of the curve and begin to sort out the metaphysical mess before it happens. Many science fiction writers have preceded him, of course, but here the matter is plainly put. This is a very good introduction to a compelling subject.
Tuesday, September 05, 2006
Star’s death throes, prehistoric bird meals and choosing right targets for SETI scrutiny
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 - Earlier this year, astronomers witnessed for the first time the final death throes of an aged and collapsing star as it spewed high-energy light beams into space before exploding as a supernova. See http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/060830_grb_supernova.html.
g Abodes - ESA's Cluster mission has established that high-speed flows of electrified gas, known as bursty bulk flows, in the Earth's magnetic field are the carriers of decisive amounts of mass, energy and magnetic perturbation towards the Earth during magnetic substorms. When substorms occur, energetic particles strike our atmosphere, causing aurorae to shine. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/08/060824222120.htm.
g Life - When space shuttle Atlantis next rockets into space, it will take along three kinds of microbes so scientists can study how their genetic responses and their ability to cause disease change. See http://www.astrobio.net/news/modules.phpop=modload&name=News
&file=article&sid=2064mode=thread&order=0&thold=0.
g Intelligence - A new study suggests that prehistoric birds of prey made meals out of some of our earliest human ancestors. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/08/060830005634.htm.
g Message - In the search for life on other worlds, scientists can listen for radio transmissions from stellar neighborhoods where intelligent civilizations might lurk or they can try to actually spot planets like our own in habitable zones around nearby stars. Either approach is tricky and relies on choosing the right targets for scrutiny out of the many thousands of nearby stars in our galactic neighborhood. See http://www.astrobio.net/news/article1884.html.
g Cosmicus - NASA managers Monday agreed to make three consecutive attempts to get the shuttle Atlantis off the ground if bad weather or technical problems prevent an on-time liftoff Wednesday. See http://www.spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts115/060904threetries/.
g Learning - Here’s a neat classroom activity: “The Rare Earth.” In this activity students systematically investigate the time frame for complex life to develop on Earth. See http://btc.montana.edu/ceres/
astrobiology/LabActivities/RareEarth.doc.
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 establish communication with a civilization even as close as 100 light years from Earth, the round-trip time for a message and its reply is 200 years. What will be the psychology of a civilization that can engage in a meaningful conversation with this sort of delay? How is such a conversation to be established? What should the content of such a conversation be? These are the questions which motivate this article’s title: "Minds and Millennia: The Psychology of Interstellar Communication." See http://web.
archive./org/web/20010217051450/204.240.36.10/radobs/
vol1no3/minds.htm
g Stars - Earlier this year, astronomers witnessed for the first time the final death throes of an aged and collapsing star as it spewed high-energy light beams into space before exploding as a supernova. See http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/060830_grb_supernova.html.
g Abodes - ESA's Cluster mission has established that high-speed flows of electrified gas, known as bursty bulk flows, in the Earth's magnetic field are the carriers of decisive amounts of mass, energy and magnetic perturbation towards the Earth during magnetic substorms. When substorms occur, energetic particles strike our atmosphere, causing aurorae to shine. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/08/060824222120.htm.
g Life - When space shuttle Atlantis next rockets into space, it will take along three kinds of microbes so scientists can study how their genetic responses and their ability to cause disease change. See http://www.astrobio.net/news/modules.phpop=modload&name=News
&file=article&sid=2064mode=thread&order=0&thold=0.
g Intelligence - A new study suggests that prehistoric birds of prey made meals out of some of our earliest human ancestors. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/08/060830005634.htm.
g Message - In the search for life on other worlds, scientists can listen for radio transmissions from stellar neighborhoods where intelligent civilizations might lurk or they can try to actually spot planets like our own in habitable zones around nearby stars. Either approach is tricky and relies on choosing the right targets for scrutiny out of the many thousands of nearby stars in our galactic neighborhood. See http://www.astrobio.net/news/article1884.html.
g Cosmicus - NASA managers Monday agreed to make three consecutive attempts to get the shuttle Atlantis off the ground if bad weather or technical problems prevent an on-time liftoff Wednesday. See http://www.spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts115/060904threetries/.
g Learning - Here’s a neat classroom activity: “The Rare Earth.” In this activity students systematically investigate the time frame for complex life to develop on Earth. See http://btc.montana.edu/ceres/
astrobiology/LabActivities/RareEarth.doc.
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 establish communication with a civilization even as close as 100 light years from Earth, the round-trip time for a message and its reply is 200 years. What will be the psychology of a civilization that can engage in a meaningful conversation with this sort of delay? How is such a conversation to be established? What should the content of such a conversation be? These are the questions which motivate this article’s title: "Minds and Millennia: The Psychology of Interstellar Communication." See http://web.
archive./org/web/20010217051450/204.240.36.10/radobs/
vol1no3/minds.htm
Monday, September 04, 2006
Viking mission’s 30th anniversary, chaotic biosphere recovery and countdown begins for Atlantis
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 - An active region of star formation in the Large Magellanic Cloud, as photographed by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, unveils wispy clouds of hydrogen and oxygen that swirl and mix with dust on a canvas of astronomical size. The LMC is a satellite galaxy of the Milky Way. See http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n0608/23wispy/.
g Abodes - At the recent 30th anniversary celebration of the Viking mission, Gentry Lee discussed the excitement of landing on Mars for the first time, and how far we’ve come in our exploration of Mars since then. See http://www.astrobio.net/news/modules.phpop
=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=2066mode=thread&order
=0&thold=0.
g Life - The recovery of biodiversity after the end-Cretaceous mass extinction was much more chaotic than previously thought, according to paleontologists. New fossil evidence shows that at certain times and places, plant and insect diversity were severely out of balance, not linked as they are today. See http://www.astrobio.net/news/mod
ules.phpop=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=2065mode
=thread&order=0&thold=0.
g Intelligence - The human brain does not contain a single "God spot" responsible for mystical and religious experiences, a new study finds. See http://www.livescience.com/humanbiology/060829_god_spot.html.
g Message - How will we decode any message from ET? For some speculation and a discussion of the inherent difficulties, see http://www.space.com/searchforlife/vakoch_messages_010706.html; part II follows at http://www.space.com/searchforlife/vakoch_mes
sages_two_010712.html. Note: This story is from summer 2001.
g Cosmicus - The countdown has begun for Wednesday's launch of space shuttle Atlantis to deliver a set of power-generating solar wings to the space station. Clocks in Firing Room 4 of the Complex 39 Launch Control Center starting ticking at 8 a.m. EDT Sunday morning. See http://www.spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts115/060903count/.
g Learning - Here’s a neat Web site: Sci-fi Magazine, a WebQuest for high school students (science or literature)designed to ask students to critically analyze the use of science in a science fiction novel. See http://projects.edtech.sandi.net/kearny/sci_fi_magazine//
g Imagining - How might Pierson’s Puppeteer, the strange, three-legged creatures from Larry Niven’s “Ringworld” have evolved? While http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierson is a bit short on physical evolution, it does discuss how behavioral traits may have evolved. “Star Trek” fans will recall that Niven wrote one of The Animated Series’ episodes, which included the Kzinti and the Slaver stasis field.
g Aftermath - Though an older Web posting, “After Contact, Then What?” (http://www.setileague.org/askdr/whatnext.htm) shows how little we’ve thought about this question.
g Stars - An active region of star formation in the Large Magellanic Cloud, as photographed by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, unveils wispy clouds of hydrogen and oxygen that swirl and mix with dust on a canvas of astronomical size. The LMC is a satellite galaxy of the Milky Way. See http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n0608/23wispy/.
g Abodes - At the recent 30th anniversary celebration of the Viking mission, Gentry Lee discussed the excitement of landing on Mars for the first time, and how far we’ve come in our exploration of Mars since then. See http://www.astrobio.net/news/modules.phpop
=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=2066mode=thread&order
=0&thold=0.
g Life - The recovery of biodiversity after the end-Cretaceous mass extinction was much more chaotic than previously thought, according to paleontologists. New fossil evidence shows that at certain times and places, plant and insect diversity were severely out of balance, not linked as they are today. See http://www.astrobio.net/news/mod
ules.phpop=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=2065mode
=thread&order=0&thold=0.
g Intelligence - The human brain does not contain a single "God spot" responsible for mystical and religious experiences, a new study finds. See http://www.livescience.com/humanbiology/060829_god_spot.html.
g Message - How will we decode any message from ET? For some speculation and a discussion of the inherent difficulties, see http://www.space.com/searchforlife/vakoch_messages_010706.html; part II follows at http://www.space.com/searchforlife/vakoch_mes
sages_two_010712.html. Note: This story is from summer 2001.
g Cosmicus - The countdown has begun for Wednesday's launch of space shuttle Atlantis to deliver a set of power-generating solar wings to the space station. Clocks in Firing Room 4 of the Complex 39 Launch Control Center starting ticking at 8 a.m. EDT Sunday morning. See http://www.spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts115/060903count/.
g Learning - Here’s a neat Web site: Sci-fi Magazine, a WebQuest for high school students (science or literature)designed to ask students to critically analyze the use of science in a science fiction novel. See http://projects.edtech.sandi.net/kearny/sci_fi_magazine//
g Imagining - How might Pierson’s Puppeteer, the strange, three-legged creatures from Larry Niven’s “Ringworld” have evolved? While http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierson is a bit short on physical evolution, it does discuss how behavioral traits may have evolved. “Star Trek” fans will recall that Niven wrote one of The Animated Series’ episodes, which included the Kzinti and the Slaver stasis field.
g Aftermath - Though an older Web posting, “After Contact, Then What?” (http://www.setileague.org/askdr/whatnext.htm) shows how little we’ve thought about this question.
