Possible life found 140 light years away

[Sarek]

 

[gtb1943]

looking up K2-18b and its star, a red dwarf, it is quite possible microbes and something a little more advanced lives there.

 

[Tabascocat]

There is life somewhere out there, it’s a mathematical improbability for there not to be. It wouldn’t surprise me if there is microscopic life in our own solar system. I would bet that there is/was intelligent beings far more advanced than us by millions of years on some random planet. We will probably never know due to the distances.

 

[darthseinfeld]

There is life somewhere out there, it’s a mathematical improbability for there not to be. It wouldn’t surprise me if there is microscopic life in our own solar system. I would bet that there is/was intelligent beings far more advanced than us by millions of years on some random planet. We will probably never know due to the distances.

Id even say improbability is an understatement. Maybe even a gross understatement

 

[Tabascocat]

Id even say improbability is an understatement. Maybe even a gross understatement

I originally had ‘impossibility’ but changed it, didn’t feel like getting in any arguments

 

[gtb1943]

latest estimate is around 100 billion stars in the Milky Way
most of them have planets

Now the real question is FTL possible in some manner or form?

If it is how long will it take for us to figure it out?

And if there is no FTL, then nothing else about out there matters, does it?

 

[Runwildboys]

latest estimate is around 100 billion stars in the Milky Way
most of them have planets

Now the real question is FTL possible in some manner or form?

If it is how long will it take for us to figure it out?

And if there is no FTL, then nothing else about out there matters, does it?

It does, if another species had built generational ships eons ago, and come this way. Other than that, no, we'll never even know.

 

[gtb1943]

It does, if another species had built generational ships eons ago, and come this way. Other than that, no, we'll never even know.

IF indeed we are limited to a fraction of the speed of light; which of course we do not know enough about yet to say one way or another, then generational ships would be the only way for anyone to go anywhere.
and if say we can only get to 10% the speed of light, it would take us 1400 years to travel to that star.
Honestly, I seriously doubt anyone would do it.

 

[Runwildboys]

IF indeed we are limited to a fraction of the speed of light; which of course we do not know enough about yet to say one way or another, then generational ships would be the only way for anyone to go anywhere.
and if say we can only get to 10% the speed of light, it would take us 1400 years to travel to that star.
Honestly, I seriously doubt anyone would do it.

I doubt it as well, and why would they direct their ships this way?

 

[Sarek]

Propulsion based travel in space is like a baby crawling around in the crib. Humanity won't really get anything done in space until they figure out some other method of travel.

Even in Star Trek they were moving around slowly with propulsion based travel, Voyager took 7 years to get back home from the other side of the galaxy, yea that's very fast but no where near fast enough.

Maybe quantum physics will open new doors in the future.

 

[gtb1943]

I doubt it as well, and why would they direct their ships this way?

IF they ever did, they would take one look and say
"No intelligent life found there."

 

[gtb1943]

Propulsion based travel in space is like a baby crawling around in the crib. Humanity won't really get anything done in space until they figure out some other method of travel.

Even in Star Trek they were moving around slowly with propulsion based travel, Voyager took 7 years to get back home from the other side of the galaxy, yea that's very fast but no where near fast enough.

Maybe quantum physics will open new doors in the future.

We have only scraped the bare surface of scientific knowledge.

That is why I have no patience with those that say one thing or another is impossible or that this is scientific FACT and it will not change.

Once upon a time the smartest people around thought the earth was flat

then they thought the sun revolved around the earth

Then they said traveling to other planets was impossible

now some say FTL is impossible
Maybe it is; but we certainly do not know enough to say one way or the other

 

[rags747]

I doubt it as well, and why would they direct their ships this way?

For all the Hotties! Blondes, Redheads, Brunettes you name it. Party time on Planet Earth!

 

[Pass2Run]

There is life somewhere out there, it’s a mathematical improbability for there not to be. It wouldn’t surprise me if there is microscopic life in our own solar system. I would bet that there is/was intelligent beings far more advanced than us by millions of years on some random planet. We will probably never know due to the distances.

Right.

Life most is most everywhere. And nothing unique to Earth.

Interstellar panspermia. If we found an exoplanet that could support life, we could send life there and allow it to evolve.

Microbes found in Antarctica prove this theory.

 

[Runwildboys]

There is life somewhere out there, it’s a mathematical improbability for there not to be. It wouldn’t surprise me if there is microscopic life in our own solar system. I would bet that there is/was intelligent beings far more advanced than us by millions of years on some random planet. We will probably never know due to the distances.

On one hand, I agree. On the other hand, there are so many variables that allowed life here, and even more that allowed humanity.

 

[Tabascocat]

On one hand, I agree. On the other hand, there are so many variables that allowed life here, and even more that allowed humanity.

True but there may be other variables out there to let life flourish. Maybe they breathe a different gas, have different elements and compounds. They could be jellies, giant creatures we can’t imagine. I would bet that our periodic table isn’t the only elements in the entire universe.

 

[Runwildboys]

True but there may be other variables out there to let life flourish. Maybe they breathe a different gas, have different elements and compounds. They could be jellies, giant creatures we can’t imagine. I would bet that our periodic table isn’t the only elements in the entire universe.

