[Harvey Specter]

LONDON (AFP) – Aliens may exist but mankind should avoid contact with them as the consequences could be devastating, British scientist Stephen Hawking warned Sunday.

"If aliens visit us, the outcome would be much as when Columbus landed in America, which didn't turn out well for the Native Americans," said the astrophysicist in a new television series, according to British media reports.

The programmes depict an imagined universe featuring alien life forms in huge spaceships on the hunt for resources after draining their own planet dry.

"Such advanced aliens would perhaps become nomads, looking to conquer and colonise whatever planets they can reach," warned Hawking.

The doomsday scenario is suggested in the series "Into the Universe with Stephen Hawking" on the Discovery Channel, which began airing in the United States on Sunday.

On the probability of alien life existing, he says: "To my mathematical brain, the numbers alone make thinking about aliens perfectly rational.

"The real challenge is to work out what aliens might actually be like."

Glowing squid-like creatures, herds of herbivores that can hang onto a cliff face and bright yellow predators that kill their prey with stinging tails are among the creatures that stalk the scientist's fantastical cosmos.

Mankind has already made a number of attempts to contact extraterrestrial civilisations.

In 2008, American space agency NASA beamed the Beatles song "Across the Universe" into deep space to send a message of peace to any alien that happens to be in the region of Polaris -- also known as the North Star -- in 2439.

But the history of humanity's efforts to contact aliens stretches back some years.

The US probes Pioneer 10 and 11 were launched in 1972 and 1973 bearing plaques of a naked man and woman and symbols seeking to convey the positions of the Earth and the Sun.

Voyager 1 and 2, launched in 1977, each carry a gold-plated copper phonogram disk with recordings of sounds and images on Earth..

[LiquidTurbo]

.

[Tegra_Devil]

well DUH!

[LiquidTurbo]

Why do you post stuff then go "." ? You remind me of the people that go "discuss".

If you make a post at least put forth your own thoughts on the matter.

[SkinnyPupp]

.
Fascinating feedback there

[SkinnyPupp]

I love that the OP has a banner for www.2012-comet.com on it :lol

[Bouncing Bettys]

2 sequels to Independence Day possibly in the works.

[Senna4ever]

http://www.cooperativeindividualism.org/calvin-on-intelligent-life.jpg

[twitchyzero]

why does nasa waste money on trying to find ET life?
what does it achieve when we do find them?
in the short time that humans have left on this planet i doubt we'll come in contact with any life with comparable intelligence to humans

[LiquidTurbo]

If you look at the math, its absolutely staggering at the number of earth-like planets that theoretically exist. Even at most, CONSERVATIVE estimates, based on the randomization of planetary systems, there are approximately 25,000 planets in the universe that are identical to Earth. Using non-conservative estimates, they go into the hundreds of thousands-millions.

And of course they haven't 'contacted' us because of the immense distances.

If anyone needs a reminded of the magnitude of the universe:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17jymDn0W6U&playnext_from=TL&videos=2O-pbeD7pEI

Personally I think the Universe is crawling with life.

[SkinnyPupp]

If you look at the math, its absolutely staggering at the number of earth-like planets. Even at most, CONSERVATIVE estimates, based on the randomization of planetary systems, there are approximately 25,000 planets in the universe that are identical to Earth. Using non-conservative estimates, they go into the hundreds of thousands-millions.

If anyone needs a reminded of the magnitude of the universe:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17jymDn0W6U&playnext_from=TL&videos=2O-pbeD7pEI
Yes but they don't have GOD so they don't exist

[LiquidTurbo]

why does nasa waste money on trying to find ET life?
what does it achieve when we do find them?
in the short time that humans have left on this planet i doubt we'll come in contact with any life with comparable intelligence to humans

Agreed.

[LiquidTurbo]

Yes but they don't have GOD so they don't exist

Life on other planets prove just how amazing the design is!;)
/sarcasm

[Hondaracer]

Yet in his teachings he never happened to mention ET :P

[Qmx323]

time to go play mass effect

[fishing666]

of course we are not alone in this universe. I can saw for sure alien lifeforms would need some source of fuel to power their lifeforms as we do food and air. also they will be a dominating force if we do encounter them because the theory of evolution says the weak die off and the strong flourish. these aliens would look for ways to promote their own well being regardless if that means helping us or killing us.

i say my curiousity for the encounter of these aliens outweighs the dangers that may be posed onto us in the case of encounter.

