Alien Life Forms Expected in next 20 Years

[chuckinca]

NASA reports that it expects to encounter alien life forms within the next 20 years.

NASA says discovering alien life in next 20 years is 'within reach' (http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/nasa-says-alien-life-will-be-discovered-within-20-years-220544489.html)

"Astronomers think it is very likely that every single star in our Milky Way galaxy has at least one planet."

Based on those predictions, NASA believes that there could be literally 100 million planets within our own galaxy alone that could host life."

Anybody out there?

.

[l2ridehd]

I read this somewhere and may not recall the exact math, but it went something like this.

If we look at just the Milky Way Galaxy, and assume one in every 100,000 stars has a planet revolving around it, and of those, one of every 100,000 planets has the ability to sustain life, and one of the 100,000 that could actually does have life, there are 100,000 planets that have life just in our Galaxy. And there are now what, 10 known Galaxies? Maybe more by now.

Just the math alone makes it impossible not to believe there is life besides us out there. And some of that life has to be more advanced than we are.

[shcisamax]

I'm a believer. To think that we are the only ones here is, if not arrogant, completely illogical.

[DougB]

Call me arrogant.

[Arctic Fox]

NASA reports that it expects to encounter alien life forms within the next 20 years. Anybody out there?

.

NASA didn't say intelligent life. Even the black stuff in my shower is alive :-)

[quirky3]

What a coincidence! I am missing three hours of consciousness from last night, and found this note on my pillow....

[Taltarzac725]

Still cannot understand the Theory of the Big Bang? If there was an explosion in a vacuum would not all these particles or whatever go in all different directions? No molecules would join together to eventually somehow mutate and eventually get pulled together with others and somehow, someway create life?

Maybe, multiple Big Bangs???

There is probably life out there but still cannot see why they would want to meet us if they are intelligent and very advanced in technology. Observe us, yes. Take our resources if they needed them, perhaps.

[Tobys Dad]

:agree:I agree, there has to be more intelligent life out there, certainly not that much down here!

[DonH57]

You earthlings crack me up.

[billethkid]

what the article failed to state was who is it that is going to taxi us up there to make the discovery??

And if we are just a passenger in a vehicle of a nation that has a space budget, how much credit can we expect to claim.

Ahhhhhh, for the good old days when things like space WERE a priority!

[skyguy79]

You earthlings crack me up.Did you forget that we were told that the mother ship would be back to pick us up and bring us back to face charges if we slipped up and revealed our existence here?

[DonH57]

Did you forget that we were told that the mother ship would be back to pick us up and bring us back to face charges if we slipped up and revealed our existence here?

Oh. Yeah. I forgot about that. I should not have trusted them and their " herb". Jeesh.:ohdear:

[Arctic Fox]

Still cannot understand the Theory of the Big Bang? If there was an explosion in a vacuum would not all these particles or whatever go in all different directions? No molecules would join together to eventually somehow mutate and eventually get pulled together with others and somehow, someway create life?

Not that it will help much, but at the time of the Big Bang there was no space, just a point of infinite density.

As space itself expanded (incidentally, the one thing that can travel faster than the speed of light) the "particles" did go in all directions and, as they slowed down and cooled down, gravity worked to clump them together.

[Vic&Judy]

You earthlings crack me up.

Remember ALF?????

[DougB]

what the article failed to state was who is it that is going to taxi us up there to make the discovery??

And if we are just a passenger in a vehicle of a nation that has a space budget, how much credit can we expect to claim.

Ahhhhhh, for the good old days when things like space WERE a priority!

Cab fare would be astronomical. Think it would take about 70,000 years to reach the next closest star.

[Polar Bear]

I read this somewhere and may not recall the exact math, but it went something like this.

If we look at just the Milky Way Galaxy, and assume one in every 100,000 stars has a planet revolving around it, and of those, one of every 100,000 planets has the ability to sustain life, and one of the 100,000 that could actually does have life, there are 100,000 planets that have life just in our Galaxy. And there are now what, 10 known Galaxies? Maybe more by now.

Just the math alone makes it impossible not to believe there is life besides us out there. And some of that life has to be more advanced than we are.

I believe that's from Cosmos (the book) by Carl Sagan.

[Taltarzac725]

Not that it will help much, but at the time of the Big Bang there was no space, just a point of infinite density.

As space itself expanded (incidentally, the one thing that can travel faster than the speed of light) the "particles" did go in all directions and, as they slowed down and cooled down, gravity worked to clump them together.

That sounds more like something that should be in the book of Genesis in The Bible rather than a scientific theory. If space is infinite I still do not see these "particles" ever meeting. "A point of infinite density" somehow implies that something has existed for all the up time up to then.

http://science.howstuffworks.com/dictionary/astronomy-terms/big-bang-theory7.htm

[SantaClaus]

Two things. First, Sagan's conclusions are completely reasonable if you are completely convinced that life requires no designer... if it's a function of pure chance then the numbers make it implausible that life would only exist here. If you look at the complexity of the simplest single cell organism, just the physical structure, I'd say its near impossible to imagine that coming together by chance, but when you realize the 'programming' that it takes for that system to function, well, IMO to believe that came about by chance requires an enormous leap of faith. Not trying to start a debate, but also not willing to sit by silently as though we all agree with Sagan.

Second, there is no such thing as a physical infinity. Consider that space is the void between physical objects, but for there to be an infinite amount of space then everything that "is" would have to be space, because if not there could be more space than there is, but since infinity plus one is irrational this is not possible. Glad I could clear that up for ya (lol).

[shcisamax]

Try reading A Short History of Nearly Everything. Bill Bryce. Great book AND you will actually understand the Big Bang Theory....among all those other phenomena.

[Taltarzac725]

Try reading A Short History of Nearly Everything. Bill Bryce. Great book AND you will actually understand the Big Bang Theory....among all those other phenomena.

A short history of nearly everything - Bryson (http://web.archive.org/web/20070304010657/http://www.royalsoc.ac.uk/page.asp?tip=1&id=3581)

I have that book somewhere or other.

[shcisamax]

Thank you for the correction on his name ....

[Barefoot]

I'm a believer. To think that we are the only ones here is, if not arrogant, completely illogical.

I'm also a believer. Beam me up!

[senior citizen]

Scientists find Earth-sized world in life-friendly orbit (http://news.msn.com/science-technology/astronomers-spot-most-earth-like-planet-yet)

Not too hot and not too cold; an Earth-sized world that is a "cousin" to our planet, rather than a "twin".