Sunday, September 03, 2006
Formation of new stars, estimating frequency for communicating with an extrasolar civilization and spacecraft crashes into Moon
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 - Supermassive black holes in some giant galaxies create such a hostile environment, they shut down the formation of new stars, according to NASA Galaxy Evolution Explorer findings published in the new issue of Nature. See http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n0608/23blackholes/.
g Abodes - Ancient sediments that once resided on a lake bed and the ocean floor show sulfur isotope ratios unlike those found in other samples from the same time, calling into question accepted ideas about when the Earth's atmosphere began to contain oxygen, according to researchers from the U.S., Canada and Japan. See http://www.astrobio.net/news/mod
ules.phpop=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=2062
mode=thread&order=0&thold=0.
g Life - Whether it's a blowout argument or a dinner-table disagreement, a spat with your lover can be trying. Humans have of course devised ways of making up, including tight hugs and the customary apology flowers. Killer whales have their own tricks for mending relations, a new study finds. Rather than a bouquet, however, they might opt for an intimate swim. See http://www.livescience.com/animalworld/060823_whale_hugs.html.
g Intelligence - Neurobiologists have known that a novel environment sparks exploration and learning, but very little is known about whether the brain really prefers novelty as such. Rather, the major "novelty center" of the brain - called the substantia nigra/ventral tegmental area - might be activated by the unexpectedness of a stimulus, the emotional arousal it causes, or the need to respond behaviorally. The SN/VTA exerts a major influence on learning because it is functionally linked to both the hippocampus, which is the brain's learning center, and the amygdala, the center for processing emotional information. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/08/060826180547.htm.
g Message - Estimating the frequency for communicating with an extrasolar civilization is a multi-dimensional challenge. The answer, according to two scientists at the Hungarian Astronomical Association, is less like an equation and more like a matrix. See http://seti.astrobio.net/news/mod
ules.phpop=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=155mode
=thread&order=0&thold=0. Note: This article is from September 2003.
g Cosmicus - The European Space Agency's Smart-1 mission ended this morning. Its final lunar resting place is located at 46.2º West longitude and 34.4º South latitude. Appropriately for such a successful mission, this area of the Moon is known as the 'Lake of Excellence'. During its 3-year lifespan, Europe's first mission to the Moon advanced both lunar science and the technology that underpins it. See http://www.astrobio.net/news/
modules.phpop=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=2072
mode=thread&order=0&thold=0.
g Learning - Evolution is fact, not “religion” or “theory” as understood in the vernacular sense of the word. Unfortunately, when obstructing science education in our schools, “intelligent” designers and creationists like to falsely claim that no evidence exists to show evolution is fact. For a variety of excellent papers outlining the case for evolution, see http://www.talkorigins.org/origins/faqs-mustread.html.
g Imagining - Will Star Trek’s carbon-based life forms be the norm for alien chemistry? See http://www.seti.org/site/apps/nl/content2.asp?c=ktJ2J9MMIsE&b=194993&ct=220889. Note: This article is from last spring.g Aftermath – Here’s a follow-up to yesterday’s Aftermath feature about how SETI is using the social sciences to decipher our thoughts on alien life. See http://www.space.com/searchforlife/seti_survey_020124.html.
g Aftermath - If some day we detect a radio signal from a distant civilization, we’ll have to make some adjustments in the way we view ourselves. After millennia of knowing of no other intelligence in the universe than humankind, we could face a considerable challenge to our terrestrial egotism. In the process, will we simply gain a little healthy humility about our place in the universe? Or would it be downright humiliating to compare our own meager accomplishments with those of more advanced extraterrestrials? See http://www.space.com/searchforlife/vakoch_seti_001115.html. Note: This article is from November 2000.
g Stars - Supermassive black holes in some giant galaxies create such a hostile environment, they shut down the formation of new stars, according to NASA Galaxy Evolution Explorer findings published in the new issue of Nature. See http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n0608/23blackholes/.
g Abodes - Ancient sediments that once resided on a lake bed and the ocean floor show sulfur isotope ratios unlike those found in other samples from the same time, calling into question accepted ideas about when the Earth's atmosphere began to contain oxygen, according to researchers from the U.S., Canada and Japan. See http://www.astrobio.net/news/mod
ules.phpop=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=2062
mode=thread&order=0&thold=0.
g Life - Whether it's a blowout argument or a dinner-table disagreement, a spat with your lover can be trying. Humans have of course devised ways of making up, including tight hugs and the customary apology flowers. Killer whales have their own tricks for mending relations, a new study finds. Rather than a bouquet, however, they might opt for an intimate swim. See http://www.livescience.com/animalworld/060823_whale_hugs.html.
g Intelligence - Neurobiologists have known that a novel environment sparks exploration and learning, but very little is known about whether the brain really prefers novelty as such. Rather, the major "novelty center" of the brain - called the substantia nigra/ventral tegmental area - might be activated by the unexpectedness of a stimulus, the emotional arousal it causes, or the need to respond behaviorally. The SN/VTA exerts a major influence on learning because it is functionally linked to both the hippocampus, which is the brain's learning center, and the amygdala, the center for processing emotional information. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/08/060826180547.htm.
g Message - Estimating the frequency for communicating with an extrasolar civilization is a multi-dimensional challenge. The answer, according to two scientists at the Hungarian Astronomical Association, is less like an equation and more like a matrix. See http://seti.astrobio.net/news/mod
ules.phpop=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=155mode
=thread&order=0&thold=0. Note: This article is from September 2003.
g Cosmicus - The European Space Agency's Smart-1 mission ended this morning. Its final lunar resting place is located at 46.2º West longitude and 34.4º South latitude. Appropriately for such a successful mission, this area of the Moon is known as the 'Lake of Excellence'. During its 3-year lifespan, Europe's first mission to the Moon advanced both lunar science and the technology that underpins it. See http://www.astrobio.net/news/
modules.phpop=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=2072
mode=thread&order=0&thold=0.
g Learning - Evolution is fact, not “religion” or “theory” as understood in the vernacular sense of the word. Unfortunately, when obstructing science education in our schools, “intelligent” designers and creationists like to falsely claim that no evidence exists to show evolution is fact. For a variety of excellent papers outlining the case for evolution, see http://www.talkorigins.org/origins/faqs-mustread.html.
g Imagining - Will Star Trek’s carbon-based life forms be the norm for alien chemistry? See http://www.seti.org/site/apps/nl/content2.asp?c=ktJ2J9MMIsE&b=194993&ct=220889. Note: This article is from last spring.g Aftermath – Here’s a follow-up to yesterday’s Aftermath feature about how SETI is using the social sciences to decipher our thoughts on alien life. See http://www.space.com/searchforlife/seti_survey_020124.html.
g Aftermath - If some day we detect a radio signal from a distant civilization, we’ll have to make some adjustments in the way we view ourselves. After millennia of knowing of no other intelligence in the universe than humankind, we could face a considerable challenge to our terrestrial egotism. In the process, will we simply gain a little healthy humility about our place in the universe? Or would it be downright humiliating to compare our own meager accomplishments with those of more advanced extraterrestrials? See http://www.space.com/searchforlife/vakoch_seti_001115.html. Note: This article is from November 2000.
Saturday, September 02, 2006
Super-magnetic star, Titan’s methanosphere and ‘The Science of 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 - Odd flashing pulses coming from a super-magnetic star called a magnetar have astronomers glued to telescopes across the globe. See http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/060828_mystery_
monday.html.
g Abodes - Scientists knew Saturn's giant moon Titan would be interesting, perhaps containing organic compounds that are the building blocks of life. But the discovery of methane lakes and a "methanosphere" raises a question: is a frozen moon orbiting a giant gas planet Earth's closest analog in the solar system? See http://www.
astrobio.net/news/modules.phpop=modload&name=News&file
=article&sid=2070mode=thread&order=0&thold=0. For related stories, see “Incredible cliffs of Dione” at http://
www.spaceflightnow.com/cassini/060901dione.html and “Toward Melanthius” at http://www.spaceflightnow.com/cassini/060901
tethys.html.
g Life - Every creature has its place and role in the oceans - even the smallest microbe, according to a new study. See http://www.astrobio.
net/news/modules.phpop=modload&name=News&file=article&sid
=2060mode=thread&order=0&thold=0.
g Intelligence - Scientists have for the first time erased long-term memories in rats and also directly seen how the brain is changed by learning. See http://www.livescience.com/humanbiology/060
824_memories_erase.html.
g Message - What are the advantages of looking for ET using near-infrared laser communications? There’s a good explanation at a University of Kentucky Web site; see http://kerouac.pharm.uky.edu/seti/near-ir%20seti.html.
g Cosmicus - NASA has selected Lockheed Martin as the prime contractor to design, develop and build the Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle, the planned replacement for the space shuttle that will become the backbone of the agency’s human spaceflight program. Lockheed Martin beat out a rival bid from Northrop Grumman and Boeing to win a contract NASA said would be potentially worth $8.15 billion. See http://www.space.com/news/060831_nasa_cev_contract.html.
g Learning - Here’s the ultimate Web site for an introduction to astrobiology. “Astrobiology: The Living Universe” is a comprehensive and educational guide to life on Earth and beyond. This site features sections on the chemical origin of life, evolution, planetary biology, the search for extraterrestrial life, supporting humans in space and exobiology. See http://library.thinkquest.org/C003763/index.php?page=index.
g Imagining - Here’s a neat book you should pick up: “The Science of Aliens” by Clifford A. Pickover. See http://ibs.howstuffworks.com/
ibs/orl/framed.htmparent=http://ibs.howstuffworks.com/ibs/orl/
alien-physiology5.htm&url=http://service.bfast.com/bfast/click?bfmid=2181&sourceid=38726079&bfpid=0465073158&bfmtype=book for some reviews.
g Aftermath - Book alert: You may have to really scour used book stores for this one: 1976’s “ETI: The First Encounter” considers the consequences to man's view of himself and his world of the first proven contact — when it comes — with beings from another planet. Edited by James L. Christian, this book led the way in reflecting on the next stage in man's gradual self-discovery. For the table of contents and ISBN, see http://www.skeptic.de/b/0074.php4.
g Stars - Odd flashing pulses coming from a super-magnetic star called a magnetar have astronomers glued to telescopes across the globe. See http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/060828_mystery_
monday.html.
g Abodes - Scientists knew Saturn's giant moon Titan would be interesting, perhaps containing organic compounds that are the building blocks of life. But the discovery of methane lakes and a "methanosphere" raises a question: is a frozen moon orbiting a giant gas planet Earth's closest analog in the solar system? See http://www.