[Hondaracer]

it doesnt have to be traditional green men to be considered "alien" though

the smallest living bacteria on another planet would be enough, and the odds of somthing like that seems very likely

[LiquidTurbo]

of course we are not alone in this universe. I can saw for sure alien lifeforms would need some source of fuel to power their lifeforms as we do food and air. also they will be a dominating force if we do encounter them because the theory of evolution says the weak die off and the strong flourish. these aliens would look for ways to promote their own well being regardless if that means helping us or killing us.

i say my curiousity for the encounter of these aliens outweighs the dangers that may be posed onto us in the case of encounter.

So you enjoy being a native indian? (referencing the OP :haha:)

[Harvey Specter]

Why do you post stuff then go "." ? You remind me of the people that go "discuss".

If you make a post at least put forth your own thoughts on the matter.

Why the hell does it bug you if I put "."?

[LiquidTurbo]

it doesnt have to be traditional green men to be considered "alien" though

the smallest living bacteria on another planet would be enough, and the odds of somthing like that seems very likely

True. There's speculation that there are bacteria, possibly 'sea' life underneath the thick ice layer in Saturn's moon Europa, near the moon's core, which acts as an power source.

Scientists have long thought that the sun is a requirement for life, but recently that has been disproven with the discovery of extremophiles in sub-terranean caves. These bacteria thrive on geothermal activity in pitch black.

If we could find life in the form of bacteria in these moons, it would probably be one of the most important scientific discoveries of all time. Not to mention the philosophical/religious implications would be huge.

[fishing666]

So you enjoy being a native indian? (referencing the OP :haha:)
i wouldn't mind alien government support =P

[SkinnyPupp]

True. There's speculation that there are bacteria, possibly 'sea' life underneath the thick ice layer in Saturn's moon Europa, near the moon's core, which acts as an power source.

Scientists have long thought that the sun is a requirement for life, but recently that has been disproven with the discovery of extremophiles in sub-terranean caves. These bacteria thrive on geothermal activity in pitch black.

If we could find life in the form of bacteria in these moons, it would probably be one of the most important scientific discoveries of all time. Not to mention the philosophical/religious implications would be huge.
GOD put them there for us to find

[CP.AR]

OH SHIT..

CARDASSIANS.


but on a more serious note - what if these alien lifeforms exists not in our visible spectrum, but rather in some other reach of the electromagnetic spectrum? What if what they view is tangible is actually a solid to us and vice versa?

[LiquidTurbo]

GOD put them there for us to find

:fuuuuu:

[SkinnyPupp]

It's right there in the bible! At least it will be, when it happens. We'll have to find out which parts to twist and reinterpret to suit our needs. PRAISE THE LORD~!

[The_AK]

Fascinating feedback there

Let me guess,
You're going to say that theres no such thing as aliens and that we should stop thinking about it because its stupid to even think so? (without any logical proof of course)

lol, anyways, thought of other life always gets to me.

[SkinnyPupp]

Let me guess,
You're going to say that theres no such thing as aliens and that we should stop thinking about it because its stupid to even think so? (without any logical proof of course)
No, I am saying it's annoying to have posts that are nothing but quotes from a news story with no effort to join a conversation.

[The_AK]

Fair enough^ my bad

why does nasa waste money on trying to find ET life?
what does it achieve when we do find them?
in the short time that humans have left on this planet i doubt we'll come in contact with any life with comparable intelligence to humans

I think it would close a lid on the bible. No more "god created this planet for us to love and cherish" bullcrap or beliefs that man is the ultimate being. Also I think we would be able to learn a lot from other beings outside of our own world.

[SkinnyPupp]

Fair enough^ my bad



I think it would close a lid on the bible. No more "god created this planet for us to love and cherish" bullcrap or beliefs that man is the ultimate being. Also I think we would be able to learn a lot from other beings outside of our own world.
Read my sarcastic posts. Religion can be twisted and manipulated so much that no matter what happens, they will find a way for it to exist.

[The_AK]

Read my sarcastic posts. Religion can be twisted and manipulated so much that no matter what happens, they will find a way for it to exist.

And thats why I stopped believing :o

[AVS_Racing]

reminds me of

http://blogs.sundaymercury.net/weirdscience/simpsons-alien.jpg

[LiquidTurbo]

Read my sarcastic posts. Religion can be twisted and manipulated so much that no matter what happens, they will find a way for it to exist.

I'd like to think that life outside on earth would be the nail in the coffin for that.

[Graeme S]

If any of you are interested in the concept of "Space Scavengers" that is postulated in the original post, I would recommend you read a book called "Footfall" by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle. It's an older book so some of the politics and technologies are a bit out of date, but the points made in the book are really interesting--for the most part, the conquest of a planet in order to gain resources is highly inefficient.

