Wasting time searching for something that isn't there ...

[dogtag]

Suppose they do find a microscopic organism on Pluto,
are they going to attempt communication ? Good luck.
Ever tried talking to an ant let alone a germ ?
Give it up boys, there's no one out there, anywhere.
We're it, and when we finally land on a distant planet
we'll find a Union Jack and a picture of Queen Victoria.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencet...h-surface.html

[togor]

They have found biology occurring in some pretty extreme environments on earth.

At some level, we're mostly exothermic chemical reactions involving molecules of the lighter elements which are found at the surface and in the atmosphere. In short we are made of the stuff that naturally occurs around us.

Get some of those elements near an energy source and stable (if extreme by our measure) environment, add time, who knows.

[Vern Humphrey]

There's a simple paradigm -- imagine a sphere 100 light years radius, centered on our solar system.

Now imagine there's ANOTHER high-tech civilization inside this sphere in space, capable of communicating in the elector-magnetic spectrum.

Now increase the radius to 200 light years -- which increases the volume of space in the sphere by a factor of 8.

If there are TWO high-tech civilizations inside the smaller sphere, then there must be around SIXTEEN in the larger sphere. And if there were 15 high-tech civilizations communicating in the electro-magnetic spectrum within 200 light years of us, we would surely have detected some of them by now.

This little exercise -- which can be repeated with any dimensions you choose -- shows we are to all intents and purposes, alone in the Universe.

[dogtag]

IF. If only I were rich instead of handsome.

No, there's no one out there and the flying saucers we've seen
are Buick hubcaps.

[lyman]

assuming those other civilizations used EM communications

[Vern Humphrey]

assuming those other civilizations used EM communications

Here's the thing -- if they don't, how will we ever detect them?

Imagine there's life on a planet 200 light years away. Could we see them with a telescope? How could we possibly know they were there?

[dogtag]

Nah, there's no one but us. If we can ever get there they'll be
mandatory colonization because of earth overcrowding.
Whether you want to go or not.
Maybe they'll be lucky and find a Woolworth there.

You can see I'm a SF fan.

[togor]

what conversations are to be had with a 100 year latency each way? how is such a conversation started and sustained?

[dryheat]

We should go to the English speaking planets like they do on Star Trek.

[lyman]

We should go to the English speaking planets like they do on Star Trek.

you have a Universal Translator?


or would you prefer a Babelfish?

[jgaynor]

Looking for something that isn't there...

Suppose they do find a microscopic organism on Pluto,
are they going to attempt communication ? Good luck.
Ever tried talking to an ant let alone a germ ?
Give it up boys, there's no one out there, anywhere.
We're it, and when we finally land on a distant planet
we'll find a Union Jack and a picture of Queen Victoria.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencet...h-surface.html

Kind of like Rudy Giuliani and his Michigan "poll watchers"

[Mark in Ottawa]

One of the big problems with the search for extra terrestrial life is that even if there are planets that are very similar to earth (and there probably are, given the billions of plants out there) the probability that living organisms are in the same state of development as we are, is infinitessimally small. Note that the earth is about 4.5 billion years old; that mankind of any sort has only been around for about 250,000 years and civilized man, only about 10,000 years. A civilization similar to ours could have developed and then disappeared a billion years ago and even if we travelled to that planet, we would find no trace. We're probably better off worrying about the state of our own people than worrying about micro-organisms on another planet

[Vern Humphrey]

One of the big problems with the search for extra terrestrial life is that even if there are planets that are very similar to earth (and there probably are, given the billions of plants out there) the probability that living organisms are in the same state of development as we are, is infinitessimally small. Note that the earth is about 4.5 billion years old; that mankind of any sort has only been around for about 250,000 years and civilized man, only about 10,000 years. A civilization similar to ours could have developed and then disappeared a billion years ago and even if we travelled to that planet, we would find no trace. We're probably better off worrying about the state of our own people than worrying about micro-organisms on another planet

Particularly given the billions of dollars we pour into space exploration.

[dogtag]

There may not be life out there but there are valuable minerals.
Ours will eventually run out and that will spur the search among
our system.
All you need is a compelling reason.

[togor]

One thing we know for certain:

If the US government has confirmed knowledge of alien life,

they don't automatically disclose this fact to the US President.