astrobio.net/news/modules.phpop=modload&name=News&file
=article&sid=2070mode=thread&order=0&thold=0. For related stories, see “Incredible cliffs of Dione” at http://
www.spaceflightnow.com/cassini/060901dione.html and “Toward Melanthius” at http://www.spaceflightnow.com/cassini/060901
tethys.html.
g Life - Every creature has its place and role in the oceans - even the smallest microbe, according to a new study. See http://www.astrobio.
net/news/modules.phpop=modload&name=News&file=article&sid
=2060mode=thread&order=0&thold=0.
g Intelligence - Scientists have for the first time erased long-term memories in rats and also directly seen how the brain is changed by learning. See http://www.livescience.com/humanbiology/060
824_memories_erase.html.
g Message - What are the advantages of looking for ET using near-infrared laser communications? There’s a good explanation at a University of Kentucky Web site; see http://kerouac.pharm.uky.edu/seti/near-ir%20seti.html.
g Cosmicus - NASA has selected Lockheed Martin as the prime contractor to design, develop and build the Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle, the planned replacement for the space shuttle that will become the backbone of the agency’s human spaceflight program. Lockheed Martin beat out a rival bid from Northrop Grumman and Boeing to win a contract NASA said would be potentially worth $8.15 billion. See http://www.space.com/news/060831_nasa_cev_contract.html.
g Learning - Here’s the ultimate Web site for an introduction to astrobiology. “Astrobiology: The Living Universe” is a comprehensive and educational guide to life on Earth and beyond. This site features sections on the chemical origin of life, evolution, planetary biology, the search for extraterrestrial life, supporting humans in space and exobiology. See http://library.thinkquest.org/C003763/index.php?page=index.
g Imagining - Here’s a neat book you should pick up: “The Science of Aliens” by Clifford A. Pickover. See http://ibs.howstuffworks.com/
ibs/orl/framed.htmparent=http://ibs.howstuffworks.com/ibs/orl/
alien-physiology5.htm&url=http://service.bfast.com/bfast/click?bfmid=2181&sourceid=38726079&bfpid=0465073158&bfmtype=book for some reviews.
g Aftermath - Book alert: You may have to really scour used book stores for this one: 1976’s “ETI: The First Encounter” considers the consequences to man's view of himself and his world of the first proven contact — when it comes — with beings from another planet. Edited by James L. Christian, this book led the way in reflecting on the next stage in man's gradual self-discovery. For the table of contents and ISBN, see http://www.skeptic.de/b/0074.php4.
Friday, September 01, 2006
Universe’s earliest galaxies, protein communication code and Voyagers’ golden record
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 discovered large disc galaxies akin to our Milky Way that must have formed on a rapid time scale, only 3 billion years after the Big Bang. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/08/060819112631.htm.
g Abodes - Ancient sediments that once resided on a lake bed and the ocean floor show sulfur isotope ratios unlike those found in other samples from the same time, calling into question accepted ideas about when the Earth's atmosphere began to contain oxygen, according to researchers from the U.S., Canada and Japan. See http://www.astrobio.net/news/modules.phpop=modload&name=News&
file=article&sid=2062mode=thread&order=0&thold=0.
g Life - A biologist is attempting to crack the communication code of proteins, especially the ones whose "talking" aids and abets disease. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/08/060821215840.htm.
g Intelligence - Skeletal remains said to be that of a new "hobbit" species in 2004 do not represent a new species as then claimed, but some of the ancestors of modern human pygmies who live on the island today, according to an international scientific team. See http://www.livescience.com/othernews/060821_hobbit_not.html.
g Message - When the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft were launched in 1977, they each included a gold-plated phonograph record (a "golden record") of natural sounds, greetings in human voices, and a variety of music. The record cover has symbolic instructions that show how to use and understand the record, though scientists still debate whether other civilizations will be able to decipher them. For info on Voyager’s golden record, see http://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/spacecraft/goldenrec.html. For an explanation of the record cover diagram, see http://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/spacecraft/goldenrec1.html. For an interactive module that contains greetings, sounds, and pictures included on the record (requires Flash plug-in), see http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/flash/voyager_record/index_voyager.html.
g Cosmicus - Bigelow Aerospace is preparing for a "major course change" after a wildly successful first month in orbit for the maiden test flight of their prototype inflatable space module, the company's founder said. See http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n0608/25bigelow/.
g Learning - Here’s a neat set of lessons about “Life in the Universe” that teaches kids some basic astronomical facts and mathematical skills along the way: http://www.nssc.co.uk/education/
supportmaterials/PreVisitDocs/KS4and5/Life%20in%20Universe.doc.
g Imagining - Looking for some classic science fiction alien movies? There’s a fairly exhaustive list, with brief explanations of each, at http://www.filmsite.org/sci-fifilms2.html. Now in how each one the aliens really are just mythical monsters that play on human psychology (specifically fear or revulsion). Such films really say less about the evolution of potential extraterrestrial lifeforms and civilizations than about the evolution of human beings and our culture. In fact, here’s an essay that examines a specific detail of that notion: “An Exploration of the Relationship Between Science Fiction Film and the UFO Mythology,” at http://www.hedweb.com/markp/ufofilm.htm.
g Aftermath - Here’s an intriguing paper published just last month and translated from German for Astrosociology.com: “Futurological Reflections on the Confrontation of Mankind with an Extraterrestrial Civilization.” See http://www.astrosociology.com/Library/PDF/
Contributions/SETIandConsequences_ENG.pdf.
g Stars - Astronomers have discovered large disc galaxies akin to our Milky Way that must have formed on a rapid time scale, only 3 billion years after the Big Bang. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/08/060819112631.htm.
g Abodes - Ancient sediments that once resided on a lake bed and the ocean floor show sulfur isotope ratios unlike those found in other samples from the same time, calling into question accepted ideas about when the Earth's atmosphere began to contain oxygen, according to researchers from the U.S., Canada and Japan. See http://www.astrobio.net/news/modules.phpop=modload&name=News&
file=article&sid=2062mode=thread&order=0&thold=0.
g Life - A biologist is attempting to crack the communication code of proteins, especially the ones whose "talking" aids and abets disease. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/08/060821215840.htm.
g Intelligence - Skeletal remains said to be that of a new "hobbit" species in 2004 do not represent a new species as then claimed, but some of the ancestors of modern human pygmies who live on the island today, according to an international scientific team. See http://www.livescience.com/othernews/060821_hobbit_not.html.
g Message - When the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft were launched in 1977, they each included a gold-plated phonograph record (a "golden record") of natural sounds, greetings in human voices, and a variety of music. The record cover has symbolic instructions that show how to use and understand the record, though scientists still debate whether other civilizations will be able to decipher them. For info on Voyager’s golden record, see http://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/spacecraft/goldenrec.html. For an explanation of the record cover diagram, see http://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/spacecraft/goldenrec1.html. For an interactive module that contains greetings, sounds, and pictures included on the record (requires Flash plug-in), see http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/flash/voyager_record/index_voyager.html.
g Cosmicus - Bigelow Aerospace is preparing for a "major course change" after a wildly successful first month in orbit for the maiden test flight of their prototype inflatable space module, the company's founder said. See http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n0608/25bigelow/.
g Learning - Here’s a neat set of lessons about “Life in the Universe” that teaches kids some basic astronomical facts and mathematical skills along the way: http://www.nssc.co.uk/education/
supportmaterials/PreVisitDocs/KS4and5/Life%20in%20Universe.doc.
g Imagining - Looking for some classic science fiction alien movies? There’s a fairly exhaustive list, with brief explanations of each, at http://www.filmsite.org/sci-fifilms2.html. Now in how each one the aliens really are just mythical monsters that play on human psychology (specifically fear or revulsion). Such films really say less about the evolution of potential extraterrestrial lifeforms and civilizations than about the evolution of human beings and our culture. In fact, here’s an essay that examines a specific detail of that notion: “An Exploration of the Relationship Between Science Fiction Film and the UFO Mythology,” at http://www.hedweb.com/markp/ufofilm.htm.
g Aftermath - Here’s an intriguing paper published just last month and translated from German for Astrosociology.com: “Futurological Reflections on the Confrontation of Mankind with an Extraterrestrial Civilization.” See http://www.astrosociology.com/Library/PDF/
Contributions/SETIandConsequences_ENG.pdf.
Thursday, August 31, 2006
Proof of dark matter, Earth spinning on its side and why E.T. can’t phone home
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 - New observations of a great big cosmic collision provide the best evidence yet that invisible and mysterious dark matter really does exist. See http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/060821_dark_matter.html.
g Abodes - Earth might have spun on its side to keep its balance in the distant past, and could do so again, scientists report. See http://www.livescience.com/forcesofnature/060825_earth_tilt.html.
g Life - Researchers have learned that the removal of just one important species in a freshwater ecosystem can seriously disrupt how that environment functions. This finding contradicts earlier notions that other species can jump in and compensate for the loss. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/08/060818175119.htm.
g Intelligence - Scientists have discovered a gene that has undergone accelerated evolutionary change in humans and is active during a critical stage in brain development. Although researchers have yet to determine the precise function of the gene, the evidence suggests that it may play a role in the development of the cerebral cortex and may even help explain the dramatic expansion of this part of the brain during human evolution. See http://www.astrobio.net/
news/modules.phpop=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=2059
mode=thread&order=0&thold=0.