Want fuel? Scoop-dive a gas giant (hydrogen is the lightest so it should be near the top). Want water? Find an ice asteroid and cut it loose to harvest it--no need to waste fuel pulling it up from Gravity. Metals? Find some asteroids or a low-gee moon to stripmine.

Those who think that the conquest of a planet in order to gain its resources is the most efficient and possible truth...I highly doubt it. Why even bother with an inhabited planet that has technology? It's much more likely they'd come and just strip our system bare, and just leave us alone. Or just nuke the whole planet and be done with us.

[SkinnyPupp]

If any of you are interested in the concept of "Space Scavengers" that is postulated in the original post, I would recommend you read a book called "Footfall" by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle. It's an older book so some of the politics and technologies are a bit out of date, but the points made in the book are really interesting--for the most part, the conquest of a planet in order to gain resources is highly inefficient.

Want fuel? Scoop-dive a gas giant (hydrogen is the lightest so it should be near the top). Want water? Find an ice asteroid and cut it loose to harvest it--no need to waste fuel pulling it up from Gravity. Metals? Find some asteroids or a low-gee moon to stripmine.

Those who think that the conquest of a planet in order to gain its resources is the most efficient and possible truth...I highly doubt it. Why even bother with an inhabited planet that has technology? It's much more likely they'd come and just strip our system bare, and just leave us alone. Or just nuke the whole planet and be done with us.
Yeah I'm surprised the usually brilliant Hawking is taking such a goofy sci-fi approach to his theory

[SkinnyPupp]

I'd like to think that life outside on earth would be the nail in the coffin for that.
EVOLUTION is the nail in the coffin, and it hasn't done shit to slow them down.

[LiquidTurbo]

Yeah I'm surprised the usually brilliant Hawking is taking such a goofy sci-fi approach to his theory

That's because he's too smart for average people. He has to speak in Star Trek terms for anyone to listen.

EVOLUTION is the nail in the coffin, and it hasn't done shit to slow them down.

HAHA. This is true. Oh well.

[tonyvu]

As bad as it sounds.... not wanting to know what else can be out there is just not in our human nature. Life out there or not, you can't deny the fact of space and time and how vast it really is.

[LiquidTurbo]

^

Yep. It's crazy to think that the universe is 13.75billion years old. Modern humans showed up 150-200,000 years ago.

There could be civilizations out there that are BILLIONs of years more advanced than us.
There may have been advanced civilizations that lasted billions of years, only to die out hundreds of millions ago. Many, many possibilities.

[monkeywrench]

^

Yep. It's crazy to think that the universe is 13.75billion years old. Modern humans showed up 150-200,000 years ago.

There could be civilizations out there that are BILLIONs of years more advanced than us.
There may have been advanced civilizations that lasted billions of years, only to die out hundreds of millions ago. Many, many possibilities.

And there may have been ancestors or earth even before us. Not to mention how many cycles of new life on earth.

[welfare]

i don't know how correct the number 13.75b really is
our dating system may be, and most likely is flawed.
regardless, civilizations spanning billions of years is improbable. natural occurrences in our universe would prevent such a thing.
civilizations coming and passing. just as ours will. another drop in the bucket. to make way for the next, as was made way for us.

[LiquidTurbo]

And there may have been ancestors or earth even before us. Not to mention how many cycles of new life on earth.

If you are talking about human-like ancestors, no dude.

[tonyvu]

^Humans are only a small spec comparing to the the life of stars... and its amazing to see how far the hubble space telescope saw back in time... most of these galaxies are really old and some may not even exists anymore.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcBV-cXVWFw

[monkeywrench]

If you are talking about human-like ancestors, no dude.

No i wasn't saying human-like ancestors, just another form of intelligent life.

[danned]

what is the point of this?
what could we do with aliens? end up like war?

[welfare]

^Humans are only a small spec comparing to the the life of stars... and its amazing to see how far the hubble space telescope saw back in time... most of these galaxies are really old and some may not even exists anymore.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcBV-cXVWFw

that image is where the 13.75b year estimate becomes contradicted

[Graeme S]

what is the point of this?
what could we do with aliens? end up like war?
End up like the Aboriginese of Australia or Africans or Native Canadian/Americans, or...or...or...

[welfare]

what is the point of this?
what could we do with aliens? end up like war?

i have to laugh at this comment. what's the point of anything then, really?

[danned]

i have to laugh at this comment. what's the point of anything then, really?

how could we know there are aliens in our world right now?
we havent met anyone species outside this earth
seriously

[welfare]

how could we know there are aliens in our world right now?
we havent met anyone species outside this earth
seriously

i'm not sure i follow. what are you trying to say here?
are you insisting that there may be no life outside of this planet?