Considering the homogenous nature of space, and the fact that scientists have tried to create more elements, most of which either failed completely or lasted only a fraction of a second, I think it's pretty likely that nearly all, if not all the possible viable elements have been established.

I agree that there could be life forms that would be completely foreign to us, but for intelligence to evolve, time is probably a huge factor. We've had at least 5 extinction events on Earth, and it's only because of them that we exist, but for how long? Also, humans have only been around for a tiny fraction of the time dinosaurs ruled the planet, yet they never evolved into an "intelligent" species. So even longevity doesn't guarantee intelligence.

Here on Earth, we have the good fortune of having a planet that rotates and tilts in a manner that makes nearly the whole planet hospitable, and a molten iron core that gives us a protective magnetic shield, to deflect most of the harmful radiation from the sun, which is the perfect distance from us. We have Jupiter and Saturn, that helped clear out the area, ridding our orbit of potential hazards. Our single star is stable and middle-aged, and we have liquid water.

There's a whole lot of unlikely scenarios working in our favor, and as many galaxies, stars, and planets as there are in the universe, the more I think about how many variables have to align, the more I think we may be a very, very rare thing.

 

[gtb1943]

Considering the homogenous nature of space, and the fact that scientists have tried to create more elements, most of which either failed completely or lasted only a fraction of a second, I think it's pretty likely that nearly all, if not all the possible viable elements have been established.

I agree that there could be life forms that would be completely foreign to us, but for intelligence to evolve, time is probably a huge factor. We've had at least 5 extinction events on Earth, and it's only because of them that we exist, but for how long? Also, humans have only been around for a tiny fraction of the time dinosaurs ruled the planet, yet they never evolved into an "intelligent" species. So even longevity doesn't guarantee intelligence.

Here on Earth, we have the good fortune of having a planet that rotates and tilts in a manner that makes nearly the whole planet hospitable, and a molten iron core that gives us a protective magnetic shield, to deflect most of the harmful radiation from the sun, which is the perfect distance from us. We have Jupiter and Saturn, that helped clear out the area, ridding our orbit of potential hazards. Our single star is stable and middle-aged, and we have liquid water.

There's a whole lot of unlikely scenarios working in our favor, and as many galaxies, stars, and planets as there are in the universe, the more I think about how many variables have to align, the more I think we may be a very, very rare thing.

when you look at what it took for humans to make it here, it really shows how stacked the deck was against us.

and thus one has to consider that when theorizing about intelligent life out there.


There seems a decent chance that only one out of a million planets can possibly evolve sentient life.

and out of that number only a fraction will have the conditions work out to let it happen.

 

[Tabascocat]

Considering the homogenous nature of space, and the fact that scientists have tried to create more elements, most of which either failed completely or lasted only a fraction of a second, I think it's pretty likely that nearly all, if not all the possible viable elements have been established.

I agree that there could be life forms that would be completely foreign to us, but for intelligence to evolve, time is probably a huge factor. We've had at least 5 extinction events on Earth, and it's only because of them that we exist, but for how long? Also, humans have only been around for a tiny fraction of the time dinosaurs ruled the planet, yet they never evolved into an "intelligent" species. So even longevity doesn't guarantee intelligence.

Here on Earth, we have the good fortune of having a planet that rotates and tilts in a manner that makes nearly the whole planet hospitable, and a molten iron core that gives us a protective magnetic shield, to deflect most of the harmful radiation from the sun, which is the perfect distance from us. We have Jupiter and Saturn, that helped clear out the area, ridding our orbit of potential hazards. Our single star is stable and middle-aged, and we have liquid water.

There's a whole lot of unlikely scenarios working in our favor, and as many galaxies, stars, and planets as there are in the universe, the more I think about how many variables have to align, the more I think we may be a very, very rare thing.

I get what you are saying and I agree, a lot of things had to happen to get us to where we are today. I am just saying that there might be other variables that could be the “perfect” conditions out there to allow a different kind of life that we can’t comprehend like different temperatures, pressure, gravity, etc.

As for the elements, there are others but are too unstable to utilize or study….which were created in a lab. It is a big assumption to believe that 118 elements make-up the entire universe. It very well may be but remember, we don’t know what we don’t know. Scientists just go by the laws of physics as we know it devised by humans who had a limited exposure to science. There might be a lot more laws of physics that we can’t fathom or understand.

This is a good topic though, none of us are right or wrong

 

[Streifenkarl]

We have only scraped the bare surface of scientific knowledge.

That is why I have no patience with those that say one thing or another is impossible or that this is scientific FACT and it will not change.

Once upon a time the smartest people around thought the earth was flat

then they thought the sun revolved around the earth

Then they said traveling to other planets was impossible

now some say FTL is impossible
Maybe it is; but we certainly do not know enough to say one way or the other

It's actually not that "uncertain" about FTL travel. This video explains it best imo.



So nothing will beat Einstein in the future. I'm not saying we will never go places, but whatever the way of reaching far away solar systems will be, it won't be in a space ship traveling faster than light.