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 - A U.S.-Canadian venture to develop suborbital and orbital rocket ships has found a new launch site along the Atlantic coastline of Nova Scotia. See http://www.space.com/news/060821_planetspace_capebreton.html.
g Learning - Here’s a neat lesson plan, “E.T. Can’t Phone Home,” that teaches some basic principles of astronomy: http://www.scpub.org/filelibrary/pdf/etact.pdf.
g Imagining - For a fascinating speculation about how one’s environment (in this case, astronomical surroundings) affects a race’s psychological evolution, be sure to read the classic short story “Nightfall” by Isaac Asimov. Most science fiction fans consider it among the best — if not the best — science fiction story ever written. In this story, where the aliens’ planet is in a six-star system, the world’s inhabitants believe that life “is fundamentally dependent upon light.” You can find the story in “the Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Vol. One.”
g Aftermath - Clearly, if we are not alone in the universe, there are some unavoidable theological and philosophical consequences. We feel that the problem of extraterrestrial life is one of the most important questions raised in science to the present. We should reflect on the consequences of a positive result of either finding extraterrestrial microorganisms, or receiving a radio message form an extraterrestrial source: When such discovery occurs, the implications are likely to have an impact on our culture requiring adjustments possibly more radical than those arising form the evidence that humans descend from microorganisms. See http://www.ictp.trieste.it/~chelaf/searching_for_ascent.html. Note: This paper is from 1999.
g Stars - New observations of a great big cosmic collision provide the best evidence yet that invisible and mysterious dark matter really does exist. See http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/060821_dark_matter.html.
g Abodes - Earth might have spun on its side to keep its balance in the distant past, and could do so again, scientists report. See http://www.livescience.com/forcesofnature/060825_earth_tilt.html.
g Life - Researchers have learned that the removal of just one important species in a freshwater ecosystem can seriously disrupt how that environment functions. This finding contradicts earlier notions that other species can jump in and compensate for the loss. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/08/060818175119.htm.
g Intelligence - Scientists have discovered a gene that has undergone accelerated evolutionary change in humans and is active during a critical stage in brain development. Although researchers have yet to determine the precise function of the gene, the evidence suggests that it may play a role in the development of the cerebral cortex and may even help explain the dramatic expansion of this part of the brain during human evolution. See http://www.astrobio.net/
news/modules.phpop=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=2059
mode=thread&order=0&thold=0.
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 - A U.S.-Canadian venture to develop suborbital and orbital rocket ships has found a new launch site along the Atlantic coastline of Nova Scotia. See http://www.space.com/news/060821_planetspace_capebreton.html.
g Learning - Here’s a neat lesson plan, “E.T. Can’t Phone Home,” that teaches some basic principles of astronomy: http://www.scpub.org/filelibrary/pdf/etact.pdf.
g Imagining - For a fascinating speculation about how one’s environment (in this case, astronomical surroundings) affects a race’s psychological evolution, be sure to read the classic short story “Nightfall” by Isaac Asimov. Most science fiction fans consider it among the best — if not the best — science fiction story ever written. In this story, where the aliens’ planet is in a six-star system, the world’s inhabitants believe that life “is fundamentally dependent upon light.” You can find the story in “the Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Vol. One.”
g Aftermath - Clearly, if we are not alone in the universe, there are some unavoidable theological and philosophical consequences. We feel that the problem of extraterrestrial life is one of the most important questions raised in science to the present. We should reflect on the consequences of a positive result of either finding extraterrestrial microorganisms, or receiving a radio message form an extraterrestrial source: When such discovery occurs, the implications are likely to have an impact on our culture requiring adjustments possibly more radical than those arising form the evidence that humans descend from microorganisms. See http://www.ictp.trieste.it/~chelaf/searching_for_ascent.html. Note: This paper is from 1999.
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
High clouds of Mars, new SETI strategies and Atlantis launch date
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 they turned the Hubble Space Telescope on a distant globular cluster of stars, astronomers expected to find 15 or 20 planets. They found zero. See http://www.astrobio.net/news/mod
ules.phpop=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=32. Note: This article is from 2001.
g Abodes - Mars is home to the highest clouds ever discovered above the surface of a planet, astronomers say. See http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/060828_mars_clouds.html.
g Life - Piglets are sensitive to cold and shiver to maintain their body heat. Researchers at Uppsala University have uncovered a genetic reason why these newborns are less tolerant of the cold than other newborn mammals. It turns out that the gene that codes for the protein UCP1 was inactivated some 20 million years ago in the evolutionary line to which pigs belong. These findings are presented in the peer-reviewed, open-access journal PLoS Genetics. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/08/060819111406.htm.
g Intelligence - It is hardly surprising that one of the medical programs most important exams is stressful for students. However, research now shows that this mental stress also affects the students immune defense systems, particularly amongst those suffering from allergies. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/08/060818174125.htm.
g Message - If extraterrestrials are out there, signals that would prove their existence are cascading over your body right now. Needless to say, you don’t notice. The challenge for SETI researchers is to build an instrument that will. Rising to the challenge, the SETI Institute and others are developing new search strategies and telescopes, encouraging some scientists to speculate that a signal detection will occur in the next decade or two. See http://www.space.com/searchforlife/seti_beingsure_010405.html.
g Cosmicus - If shuttle Atlantis weathers tropical storm Ernesto without any major problems, and if engineers can complete hurried preparations, NASA may be ready to make a launch attempt as early as Sept. 6, one day before the shuttle's launch window closes, officials said late Tuesday. See http://www.spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts115/060829postbrief/.
g Learning - Here’s an interesting idea for teachers: Use science fiction to teach economics. See http://www.swlearning.com/economics/mceachern/ teachingeconomist/wam10.html.
g Imagining - There are several species in the Star Trek universe that look exactly like humans. The unlikely fact that life on different planets has taken a similar, if not the same direction was sufficiently explained in The Next Generation episode "The Chase." In this key episode to the Star Trek universe, Captain Picard's crew finds evidence that four billion years ago the first human civilization explored our galaxy, and they were disappointed because they found themselves alone. To preserve their heritage, they spread encoded DNA fragments across many Class-M planets throughout the galaxy, thereby triggering a development similar to their own. Aside from the evolution schedule the DNA fragments, correctly assembled, contain a message to their descendants, namely humans, Klingons, Cardassians, Romulans and all the other humanoid races of the galaxy that are in some way related to each other. As fascinating is this theory, a couple of problems remain. See http://www.exastrisscientia.org/inconsistencies1c.htm.
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.cfmID=138. Note: This article is from 2001.
g Stars - When they turned the Hubble Space Telescope on a distant globular cluster of stars, astronomers expected to find 15 or 20 planets. They found zero. See http://www.astrobio.net/news/mod
ules.phpop=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=32. Note: This article is from 2001.
g Abodes - Mars is home to the highest clouds ever discovered above the surface of a planet, astronomers say. See http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/060828_mars_clouds.html.
g Life - Piglets are sensitive to cold and shiver to maintain their body heat. Researchers at Uppsala University have uncovered a genetic reason why these newborns are less tolerant of the cold than other newborn mammals. It turns out that the gene that codes for the protein UCP1 was inactivated some 20 million years ago in the evolutionary line to which pigs belong. These findings are presented in the peer-reviewed, open-access journal PLoS Genetics. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/08/060819111406.htm.
g Intelligence - It is hardly surprising that one of the medical programs most important exams is stressful for students. However, research now shows that this mental stress also affects the students immune defense systems, particularly amongst those suffering from allergies. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/08/060818174125.htm.
g Message - If extraterrestrials are out there, signals that would prove their existence are cascading over your body right now. Needless to say, you don’t notice. The challenge for SETI researchers is to build an instrument that will. Rising to the challenge, the SETI Institute and others are developing new search strategies and telescopes, encouraging some scientists to speculate that a signal detection will occur in the next decade or two. See http://www.space.com/searchforlife/seti_beingsure_010405.html.
g Cosmicus - If shuttle Atlantis weathers tropical storm Ernesto without any major problems, and if engineers can complete hurried preparations, NASA may be ready to make a launch attempt as early as Sept. 6, one day before the shuttle's launch window closes, officials said late Tuesday. See http://www.spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts115/060829postbrief/.
g Learning - Here’s an interesting idea for teachers: Use science fiction to teach economics. See http://www.swlearning.com/economics/mceachern/ teachingeconomist/wam10.html.
g Imagining - There are several species in the Star Trek universe that look exactly like humans. The unlikely fact that life on different planets has taken a similar, if not the same direction was sufficiently explained in The Next Generation episode "The Chase." In this key episode to the Star Trek universe, Captain Picard's crew finds evidence that four billion years ago the first human civilization explored our galaxy, and they were disappointed because they found themselves alone. To preserve their heritage, they spread encoded DNA fragments across many Class-M planets throughout the galaxy, thereby triggering a development similar to their own. Aside from the evolution schedule the DNA fragments, correctly assembled, contain a message to their descendants, namely humans, Klingons, Cardassians, Romulans and all the other humanoid races of the galaxy that are in some way related to each other. As fascinating is this theory, a couple of problems remain. See http://www.exastrisscientia.org/inconsistencies1c.htm.
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.cfmID=138. Note: This article is from 2001.
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
Primordial form of hydrogen, how Earth got its Moon and plasma-based life
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 true abundance in the Milky Way of a heavy, primordial form of hydrogen has eluded scientists for decades, but it turns out that huge quantities of it have been hidden in the dust that is scattered between stars. See http://www.space.com/scienceastron
omy/060821_mystery_monday.html.
g Abodes - The mystery of how Earth got its Moon is one step closer to being solved. The European Space Agency's lunar-orbiting craft called SMART-1 has completed the first detailed chemical mapping of the lunar surface. The detected chemicals, such as calcium and magnesium, give a boost to the longstanding theory that the Moon formed from the debris flung into space after a collision between early Earth and a Mars-size planet. See http://www.space.com/
scienceastronomy/060822_science_tuesday.html.
g Life - As a leopard kitten matures into a prowling adult, its baby spots morph into more commanding rosette markings. Now scientists think they have uncovered the mechanism behind the transformation. See http://www.livescience.com/animalworld/060808_leopard_spots.html.
g Intelligence - Researchers report they have mapped the activity of whole ensembles of neurons in multiple feeding-related brain areas across a full cycle of hunger-satiety-hunger. Their findings, open the way to understanding how these ensembles of neurons integrate to form a sort of distributed "code" that governs the motivation that drives organisms to satisfy their hunger. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/08/060819112326.htm.
g Message - How scientifically accurate was the ultimate astrobiology film, “Contact”? See http://www.coseti.org/klaescnt.htm.
g Cosmicus - NASA announced Friday that it has picked El Segundo, Calif.-based Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) and Rocketplane Kistler of Oklahoma City to share $500 million the U.S. space agency intends to spend through 2010 to stimulate the development of new commercial delivery services for the International Space Station. See http://www.space.com/news/060818_nasa_cots_wrap.html.
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 - You’ve heard of carbon-based and silicon-based lifeforms in science fiction. But what about plasma-based life? Is it plausible? See http://www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia/P/plasma-based_life.html.