[JSALES]

another alien thread with people posting videos to prove aliens exist haha

[Ducdesmo]

^so you think out of the trillions of stars in the universe, life only exists on planet earth?
Posted via RS Mobile (http://www.revscene.net/forums/announcement.php?a=228)

[tonyvu]

how could we know there are aliens in our world right now?
we havent met anyone species outside this earth
seriously

Saying that we are the only intelligent species or any kind of life for that matter is really ignorant. Look at how vast and how many stars there are... you seriously don't believe that there can be planets that can harbor life? That's like saying your going to plant 1000 seeds into a field and only one of them will grow....

[SkinnyPupp]

No i wasn't saying human-like ancestors, just another form of intelligent life.
Considering that we know about how old Earth itself is, that is pretty much impossible

[Ch28]

All of this has happened before, and it will happen again.

http://www.thegreenhead.com/imgs/battlestar-galactica-cylon-centurion-2.jpg

[SkinnyPupp]

Ah, I'm guessing in about 2 years right? :lol

[JSALES]

^so you think out of the trillions of stars in the universe, life only exists on planet earth?
Posted via RS Mobile (http://www.revscene.net/forums/announcement.php?a=228)

no i don't, there's just been so many threads on rs with videos about aliens haha

[reaver64]

Well, if we learned anything from Columbus and the aboriginals, it's that if aliens come we'll be okay as long as we don't start trading large amounts of land for fire water or some other stupid shit... And even if they manage to take over we'll have tax exemptions.

On a less stupid note, i think it's a pretty safe bet to say that other life is out there, like hawking said, the numbers are just too staggering. I don't see why they would harvest resources from earth though.. If they can travel all the way here I'm sure they can find another earth like planet which is much bigger and has better conditions than ours easily.

[impactX]

We humans are just too naive and self-centered to think that any alien would want to contact us.


If I were an alien and I receive this picture, I would just ask wtf is this shit? Semi NWS (nekkid men and women that's mentioned in OP's post re: Pioneer 10):
http://www.wwu.edu/depts/skywise/a101/pioneer10.gif

[Alphamale]

We humans are just too naive and self-centered to think that any alien would want to contact us.


If I were an alien and I receive this picture, I would just ask wtf is this shit? Semi NWS (nekkid men and women that's mentioned in OP's post re: Pioneer 10):
http://www.wwu.edu/depts/skywise/a101/pioneer10.gif


Hey genius, there's a reason you don't work for NASA.

[iwantaskyline]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kw8dcb8iKSM

[SpuGen]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3Kcw0UrIFI

[BaoXu]

belief in aliens to me falls within the same category as religion and conspiracy theories, and 2012

[SkinnyPupp]

belief in aliens to me falls within the same category as religion and conspiracy theories, and 2012
I think it's reasonable to acknowledge the possibility. In that case, it doesn't fall within the same category as the others you listed.

[LiquidTurbo]

belief in aliens to me falls within the same category as religion and conspiracy theories, and 2012

Lol intelligent life in the universe = probability of the right set of variables (which incidently = very high), supported by evidence.

Religion = unsubstantiated bullshit.

There's quite a large difference.

[Graeme S]

Belief in aliens =/= belief in the existence of aliens.
Posted via RS Mobile (http://www.revscene.net/forums/announcement.php?a=228)

[BaoXu]

Lol intelligent life in the universe = probability of the right set of variables (which incidently = very high), supported by evidence.

Religion = unsubstantiated bullshit.

There's quite a large difference.

Show the evidence.

[kookoobird88]

There definitely has to be other life forms outside earth. Earth can not be the only planet out of probably trillions with a living race. Look at all those UFO sighting videos on the net, im sure tons are fake but I bet at least a few of them are legit. People or gods have been mentioned coming down from the sky in multiple civilizations from thousands of years ago such as the sumerians. Lots of depictions have been based on the reptilian race. Either way im sure the other life forms have good and bad agendas for earth. Like someone else said these other creatures could be inter-dimensional and be right infront of us.
I personally think the sumerian civilization has a lot to say

[LiquidTurbo]

Show the evidence.

There is no direct evidence, but clues such trillions of planetary systems, water on other moons/planets say something. It's a numbers game. There are approximately 10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 - 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 stars in the universe. That's approx 10 times as many stars as grains of sand on all the world's beaches and deserts.

It seems a bit weird that Earth is the only one with life. An awful waste of space too in this huge ass universe. Oh hey, and humans pop up 150,000 years after 13,750,000,000 years of nothingness.