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.
g Stars - The true abundance in the Milky Way of a heavy, primordial form of hydrogen has eluded scientists for decades, but it turns out that huge quantities of it have been hidden in the dust that is scattered between stars. See http://www.space.com/scienceastron
omy/060821_mystery_monday.html.
g Abodes - The mystery of how Earth got its Moon is one step closer to being solved. The European Space Agency's lunar-orbiting craft called SMART-1 has completed the first detailed chemical mapping of the lunar surface. The detected chemicals, such as calcium and magnesium, give a boost to the longstanding theory that the Moon formed from the debris flung into space after a collision between early Earth and a Mars-size planet. See http://www.space.com/
scienceastronomy/060822_science_tuesday.html.
g Life - As a leopard kitten matures into a prowling adult, its baby spots morph into more commanding rosette markings. Now scientists think they have uncovered the mechanism behind the transformation. See http://www.livescience.com/animalworld/060808_leopard_spots.html.
g Intelligence - Researchers report they have mapped the activity of whole ensembles of neurons in multiple feeding-related brain areas across a full cycle of hunger-satiety-hunger. Their findings, open the way to understanding how these ensembles of neurons integrate to form a sort of distributed "code" that governs the motivation that drives organisms to satisfy their hunger. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/08/060819112326.htm.
g Message - How scientifically accurate was the ultimate astrobiology film, “Contact”? See http://www.coseti.org/klaescnt.htm.
g Cosmicus - NASA announced Friday that it has picked El Segundo, Calif.-based Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) and Rocketplane Kistler of Oklahoma City to share $500 million the U.S. space agency intends to spend through 2010 to stimulate the development of new commercial delivery services for the International Space Station. See http://www.space.com/news/060818_nasa_cots_wrap.html.
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 - You’ve heard of carbon-based and silicon-based lifeforms in science fiction. But what about plasma-based life? Is it plausible? See http://www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia/P/plasma-based_life.html.
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.
Monday, August 28, 2006
What If everybody is listening and nobody is transmitting, NASA’s future and comprehending an alien signal
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 Intelligence - Researchers have discovered that proteins that regulate brain-cell activity by controlling the flow of potassium ions behave more like volume controls on stereos rather than on/off power switches. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/08/060818175259.htm.
g Message - Whenever the director of SETI research presents a public lecture, she can almost guarantee that “What If everybody is listening and nobody is transmitting?” will be one of the questions the audience asks. See article.
g Cosmicus - In an exclusive interview, NASA Administrator Mike Griffin, spoke to SPACE.com prior to his kickoff speech at the 20th Annual Conference on Small Satellites being held at Utah State University. Griffin addressed a range of space topics, including entrepreneurial space groups, the CEV, and the vulnerability of the space shuttle fleet. See http://www.space.com/news/060818_griffin_interview.html.
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 - Like stories about alien biologies/environments? Be sure to scour your favorite used bookstores for Clifford Simak’s ”Way Station” (1963), which examines many different kinds of potential aliens.
g Aftermath - What are the challenges to comprehension in initiating and maintaining strategic dialogue in highly uncertain situations — such as with extraterrestrials? See http://www.laetusinpraesens.org/docs/alien3.php.
Get your SF book manuscript edited
g Intelligence - Researchers have discovered that proteins that regulate brain-cell activity by controlling the flow of potassium ions behave more like volume controls on stereos rather than on/off power switches. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/08/060818175259.htm.
g Message - Whenever the director of SETI research presents a public lecture, she can almost guarantee that “What If everybody is listening and nobody is transmitting?” will be one of the questions the audience asks. See article.
g Cosmicus - In an exclusive interview, NASA Administrator Mike Griffin, spoke to SPACE.com prior to his kickoff speech at the 20th Annual Conference on Small Satellites being held at Utah State University. Griffin addressed a range of space topics, including entrepreneurial space groups, the CEV, and the vulnerability of the space shuttle fleet. See http://www.space.com/news/060818_griffin_interview.html.
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 - Like stories about alien biologies/environments? Be sure to scour your favorite used bookstores for Clifford Simak’s ”Way Station” (1963), which examines many different kinds of potential aliens.
g Aftermath - What are the challenges to comprehension in initiating and maintaining strategic dialogue in highly uncertain situations — such as with extraterrestrials? See http://www.laetusinpraesens.org/docs/alien3.php.
Get your SF book manuscript edited
Sunday, August 27, 2006
Rising cyberviolence, ‘Life on other Worlds’ and human interaction with ETI
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 Intelligence - Cyberviolence, a form of vigilante "justice" in which a large group of Internet users post attacks against an individual, are increasing in South Korea. Science fiction writers anticipated the idea of cyberviolence a generation ago. In his classic 1975 novel Shockwave Rider, John Brunner wrote about a solution to cyberviolence. One way to do it was to create and set loose a tapeworm that would track down cyberviolent attacks. See http://
www.livescience.com/scienceoffiction/060818_cyberviolence.
html.
g Message - Estimating the frequency for communicating with an extrasolar civilization is a multi-dimensional challenge. The answer, according to two scientists at the Hungarian Astronomical Association, is less like an equation and more like a matrix. See http://seti.astrobio.net/news/modules.phpop=modload&name=News
&file=article&sid=155mode=thread&order=0&
thold=0. Note: This article is from September 2003.
g Cosmicus - For the past three years a Sandia research team headed by Mat Celina has been investigating the performance of various piezoelectric polymer films that might one day serve as ultra-light mirrors in space telescopes. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/08/060809082621.htm.
g Learning - Here’s a neat teacher info source, courtesy of PBS: “Life on other Worlds: Our Solar System and Beyond.” See http://
www.pbs.org/teachersource/scienceline/archives/april00/feature.
shtm.
g Imagining - Like stories about alien biologies/environments? Be sure to scour your favorite used bookstores for Robert L. Dragon's “Egg” (1980), which describes life on a neutron star.
g Aftermath - As we begin the new millennium, large elements of both the scientific and lay communities are sensitive to the possibility of intelligent life elsewhere. Whereas it is sensible to be cautious as to when unmistakable evidence of ETI will be acquired, some searchers expect this discovery to occur in the near future. From the perspective of our descendants 1,000 years hence, initial contact will be part of history and their attention will be directed somewhere else. At that time, any difficulties or dislocations that occurred during first contact will be long past. Interacting with other civilizations will be no more unusual than interacting with human colonies that will be sprinkled throughout our solar system. One thousand years from now people will be quite different than they are today. Human interaction with ETI could account for only some of these differences. See http://66.102.7.104/searchq=cache:
WWP5W8vC1zYJ:www.bigelowaerospace.com/fffgalacticclub.
doc+consequences+of+contacting+%22extraterrestrial+intelli
gence%22&hl=en&start=5.
g Intelligence - Cyberviolence, a form of vigilante "justice" in which a large group of Internet users post attacks against an individual, are increasing in South Korea. Science fiction writers anticipated the idea of cyberviolence a generation ago. In his classic 1975 novel Shockwave Rider, John Brunner wrote about a solution to cyberviolence. One way to do it was to create and set loose a tapeworm that would track down cyberviolent attacks. See http://
www.livescience.com/scienceoffiction/060818_cyberviolence.
html.
g Message - Estimating the frequency for communicating with an extrasolar civilization is a multi-dimensional challenge. The answer, according to two scientists at the Hungarian Astronomical Association, is less like an equation and more like a matrix. See http://seti.astrobio.net/news/modules.phpop=modload&name=News
&file=article&sid=155mode=thread&order=0&
thold=0. Note: This article is from September 2003.
g Cosmicus - For the past three years a Sandia research team headed by Mat Celina has been investigating the performance of various piezoelectric polymer films that might one day serve as ultra-light mirrors in space telescopes. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/08/060809082621.htm.
g Learning - Here’s a neat teacher info source, courtesy of PBS: “Life on other Worlds: Our Solar System and Beyond.” See http://
www.pbs.org/teachersource/scienceline/archives/april00/feature.
shtm.
g Imagining - Like stories about alien biologies/environments? Be sure to scour your favorite used bookstores for Robert L. Dragon's “Egg” (1980), which describes life on a neutron star.
g Aftermath - As we begin the new millennium, large elements of both the scientific and lay communities are sensitive to the possibility of intelligent life elsewhere. Whereas it is sensible to be cautious as to when unmistakable evidence of ETI will be acquired, some searchers expect this discovery to occur in the near future. From the perspective of our descendants 1,000 years hence, initial contact will be part of history and their attention will be directed somewhere else. At that time, any difficulties or dislocations that occurred during first contact will be long past. Interacting with other civilizations will be no more unusual than interacting with human colonies that will be sprinkled throughout our solar system. One thousand years from now people will be quite different than they are today. Human interaction with ETI could account for only some of these differences. See http://66.102.7.104/searchq=cache:
WWP5W8vC1zYJ:www.bigelowaerospace.com/fffgalacticclub.
doc+consequences+of+contacting+%22extraterrestrial+intelli
gence%22&hl=en&start=5.
Saturday, August 26, 2006
Television painkiller, SpaceX’s return-to-flight and physics of an advanced, extraterrestrial civilization
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 Intelligence - TV really does act like a painkiller when it comes to kids, reveals a small study published ahead of print in the Archives of Disease in Childhood. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/08/060817102310.htm.
g Message - You don’t have to leave Earth to find intelligent life on other worlds. All you have to do is tune in ... at the right time ... on the right frequency ... in the right direction ... with the right spectrometer ... using the most powerful supercomputer on this planet. See http://www.xilinx.com/publications/xcellonline/
xcell_48/xc_seti48.htm. Note: this article is from 2004.
g Cosmicus - Unshaken by a launch failure of its Falcon 1, Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) is pressing forward on a return-to-flight of its privately-built booster. See http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/060817_spacex_musk.html.
g Learning - Here’s a cool set of classroom lessons courtesy of NASA: Astroventure, in which students search for and design a habitable planet. See http://astroventure.arc.nasa.gov/.
g Imagining - Like stories about communicating with aliens? Be sure to scour your favorite used bookstores for Michael Bishop’s "Transfigurations" (1979), in which ET converses by changing colors.
g Aftermath - Often the advanced science and technology of alien civilizations is touted as a benefit of contact with alien civilizations. So what type of physics would an advanced, extraterrestrial civilization likely possess? See what theoretical physicist Michio Kaku thinks that civilization might have at http://www.mkaku.org/articles/physics_of_alien_civs.shtml.
g Intelligence - TV really does act like a painkiller when it comes to kids, reveals a small study published ahead of print in the Archives of Disease in Childhood. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/08/060817102310.htm.
g Message - You don’t have to leave Earth to find intelligent life on other worlds. All you have to do is tune in ... at the right time ... on the right frequency ... in the right direction ... with the right spectrometer ... using the most powerful supercomputer on this planet. See http://www.xilinx.com/publications/xcellonline/
xcell_48/xc_seti48.htm. Note: this article is from 2004.
g Cosmicus - Unshaken by a launch failure of its Falcon 1, Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) is pressing forward on a return-to-flight of its privately-built booster. See http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/060817_spacex_musk.html.
g Learning - Here’s a cool set of classroom lessons courtesy of NASA: Astroventure, in which students search for and design a habitable planet. See http://astroventure.arc.nasa.gov/.
g Imagining - Like stories about communicating with aliens? Be sure to scour your favorite used bookstores for Michael Bishop’s "Transfigurations" (1979), in which ET converses by changing colors.
g Aftermath - Often the advanced science and technology of alien civilizations is touted as a benefit of contact with alien civilizations. So what type of physics would an advanced, extraterrestrial civilization likely possess? See what theoretical physicist Michio Kaku thinks that civilization might have at http://www.mkaku.org/articles/physics_of_alien_civs.shtml.
Friday, August 25, 2006
NASA’s transition, introduction to astrobiology and predicting reactions to evidence of an otherworldly intelligence
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 Intelligence - A protein once thought to play a role only in the immune system could hold a clue to one of the great puzzles of neuroscience: how do the highly malleable and plastic brains of youth settle down into a relatively stable adult set of neuronal connections? Harvard Medical School researchers report in the Aug. 17 Science Express that adult mice lacking the immune system protein paired-immunoglobulin like receptor-B had brains that retained the plasticity of much younger brains, suggesting that PirB inhibits such plasticity.
See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/08/060818012553.htm.
g Message - Since the invention of the radio, humans have been broadcasting signals into outer space. Other civilizations in our galaxy might be doing the same. They might even be deliberately sending out signals to find other civilizations. Someone out there may even be beaming a signal directly at the Earth. See http://curious.astro.cornell.edu/seti.php.
g Cosmicus - NASA Administrator Mike Griffin is known for being a straight shooter willing to make tough decisions. Brought on board by the Bush administration to implement a new initiative to return to the moon by the end of the next decade, Griffin is overseeing a difficult transition as NASA works to complete the international space station by 2010, phase out the space shuttle and develop a new manned spacecraft that will be safer and cheaper to operate. See http://www.spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts115/060815griffin/.
g Learning - Here’s a neat Web site in which Monica Grady, head of petrology and meteoritics in the department of mineralogy at the Natural History Museum, presents a comprehensive introduction to astrobiology: http://www.fathom.com/course/10701047/index.html/.
g Imagining - Like first contact stories? Then be sure to read Robert Silverberg’s novel “Collision Course,” published by Avalon in 1961.
g Aftermath - How to predict reactions to receipt of evidence for an otherworldly intelligence? Some scientists argue that any unpredictable outcomes can only be judged against our own history. See http://seti.astrobio.net/news/article118.html.
g Intelligence - A protein once thought to play a role only in the immune system could hold a clue to one of the great puzzles of neuroscience: how do the highly malleable and plastic brains of youth settle down into a relatively stable adult set of neuronal connections? Harvard Medical School researchers report in the Aug. 17 Science Express that adult mice lacking the immune system protein paired-immunoglobulin like receptor-B had brains that retained the plasticity of much younger brains, suggesting that PirB inhibits such plasticity.
See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/08/060818012553.htm.
g Message - Since the invention of the radio, humans have been broadcasting signals into outer space. Other civilizations in our galaxy might be doing the same. They might even be deliberately sending out signals to find other civilizations. Someone out there may even be beaming a signal directly at the Earth. See http://curious.astro.cornell.edu/seti.php.
g Cosmicus - NASA Administrator Mike Griffin is known for being a straight shooter willing to make tough decisions. Brought on board by the Bush administration to implement a new initiative to return to the moon by the end of the next decade, Griffin is overseeing a difficult transition as NASA works to complete the international space station by 2010, phase out the space shuttle and develop a new manned spacecraft that will be safer and cheaper to operate. See http://www.spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts115/060815griffin/.
g Learning - Here’s a neat Web site in which Monica Grady, head of petrology and meteoritics in the department of mineralogy at the Natural History Museum, presents a comprehensive introduction to astrobiology: http://www.fathom.com/course/10701047/index.html/.
g Imagining - Like first contact stories? Then be sure to read Robert Silverberg’s novel “Collision Course,” published by Avalon in 1961.
g Aftermath - How to predict reactions to receipt of evidence for an otherworldly intelligence? Some scientists argue that any unpredictable outcomes can only be judged against our own history. See http://seti.astrobio.net/news/article118.html.
Thursday, August 24, 2006
Creatures that oxidize ammonia, expedition to Mars via the Arctic and social and political issues of first contact
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 genetic analysis of soil samples indicates that a group of microorganisms called crenarchaeota are the Earth's most abundant land-based creatures that oxidize ammonia, according to an international team of researchers. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/08/060817103131.htm.
g Intelligence - Studying complex systems, such as the movement of robots on a factory floor, the motion of air over a wing, or the effectiveness of a security network, can present huge challenges. Mathematician Robert Ghrist at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is developing advanced mathematical tools to simplify such tasks. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/08/060816004930.htm.
g Message - Since the beginning of astronomical observation, science has been viewing light on a curve. In a galaxy filled with thousands of eclipsing binary stars, we've refined our skills by measuring the brightness or intensity of so-called variable star as a function of time. The result is known as a "light curve." Through this type of study, we've discovered size, distance and orbital speed of stellar bodies and refined our ability to detect planetary bodies orbiting distant suns. Here on Earth, most of the time it's impossible for us to resolve such small objects even with the most powerful of telescopes, because their size is less than one pixel in the detector. But new research should let us determine the shape of an object... like a ringed planet, or an orbiting alien space station. See article.
g Cosmicus - High in the Arctic, just below Earth's north polar ice cap, a collaboration of nearly two dozen biologists, geologists and engineers have embarked on an expedition to Mars. See http://
www.astrobio.net/news/modules.phpop=modload&name=News
&file=article&sid=2052mode=thread&order=0&thold=0.
g Learning - How are key concepts of astrobiology treated in science fiction? See http://www.ibiblio.org/astrobiology/index.php?page=lesson05. Note: This article is from 2001 and intended to be used as part of a classroom lesson.
g Imagining - Could the Pak of Larry Niven's "Ringworld" universe possibly evolve? They've got a homepage to discuss that and other questions about the intriguing fiction alien race. See http://www1.tip.nl/~t619162/pak.htm.
g Aftermath - For some provocative reading, pick up "Sharing the Universe," by Seth Shostak, at your local bookstore. SETI scientist Shostak almost single-handedly is outlining social and political issues that will arise once we make contact with extraterrestrials. See reviews.
g Life - A genetic analysis of soil samples indicates that a group of microorganisms called crenarchaeota are the Earth's most abundant land-based creatures that oxidize ammonia, according to an international team of researchers. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/08/060817103131.htm.
g Intelligence - Studying complex systems, such as the movement of robots on a factory floor, the motion of air over a wing, or the effectiveness of a security network, can present huge challenges. Mathematician Robert Ghrist at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is developing advanced mathematical tools to simplify such tasks. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/08/060816004930.htm.
g Message - Since the beginning of astronomical observation, science has been viewing light on a curve. In a galaxy filled with thousands of eclipsing binary stars, we've refined our skills by measuring the brightness or intensity of so-called variable star as a function of time. The result is known as a "light curve." Through this type of study, we've discovered size, distance and orbital speed of stellar bodies and refined our ability to detect planetary bodies orbiting distant suns. Here on Earth, most of the time it's impossible for us to resolve such small objects even with the most powerful of telescopes, because their size is less than one pixel in the detector. But new research should let us determine the shape of an object... like a ringed planet, or an orbiting alien space station. See article.
g Cosmicus - High in the Arctic, just below Earth's north polar ice cap, a collaboration of nearly two dozen biologists, geologists and engineers have embarked on an expedition to Mars. See http://
www.astrobio.net/news/modules.phpop=modload&name=News
&file=article&sid=2052mode=thread&order=0&thold=0.
g Learning - How are key concepts of astrobiology treated in science fiction? See http://www.ibiblio.org/astrobiology/index.php?page=lesson05. Note: This article is from 2001 and intended to be used as part of a classroom lesson.
g Imagining - Could the Pak of Larry Niven's "Ringworld" universe possibly evolve? They've got a homepage to discuss that and other questions about the intriguing fiction alien race. See http://www1.tip.nl/~t619162/pak.htm.
g Aftermath - For some provocative reading, pick up "Sharing the Universe," by Seth Shostak, at your local bookstore. SETI scientist Shostak almost single-handedly is outlining social and political issues that will arise once we make contact with extraterrestrials. See reviews.
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
Calcium on lunar surface, smallsats and ‘Are We Alone?”