[BaoXu]

I said EVIDENCE. Not speculation.

[Ducdesmo]

I said EVIDENCE. Not speculation.

The same could be said for the opposite. Show evidence that they DON'T exist. Just because you've never seen them doesnt mean they don't exist, ever.

[kookoobird88]

The government probably knows for certain if other beings have visited earth, but as if they would tell the public.

[BaoXu]

The same could be said for the opposite. Show evidence that they DON'T exist. Just because you've never seen them doesnt mean they don't exist, ever.

so you're still speculating aren't you?

yup. my point exactly.

[Graeme S]

so you're still speculating aren't you?

yup. my point exactly.
Belief in aliens seems to mean (to most people) whether or not they are or have presented themselves to Earth in one way or another.

Belief in the existence of aliens is a statistical question. We'll never know, but statistically speaking...

[welfare]

it's funny. only 20 years ago, and you'd be thought a crackpot to believe
now, you're a fool if you don't
IMO, who cares? is it really that intriguing? there is just as much, even more, of the amazing and unknown right here on earth
funny how we always seek outward

[Hondaracer]

it's funny. only 20 years ago, and you'd be thought a crackpot to believe
now, you're a fool if you don't
IMO, who cares? is it really that intriguing? there is just as much, even more, of the amazing and unknown right here on earth
funny how we always seek outward

to discover things beyond this planet explains 10 fold here on earth.

[welfare]

care to elaborate?

[welfare]

and don't get me wrong; i find the cosmos to be completely enthralling.
i suppose the closest statement to what i was trying to express is that sure, it's all amazing. but no more amazing than the wonders of our own planet

[DC5-S]

i read an article a while back how NASA's satellite received strange signals coming from far off in the universe.. so ya there is definetly a high possiblity in alien lifeform.

[LiquidTurbo]

I said EVIDENCE. Not speculation.

Evidence is only needed for supernatural claims. I shouldn't have used the word evidence.. I should have said plausible circumstances..

Claiming that life exists elsewhere in the universe its not a supernatural claim outside the laws of physics; its an just an educated guess.

[LiquidTurbo]

We humans are just too naive and self-centered to think that any alien would want to contact us.


If I were an alien and I receive this picture, I would just ask wtf is this shit? Semi NWS (nekkid men and women that's mentioned in OP's post re: Pioneer 10):
http://www.wwu.edu/depts/skywise/a101/pioneer10.gif

You might be interested in some info behind it. I guess the man waving, they were hoping it was some sign of universal (no pun intended) greeting..

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pioneer_plaque

[impactX]

^ Yup, and also the "Criticism" section.

[LiquidTurbo]

^ Ya. It's interesting to think that an arrow is a very poor choice of showing the guidance of the spacecraft..

[BaoXu]

Evidence is only needed for supernatural claims. I shouldn't have used the word evidence.. I should have said plausible circumstances..

Claiming that life exists elsewhere in the universe its not a supernatural claim outside the laws of physics; its an just an educated guess.

All claims need to be backed up!! If you claim something, back it up!

or else it's just a belief.

[SkinnyPupp]

BaoXu you don't even know what you are arguing about, so I suggest stopping right now :lol

[Mancini]

Oh Stephen, really?

[vafanculo]

I believe there are aliens. Have I seen one? No. But I'm sure there is a form of life somewhere out there. What I don't believe is they all fly in space ships, look like prawns and have deathrays. For all we know they are a huge race of sexbots who want to bring pleasure and not pain.

Maybe they would WANT our resources but don't have the power. People believe too much in sci fi movies.
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[!LittleDragon]

We humans are just too naive and self-centered to think that any alien would want to contact us.


If I were an alien and I receive this picture, I would just ask wtf is this shit? Semi NWS (nekkid men and women that's mentioned in OP's post re: Pioneer 10):
http://www.wwu.edu/depts/skywise/a101/pioneer10.gif

I kinda agree with this.... An advanced life form that's been around for millions of years comes by earth and sees us, they probably wouldn't bother with us. The farthest we sent someone is to the moon. It'd be trying to make contact with a fly. There's probably nothing we can teach them that they don't already know.

[Ludepower]

^ agreed

they want our resources? There's nothing left here...we humans have used it up lmao. As others have mentioned... We are a spec of sand to them...it'll be like us teaching flies how to do calculus...why bother?
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[Noir]

I believe there are aliens. Have I seen one? No. But I'm sure there is a form of life somewhere out there. What I don't believe is they all fly in space ships, look like prawns and have deathrays. For all we know they are a huge race of sexbots who want to bring pleasure and not pain.


The only reason scientists "speculate" the above idealisms is that in the grand scheme of things, our sun and the earth are actually very young terrestial planets.

Since the universe is that much older and due to the mathematical probabilities of life on other solar systems, so goes the probability of civilizations that may be thousands of millenia beyond our advancement.

[LiquidTurbo]

Fascinating article:

More at: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-450467/Found-20-light-years-away-New-Earth.html

It's got the same climate as Earth, plus water and gravity. A newly discovered planet is the most stunning evidence that life - just like us - might be out there. Above a calm, dark ocean, a huge, bloated red sun rises in the sky - a full ten times the size of our Sun as seen from Earth. Small waves lap at a sandy shore and on the beach, something stirs...

This is the scene - or may be the scene - on what is possibly the most extraordinary world to have been discovered by astronomers: the first truly Earth-like planet to have been found outside our Solar System. The discovery was announced today by a team of European astronomers, using a telescope in La Silla in the Chilean Andes. If forced bookies to slash odds on the existence of alien beings.

The Earth-like planet that could be covered in oceans and may support life is 20.5 light years away, and has the right temperature to allow liquid water on its surface.

This remarkable discovery appears to confirm the suspicions of most astronomers that the universe is swarming with Earth-like worlds.
We don't yet know much about this planet, but scientists believe that it may be the best candidate so far for supporting extraterrestrial life.
The new planet, which orbits a small, red star called Gliese 581, is about one-and-a-half times the diameter of the Earth.
It probably has a substantial atmosphere and may be covered with large amounts of water - necessary for life to evolve - and, most importantly, temperatures are very similar to those on our world.

It is the first exoplanet (a planet orbiting a star other than our own Sun) that is anything like our Earth.
Of the 220 or so exoplanets found to date, most have either been too big, made of gas rather than solid material, far too hot, or far too cold for life to survive.

"On the treasure map of the Universe, one would be tempted to mark this planet with an X," says Xavier Delfosse, one of the scientists who discovered the planet. "Because of its temperature and relative proximity, this planet will most probably be a very important target of the future space missions dedicated to the search for extraterrestrial life."

Gliese 581 is among the closest stars to us, just 20.5 light years away (about 120 trillion miles) in the constellation Libra. It is so dim it can be seen only with a good telescope. Because all planets are relatively so small and the light they give off so faint compared to their sun, finding exoplanets is extremely difficult unless they are huge. Those that have so far been detected have mostly been massive, Jupiter-like balls of gas that almost certainly cannot be home to life. This new planet - known for the time being as Gliese 581c - is a midget in comparison, being about 12,000 miles across (Earth is a little under 8,000 pole-to-pole). It has a mass five times that of Earth, probably made of the same sort of rock as makes up our world and with enough gravity to hold a substantial atmosphere.

Astrobiologists - scientists who study the possibility of alien life - refer to a climate known as the Goldilocks Zone, where it is not so cold that water freezes and not so hot that it boils, but where it can lie on the planet's surface as a liquid.
In our solar system, only one planet - Earth -lies in the Goldilocks Zone. Venus is far too hot and Mars is just too cold. This new planet lies bang in the middle of the zone, with average surface temperatures estimated to be between zero and 40c (32-102f). Lakes, rivers and even oceans are possible.

It is not clear what this planet is made of. If it is rock, like the Earth, then its surface may be land, or a combination of land and ocean.
Another possibility is that Gliese 581c was formed mostly from ice far from the star (ice is a very common substance in the Universe), and moved to the close orbit it inhabits today.

In which case its entire surface will have melted to form a giant, planet-wide ocean with no land, save perhaps a few rocky islands or icebergs.
The surface gravity is probably around twice that of the Earth and the atmosphere could be similar to ours.
Although the new planet is in itself very Earth-like, its solar system is about as alien as could be imagined. The star at the centre - Gliese 581 - is small and dim, only about a third the size of our Sun and about 50 times cooler.

The two other planets are huge, Neptune-sized worlds called Gliese 581b and d (there is no "a", to avoid confusion with the star itself).
The Earth-like planet orbits its sun at a distance of only six million miles or so (our Sun is 93 million miles away), travelling so fast that its "year" only lasts 13 of our days.

The parent star would dominate the view from the surface - a huge red ball of fire that must be a spectacular sight. It is difficult to speculate what - if any - life there is on the planet. If there is life there it would have to cope with the higher gravity and solar radiation from its sun.
Just because Gliese 581c is habitable does not mean that it is inhabited, but we do know its sun is an ancient star - in fact, it is one of the oldest stars in the galaxy, and extremely stable. If there is life, it has had many billions of years to evolve.
This makes this planet a prime target in the search for life. According to Seth Shostak, of the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence Institute in California, the Gliese system is now a prime target for a radio search. 'We had actually looked at this system before but only for a few minutes. We heard nothing, but now we must look again.'