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 - A heavy form of hydrogen created just moments after the Big Bang has been found to exist in larger quantities than expected in the Milky Way, a finding that could radically alter theories about star and galaxy formation, says a new international study led by the University of Colorado at Boulder. See http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n0608/14fusehydrogen/.
g Abodes - The D-CIXS instrument on ESA's Moon mission SMART-1 has produced the first detection from orbit of calcium on the lunar surface. By doing this, the instrument has taken a step towards answering the old question: did the Moon form from part of the Earth? See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/08/0608
19110802.htm.
g Life - Descendants of extinct mammals like the giant woolly mammoth might one day walk the Earth again. It isn't exactly Jurassic Park, but Japanese researchers are looking at the possibility of using sperm from frozen animals to inseminate living relatives. So far they've succeeded with mice—some frozen as long as 15 years—and lead researcher Atsuo Ogura says he would like to try experiments in larger animals. See http://www.livescience.com/animal
world/ap_060814_woolly_mammoth.html.
g Intelligence - Research on spineless creatures is unveiling the mechanics of how the brain regulates behavior. See http://www.
sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/08/060816020648.htm.
g Message - The search for extraterrestrial intelligence could be taking the wrong approach. Instead of listening for alien radio broadcasts, a better strategy may be to look for giant structures placed in orbit around nearby stars by alien civilizations. See http://www.newscientist.com/channel/space/mg18624944.800.
g Cosmicus - The building and exploitation of small satellites makes possible a diverse set of missions to satisfy academic, scientific, military and commercial needs. However, the U.S. community that develops small satellites — or smallsats — faces a perennial shortcoming of reliable, low-cost launchers — a long-term situation that stymies smallsat evolution and wider adoption of the technology. See http://www.space.com/includes/iab.htmlurl=/spacenews/
businessmonday_060814.html.
g Learning - Researchers have found that using multi-sensory training programs, a research technique that engages more than one of the senses, helps adults improve their performance of low-level perceptual tasks - such as visually detecting the motion of an object - significantly faster than methods that use only one stimulus. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/08/060816012250.htm.
g Imagining - Like first contact stories? Then be sure to read Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle’s “The Mote In God's Eye,” published by Simon & Shuster in 1974.
g Aftermath - Book alert: The authentic discovery of extraterrestrial life would usher in a scientific revolution on par with Copernicus or Darwin, writes Paul Davies in “Are We Alone?: Philosophical Implications of the Discovery of Extraterrestrial Life.” Just as these ideas sparked religious and philosophical controversy when they were first offered, so would proof of life arising away from Earth. With this brief book (160 pages, including two appendices and an index), Davies tries to get ahead of the curve and begin to sort out the metaphysical mess before it happens. Many science fiction writers have preceded him, of course, but here the matter is plainly put. This is a very good introduction to a compelling subject. See http://
www.amazon.com/gp/product/0465004180/ref=sid_dp_dp/103-7507272-1771804?%5Fencoding=UTF8&v=glance&n=283155.
g Stars - A heavy form of hydrogen created just moments after the Big Bang has been found to exist in larger quantities than expected in the Milky Way, a finding that could radically alter theories about star and galaxy formation, says a new international study led by the University of Colorado at Boulder. See http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n0608/14fusehydrogen/.
g Abodes - The D-CIXS instrument on ESA's Moon mission SMART-1 has produced the first detection from orbit of calcium on the lunar surface. By doing this, the instrument has taken a step towards answering the old question: did the Moon form from part of the Earth? See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/08/0608
19110802.htm.
g Life - Descendants of extinct mammals like the giant woolly mammoth might one day walk the Earth again. It isn't exactly Jurassic Park, but Japanese researchers are looking at the possibility of using sperm from frozen animals to inseminate living relatives. So far they've succeeded with mice—some frozen as long as 15 years—and lead researcher Atsuo Ogura says he would like to try experiments in larger animals. See http://www.livescience.com/animal
world/ap_060814_woolly_mammoth.html.
g Intelligence - Research on spineless creatures is unveiling the mechanics of how the brain regulates behavior. See http://www.
sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/08/060816020648.htm.
g Message - The search for extraterrestrial intelligence could be taking the wrong approach. Instead of listening for alien radio broadcasts, a better strategy may be to look for giant structures placed in orbit around nearby stars by alien civilizations. See http://www.newscientist.com/channel/space/mg18624944.800.
g Cosmicus - The building and exploitation of small satellites makes possible a diverse set of missions to satisfy academic, scientific, military and commercial needs. However, the U.S. community that develops small satellites — or smallsats — faces a perennial shortcoming of reliable, low-cost launchers — a long-term situation that stymies smallsat evolution and wider adoption of the technology. See http://www.space.com/includes/iab.htmlurl=/spacenews/
businessmonday_060814.html.
g Learning - Researchers have found that using multi-sensory training programs, a research technique that engages more than one of the senses, helps adults improve their performance of low-level perceptual tasks - such as visually detecting the motion of an object - significantly faster than methods that use only one stimulus. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/08/060816012250.htm.
g Imagining - Like first contact stories? Then be sure to read Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle’s “The Mote In God's Eye,” published by Simon & Shuster in 1974.
g Aftermath - Book alert: The authentic discovery of extraterrestrial life would usher in a scientific revolution on par with Copernicus or Darwin, writes Paul Davies in “Are We Alone?: Philosophical Implications of the Discovery of Extraterrestrial Life.” Just as these ideas sparked religious and philosophical controversy when they were first offered, so would proof of life arising away from Earth. With this brief book (160 pages, including two appendices and an index), Davies tries to get ahead of the curve and begin to sort out the metaphysical mess before it happens. Many science fiction writers have preceded him, of course, but here the matter is plainly put. This is a very good introduction to a compelling subject. See http://
www.amazon.com/gp/product/0465004180/ref=sid_dp_dp/103-7507272-1771804?%5Fencoding=UTF8&v=glance&n=283155.
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
Slime mold survival techniques, accelerated evolution of human DNA and responding to an extraterrestrial message
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 say the Sun has begun its next cycle of activity, part of an 11-year ebb and flow in sunspots and solar flares. See http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/060818_sun_cycle.html.
g Life - In times of plenty, the uni-cellular slime mold Dictyostelium discoideum leads a solitary life. But when slime molds starve, they collectively form a multicellular slug-like creature that locomotes en masse to a more favorable spot. Then they literally stand up, forming a tower designed to save the children. See http://www.astrobio.net/
news/modules.phpop=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=2053
mode=thread&order=0&thold=0.
g Intelligence - A detailed scan of the human genome has revealed a small snippet of DNA that has undergone accelerated evolution in humans. See http://www.livescience.com/humanbiology/060816_har1_gene.html.
g Message - SETI research isn’t limited to a single facility listening to radio signals. Another dimension of the program is The Mega-Channel Extraterrestrial Assay, which searched the Southern Hemisphere's skies briefly during the 1990s. To learn more about it, see http://www.planetary.org/html/UPDATES/seti/META2/META-story.html.
g Cosmicus - How human the up-and-coming business of space tourism will be! Early space tourists will marvel at the view, but as orbital vacations become more affordable, space tourists will include couples who want to experience space and weightlessness together. Sex in Space is the ‘killer app’ that will transform space tourism into a mega business. Making love with a view of the Earth below may be the ultimate aphrodisiac for space buffs. But, let’s think about the implications of space-based sex for a moment. See http://www.space.com/adastra/adastra_sexinspace_060804.html. For related story, see ”The First Female Space Tourist? U.S. Entrepreneur Determined to Reach Orbit” at http://www.space.com/news/060810_ansari_spaceprep.html.
g Learning - The research scientists aren’t the only ones getting excited about astrobiology. This new discipline has tremendous potential for revolutionizing science education. It is rich with exciting content to engage those who generally don’t consider themselves scientifically oriented, and also for opening the ears and minds of adults who may want a new reason to visit their local science center. See http://www.terc.edu/handsonIssues/f00/asbellclarke.html. Note: This article is from 2000.
g Imagining - Like first contact stories? Then be sure to read Arthur C. Clarke’s short story "Loophole," appearing in the April 1946 issue of Astounding.
g Aftermath - If SETI is successful in detecting an extraterrestrial civilization, it will raise the question of whether and how humanity should attempt to communicate with the other civilization. How should that decision be made? What should be the content of such a message? Who should decide? The same questions would apply to proposals that signals be sent in the absence of detection, in the hope that they might be detected by an extraterrestrial civilization. See http://www.iaanet.org/p_papers/seti.html. Note: This paper was presented in October 1995.
g Stars - Astronomers say the Sun has begun its next cycle of activity, part of an 11-year ebb and flow in sunspots and solar flares. See http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/060818_sun_cycle.html.
g Life - In times of plenty, the uni-cellular slime mold Dictyostelium discoideum leads a solitary life. But when slime molds starve, they collectively form a multicellular slug-like creature that locomotes en masse to a more favorable spot. Then they literally stand up, forming a tower designed to save the children. See http://www.astrobio.net/
news/modules.phpop=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=2053
mode=thread&order=0&thold=0.
g Intelligence - A detailed scan of the human genome has revealed a small snippet of DNA that has undergone accelerated evolution in humans. See http://www.livescience.com/humanbiology/060816_har1_gene.html.
g Message - SETI research isn’t limited to a single facility listening to radio signals. Another dimension of the program is The Mega-Channel Extraterrestrial Assay, which searched the Southern Hemisphere's skies briefly during the 1990s. To learn more about it, see http://www.planetary.org/html/UPDATES/seti/META2/META-story.html.
g Cosmicus - How human the up-and-coming business of space tourism will be! Early space tourists will marvel at the view, but as orbital vacations become more affordable, space tourists will include couples who want to experience space and weightlessness together. Sex in Space is the ‘killer app’ that will transform space tourism into a mega business. Making love with a view of the Earth below may be the ultimate aphrodisiac for space buffs. But, let’s think about the implications of space-based sex for a moment. See http://www.space.com/adastra/adastra_sexinspace_060804.html. For related story, see ”The First Female Space Tourist? U.S. Entrepreneur Determined to Reach Orbit” at http://www.space.com/news/060810_ansari_spaceprep.html.
g Learning - The research scientists aren’t the only ones getting excited about astrobiology. This new discipline has tremendous potential for revolutionizing science education. It is rich with exciting content to engage those who generally don’t consider themselves scientifically oriented, and also for opening the ears and minds of adults who may want a new reason to visit their local science center. See http://www.terc.edu/handsonIssues/f00/asbellclarke.html. Note: This article is from 2000.
g Imagining - Like first contact stories? Then be sure to read Arthur C. Clarke’s short story "Loophole," appearing in the April 1946 issue of Astounding.
g Aftermath - If SETI is successful in detecting an extraterrestrial civilization, it will raise the question of whether and how humanity should attempt to communicate with the other civilization. How should that decision be made? What should be the content of such a message? Who should decide? The same questions would apply to proposals that signals be sent in the absence of detection, in the hope that they might be detected by an extraterrestrial civilization. See http://www.iaanet.org/p_papers/seti.html. Note: This paper was presented in October 1995.
Monday, August 21, 2006
Faintest stars ever seen, online dating service for apes and what it would really mean if scientists found life beyond Earth
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 - An international team of astronomers has uncovered the faintest stars ever seen in any globular star cluster, bringing scientists closer to revealing the formation time of one of the earliest generations of stars in the Universe. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/08/060818011321.htm.
g Abodes - As the Sun peeks above the horizon at the Martian south polar icecap, powerful jets of carbon-dioxide gas erupt through the icecap's topmost layer. If you were there, you'd feel a vibration through your spacesuit boots as, all around you, roaring jets of CO2 gas threw sand and dust hundreds of feet into the thin cold air. See http://www.astrobio.net/news/modules.phpop=modload&name=News
&file=article&sid=2055mode=thread&order=0&thold=0.
g Life - The most severe low-oxygen ocean conditions ever observed on the West Coast of the United States have turned parts of the seafloor off Oregon into a carpet of dead Dungeness crabs and rotting sea worms, a new survey shows. Virtually all of the fish appear to have fled the area. See http://www.sciencedaily.com
/releases/2006/08/060812155855.htm.
g Intelligence - Single male (red hair, long arms, interests include hanging in trees and grooming) seeks female for long-distance relationship and possibility of meeting up in future to help save species. Zookeepers in the Netherlands are planning to hook up Dutch and Indonesian orangutans over the Internet and believe the link could at some stage be used as an online dating service where apes could get to know one another and keepers could work out whether they would be compatible mates. See http://www.livescience.com/
othernews/060816_ap_orangutan_dating.html.
g Message - Recent discussions within the SETI community have thoroughly explored the issue of whether people with access to radio telescopes should send powerful signals to alien civilizations without some process of prior international consultation. In particular, those exchanges have focused on the question of "Active SETI." See http://www.setileague.org/editor/actvseti.htm.
g Cosmicus - A sensor created by Utah State University engineers is up in space to protect astronauts against unwanted shocks. See http://www.space.com/businesstechnology/ap_060803_exp13_fpmu.
html.
g Learning - Here’s a neat interactive Web site for kids: “Are Humans All Alone in the Universe?” In the program, kids get to search for ET — and learn some principles of science along the way. See http://jvsc.jst.go.jp/universe/et_e/index_e.htm.
g Imagining - Like first contact stories? Then be sure to read Arthur C. Clarke’s novel “2001: A Space Odyssey,” published by NAL in 1968.
g Aftermath - Alien encounters and science fiction permeate pop culture, but what would it really mean if scientists found life beyond Earth? If even a single-celled organism on another planet was discovered, for many, this would be the last thread of evidence proving that life is simply chemistry. See http://www.aaas.org/news/releases/2003/0402doser.shtml. Note: This article is from 2003.
g Stars - An international team of astronomers has uncovered the faintest stars ever seen in any globular star cluster, bringing scientists closer to revealing the formation time of one of the earliest generations of stars in the Universe. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/08/060818011321.htm.
g Abodes - As the Sun peeks above the horizon at the Martian south polar icecap, powerful jets of carbon-dioxide gas erupt through the icecap's topmost layer. If you were there, you'd feel a vibration through your spacesuit boots as, all around you, roaring jets of CO2 gas threw sand and dust hundreds of feet into the thin cold air. See http://www.astrobio.net/news/modules.phpop=modload&name=News
&file=article&sid=2055mode=thread&order=0&thold=0.
g Life - The most severe low-oxygen ocean conditions ever observed on the West Coast of the United States have turned parts of the seafloor off Oregon into a carpet of dead Dungeness crabs and rotting sea worms, a new survey shows. Virtually all of the fish appear to have fled the area. See http://www.sciencedaily.com
/releases/2006/08/060812155855.htm.
g Intelligence - Single male (red hair, long arms, interests include hanging in trees and grooming) seeks female for long-distance relationship and possibility of meeting up in future to help save species. Zookeepers in the Netherlands are planning to hook up Dutch and Indonesian orangutans over the Internet and believe the link could at some stage be used as an online dating service where apes could get to know one another and keepers could work out whether they would be compatible mates. See http://www.livescience.com/
othernews/060816_ap_orangutan_dating.html.
g Message - Recent discussions within the SETI community have thoroughly explored the issue of whether people with access to radio telescopes should send powerful signals to alien civilizations without some process of prior international consultation. In particular, those exchanges have focused on the question of "Active SETI." See http://www.setileague.org/editor/actvseti.htm.
g Cosmicus - A sensor created by Utah State University engineers is up in space to protect astronauts against unwanted shocks. See http://www.space.com/businesstechnology/ap_060803_exp13_fpmu.
html.
g Learning - Here’s a neat interactive Web site for kids: “Are Humans All Alone in the Universe?” In the program, kids get to search for ET — and learn some principles of science along the way. See http://jvsc.jst.go.jp/universe/et_e/index_e.htm.
g Imagining - Like first contact stories? Then be sure to read Arthur C. Clarke’s novel “2001: A Space Odyssey,” published by NAL in 1968.
g Aftermath - Alien encounters and science fiction permeate pop culture, but what would it really mean if scientists found life beyond Earth? If even a single-celled organism on another planet was discovered, for many, this would be the last thread of evidence proving that life is simply chemistry. See http://www.aaas.org/news/releases/2003/0402doser.shtml. Note: This article is from 2003.
Sunday, August 20, 2006
Quintuplet stars, near-Earth space radiation and ‘Life on Earth … and Elsewhere?’
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 - For the first time, scientists have identified the cluster of quintuplet stars in the Milky Way's galactic center, next to the super massive black hole, as massive binary stars nearing the end of their life cycle, solving a mystery that had dogged astronomers for more than 15 years. See http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n0608/17quintuplets/.
g Abodes - The Alps, the iconic rugged mountains that cover parts of seven European nations, might have reached their zenith millions of years ago, some scientists believe, and now are a mere shadow of their former selves. New research offers an explanation. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/08/060815162222.htm.
g Life - In a study of sexually transmitted diseases, scientists have concluded that the length of time people stay together can determine which infectious diseases circulate in a community and therefore how diseases evolve multiple strains. See http://www.livescience.com/humanbiology/060810_illness_spread.html.
g Intelligence - As we yawn and open our eyes in the morning, the brain stem sends little puffs of nitric oxide to another part of the brain, the thalamus, which then directs it elsewhere. Like a computer booting up its operating system before running more complicated programs, the nitric oxide triggers certain functions that set the stage for more complex brain operations, according to a new study. See http://www.livescience.com/humanbiology/060817_brain_boot.html.
g Message - Here’s something neat: A site about Project Target, or the Telescope Antenna Researching Galactic Extraterrestrial Transmissions, from Hay River Radio, which boldly proclaims that such signals indeed exist! See http://space.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htmsite=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.area31.org%2Ftarget.html.
g Cosmicus - Four university teams will share $100 million to provide experiments and supporting hardware for a future NASA mission to study near-Earth space radiation. This type of radiation is hazardous to astronauts, orbiting satellites and aircraft flying high altitude polar routes. See http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n0608/01rbsp/.
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 - Like stories about alien biologies/environments? Be sure to scour your favorite used bookstores for Brian Stableford’s Daedelus Series: “The Florians” (1976), “Critical Threshold” (1977), “Wildeblood's Empire” (1977), “City of the Sun” (1978), “Balance of Power” (1979) and “Paradox of the Sets” (1979). In the series, the Starship Daedelus recontacts lost colonies with biological mysteries.
g Aftermath - Scientists should pay greater attention to discussing the social implications of discovering extraterrestrial life — even though many researchers shy away from the subject because they don't consider it "hard" science. See http://www.astrobio.net/news/article163.html.
g Stars - For the first time, scientists have identified the cluster of quintuplet stars in the Milky Way's galactic center, next to the super massive black hole, as massive binary stars nearing the end of their life cycle, solving a mystery that had dogged astronomers for more than 15 years. See http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n0608/17quintuplets/.
g Abodes - The Alps, the iconic rugged mountains that cover parts of seven European nations, might have reached their zenith millions of years ago, some scientists believe, and now are a mere shadow of their former selves. New research offers an explanation. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/08/060815162222.htm.
g Life - In a study of sexually transmitted diseases, scientists have concluded that the length of time people stay together can determine which infectious diseases circulate in a community and therefore how diseases evolve multiple strains. See http://www.livescience.com/humanbiology/060810_illness_spread.html.
g Intelligence - As we yawn and open our eyes in the morning, the brain stem sends little puffs of nitric oxide to another part of the brain, the thalamus, which then directs it elsewhere. Like a computer booting up its operating system before running more complicated programs, the nitric oxide triggers certain functions that set the stage for more complex brain operations, according to a new study. See http://www.livescience.com/humanbiology/060817_brain_boot.html.
g Message - Here’s something neat: A site about Project Target, or the Telescope Antenna Researching Galactic Extraterrestrial Transmissions, from Hay River Radio, which boldly proclaims that such signals indeed exist! See http://space.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htmsite=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.area31.org%2Ftarget.html.
g Cosmicus - Four university teams will share $100 million to provide experiments and supporting hardware for a future NASA mission to study near-Earth space radiation. This type of radiation is hazardous to astronauts, orbiting satellites and aircraft flying high altitude polar routes. See http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n0608/01rbsp/.
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 - Like stories about alien biologies/environments? Be sure to scour your favorite used bookstores for Brian Stableford’s Daedelus Series: “The Florians” (1976), “Critical Threshold” (1977), “Wildeblood's Empire” (1977), “City of the Sun” (1978), “Balance of Power” (1979) and “Paradox of the Sets” (1979). In the series, the Starship Daedelus recontacts lost colonies with biological mysteries.
g Aftermath - Scientists should pay greater attention to discussing the social implications of discovering extraterrestrial life — even though many researchers shy away from the subject because they don't consider it "hard" science. See http://www.astrobio.net/news/article163.html.
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