By 2020 at least one space telescope should be in orbit, with the capability of detecting signs of life on planets orbiting nearby stars. If oxygen or methane (tell-tale biological gases) are found in Gliese 581c's atmosphere, this would be good circumstantial evidence for life.
Dr Malcolm Fridlund, a European Space Agency scientist, said the discovery of Gliese 581c was "an important step" on the road to finding life.
"If this is a rocky planet, it's very likely it will have liquid water on its surface, which means there may also be life."
The real importance is not so much the discovery of this planet itself, but the fact that it shows that Earth-like planets are probably extremely common in the Universe.

There are 200 billion stars in our galaxy alone and many astronomers believe most of these stars have planets.

The fact that almost as soon as we have built a telescope capable of detecting small, earth-like worlds, one turns up right on our cosmic doorstep, shows that statistically, there are probably billions of earths out there.
As Seth Shostak says: "We've never found one close to being like the Earth until now. We are finding that Earth is not such an unusual puppy in the litter of planets."

But are these alien Earths home to life? No one knows. We don't understand how life began on our world, let alone how it could arise anywhere else. There may be an awful lot of bugs and bacteria out there, and only a few worlds with what we would recognise as plants and animals. Or, of course, there may be nothing.

The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence Institute uses radio telescopes to try to pick up messages sent by alien civilisations.
Interestingly, Gliese 581c is so close to the Earth that if its putative inhabitants only had our level of technology, they could - just about - pick up some of our radio signals, such as the most powerful military transmitters. Quite what would happen if we for our part did receive a signal is unclear.

"There is a protocol, buried away in the United Nations," says Dr Shostak. "The President would be told first, after the signal was confirmed by other observatories. But we couldn't keep such a discovery secret."
It may be some time before we detect any such signals, but it is just possible that today we are closer than ever to finding life in the stars.

William Hill said it had shortened the odds on proving the existence of extraterrestrial intelligence from 1,000-1 to 100-1.
Spokesman Graham Sharpe said: "We would face a possible eight-figure payout if it were to be confirmed that intelligent life of extra-terrestrial origin exists. We felt we had to react to the news that an earth-like planet which could support intelligent life had been discovered - after all, we don't know for sure that intelligent extraterrestrial life has not already been discovered."
The new planet, so far unnamed, is 20.5 light years away and orbits a red dwarf star called Gliese 581.

[impactX]

^

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gliese_581_c

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gliese_581_d

[LiquidTurbo]

^. That's interesteing! Kinda weird that the planet might be entirely ocean. LOL @ the communication attempts.. communication with a 20 year delay.

Hey, only 20 light years away! Maybe one day in the future we'll go there to get Unobtainium :D

[tool001]

http://www.cartoonstock.com/lowres/cza0936l.jpg

[Greenstoner]

There are probably 100+ fish species that are 1000 years old in the deep blue sea waiting to be discovered. Same theory work for universe, there is gotta be some living things we dont know about.

http://www.oddee.com/item_79915.aspx lol, these creatures looks like alien to me

[Chopstick]

ya why would aliens waste space fuel to come visit earth? there must be a planet somewhere where there's horny 9-breasted sexy female aliens that can care less for next year's handbag trend, and are allergic to diamonds

if i was an alien, why the hell would i come to earth? to catch the latest season of the biggest loser, to see which of those fat fucks can embarass themself the most on national television? watch re runs and re runs of fucking seinfield and bad movies? or to visit texas and eat the biggest mafacking steak in the known universe which the cows have been fed with chemicals and hormones cause no1 gives a fuck?

stupid ppl on earth

busy with trivial shit like territories and stupid wars since the dawn of time, working for shit called money, deception all around, everyone has to be better than the person next to them with no end in sight

wasting brain cells and resources to create enough nuclear bombs to blow this shitty little planet 1000x over

fucking humans i wanna be borg

fucking skytrain

[Chopstick]

but why would we build so many nuclear bombs in the first place?? (O__O)!?

maybe those 999 other nuclear bombs are for someone else o___o

[iwantaskyline]

Why would an alien race that is advanced enough to travel to our solar system give a shit about humans.

It's like us walking by an ant hill. We're not going to say hi to the ants, we're just going to keep walking.

[q0192837465]

but why would we build so many nuclear bombs in the first place?? (O__O)!?

maybe those 999 other nuclear bombs are for someone else o___o

If we have enough nukes to blow ourselves up 20 times, why can't we take down an asteroid 1/4 of our size?

[Noir]

ya why would aliens waste space fuel to come visit earth? there must be a planet somewhere where there's horny 9-breasted sexy female aliens that can care less for next year's handbag trend, and are allergic to diamonds

if i was an alien, why the hell would i come to earth? to catch the latest season of the biggest loser, to see which of those fat fucks can embarass themself the most on national television? watch re runs and re runs of fucking seinfield and bad movies? or to visit texas and eat the biggest mafacking steak in the known universe which the cows have been fed with chemicals and hormones cause no1 gives a fuck?

stupid ppl on earth

busy with trivial shit like territories and stupid wars since the dawn of time, working for shit called money, deception all around, everyone has to be better than the person next to them with no end in sight

wasting brain cells and resources to create enough nuclear bombs to blow this shitty little planet 1000x over

fucking humans i wanna be borg

fucking skytrain


Was that supposed to be funny or smart? Because it was neither.

1stly, the expanse of the universe is equated to the desert. When you come to an object of interest; say an oasis, village, or city, what intelligent creature would opt to continue walking around endlessly some more in the infinite desert?

2ndly, until an alien lifeform does actually discover our planet, they're not going to know our nature as people, our environment, our nuclear arms, handbags, to be be able to pre-empt the decision not to explore our planet.


Your "look at me, I'm trying to be cute" posts are old and only lightly entertaining the first time. At least I'll give you credit for finally learning not to talk in the 3rd person.

[kookoobird88]

The planet article is interesting. but when its only 20 light years away how come they didnt see it earlier? sounds like that nibiru planet lol. approx 8-10 times the size of earth, many earth like features, and are only finding it now because of its 3600 year orbit and is supposed to be visible to humans in may 2011 so they say.
But people say why would aliens be interested in humans? We humans are curious about other life forms so why can they? Because we would be a "unknown" species to them.

[TomBox_N]

The planet article is interesting. but when its only 20 light years away how come they didnt see it earlier? sounds like that nibiru planet lol. approx 8-10 times the size of earth, many earth like features, and are only finding it now because of its 3600 year orbit and is supposed to be visible to humans in may 2011 so they say.
But people say why would aliens be interested in humans? We humans are curious about other life forms so why can they? Because we would be a "unknown" species to them.

They dun see it cuz there r 2 other planets in that system that r much mcuh larger than it.
Posted via RS Mobile (http://www.revscene.net/forums/announcement.php?a=228)

[TomBox_N]

Why would an alien race that is advanced enough to travel to our solar system give a shit about humans.

It's like us walking by an ant hill. We're not going to say hi to the ants, we're just going to keep walking.

That's just ignorant. Have you no idea how many scientists have spent their lifetime trying to understand these "lower creatures".
Posted via RS Mobile (http://www.revscene.net/forums/announcement.php?a=228)

[Selanne_200]

Maybe our exsistence is already known to other more intellegent aliens out there, but our technology doesn't allow us to interpret that information. For as much as we know, maybe GOD is another interpretation of an alien, which may've made contact before or let it be known that we're not laone.
P.S. wasn't it determined that the pyramids couldn't possibly be built by the egyptians given their tecnology and knowledge?? We can't even duplicate building a pyramid using man power alone with limited tools and technologies. Correct me if I'm wrong.

[LiquidTurbo]

Maybe our exsistence is already known to other more intellegent aliens out there, but our technology doesn't allow us to interpret that information. For as much as we know, maybe GOD is another interpretation of an alien, which may've made contact before or let it be known that we're not laone.
P.S. wasn't it determined that the pyramids couldn't possibly be built by the egyptians given their tecnology and knowledge?? We can't even duplicate building a pyramid using man power alone with limited tools and technologies. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Pyramids can be built with men.. enough of them.

You could be right in the notion that perhaps we are the 'ants' of the cosmic world, and other life (perhaps of higher consciousness) are aware of is. But that certainly does not make this 'life' in any sense a Judeo-Christian God in any sense.

[alwaysideways]

Why would an alien race that is advanced enough to travel to our solar system give a shit about humans.

It's like us walking by an ant hill. We're not going to say hi to the ants, we're just going to keep walking.



Thats not good....I would kick ant hills for fun when I was younger... :inoutugh:

[NJMR]

contact would hurt us cause they'd be after our delicious blood.

[q0192837465]

Myabe the aliens ARE watching us, just like how government satelites are watching every one of us. Yet, how many of us know or feel that we'r being watched, other than the fact that we'r told so?

[skyxx]

I'd tap it.