Possible first contact? Not in my lifetime BUT!

[BnW]

I guess it was from Mars. I remember when this happened in 1996 and some time after that there was a report that the original assessment was wrong and either the meteor wasn't from Mars or the bacteria wasn't, I can't recall which now. But, I just did a google search and there are some stories from the past 18 months still talking about this so I guess I'm just not up to date.

[Stargazer]

In my opinion, I think it's highly probable that we will discover alien life in our lifetime. We might "hear" a signal from another star system, or we might find life within our own solar system, possibly on a moon such as europa. I personally think the first alien life will be detected by analyzing the atmosphere of extrasolar planets.

[Cdf50]

I truly hope we find something within my lifetime. I don't care what it is, whether it's a bacteria or a sentient being. Whatever it is, it has to be different.

When I say different, I don't mean different like in the alien movies, I mean totally mind blowingly different. It would be an enormous aid to evolution and abiogenesis sciences if alien lifeforms were ridiculously.. different.

I mean in the sense that they don't even have DNA (In the traditional sense) and have a totally different system of information storage and replication. It would be incredible and entirely possible. Imagine the life forms that could emerge if they used more amino acids than the organisms on earth, or if they used some other manner of living that we aren't even creative enough to think of!

[Chesstime]

(05-04-2011 02:24 PM)Cdf50 Wrote:  I truly hope we find something within my lifetime. I don't care what it is, whether it's a bacteria or a sentient being. Whatever it is, it has to be different.

When I say different, I don't mean different like in the alien movies, I mean totally mind blowingly different. It would be an enormous aid to evolution and abiogenesis sciences if alien lifeforms were ridiculously.. different.

I mean in the sense that they don't even have DNA (In the traditional sense) and have a totally different system of information storage and replication. It would be incredible and entirely possible. Imagine the life forms that could emerge if they used more amino acids than the organisms on earth, or if they used some other manner of living that we aren't even creative enough to think of!

I "Liked" your comment, but tend to think that Life throughout this galaxy
Is more likely similar, (Even if only slightly), to life here, rather than "Mindblowingly different. But I like you sense of open-mindedness! Anyway, To the others in previos comments that suggest life would be found nearby, particularly animal life, I tend to agree only slightly. I feel that space telescope and travel technology MAY advance soon enough for me to still be living, to take a better look at some candidates to possibly discern weather or not there is life.

[helland]

I completely agree, we could find 'evidence of life' anyday, but first contact is no given in our lifetime.

I think you can find several youtube videos of Neil degrasse tyson talking about this. All you need to find is oxygen to have an indication of life, as oxygen is naturally unstable. If you find a planet with an abundant oxygen atmosphere, it must be generated somehow and as far as we know, life would most likely be the source.

[TheBeardedDude]

(06-04-2011 12:36 AM)Chesstime Wrote:  

(05-04-2011 02:24 PM)Cdf50 Wrote:  I truly hope we find something within my lifetime. I don't care what it is, whether it's a bacteria or a sentient being. Whatever it is, it has to be different.

When I say different, I don't mean different like in the alien movies, I mean totally mind blowingly different. It would be an enormous aid to evolution and abiogenesis sciences if alien lifeforms were ridiculously.. different.

I mean in the sense that they don't even have DNA (In the traditional sense) and have a totally different system of information storage and replication. It would be incredible and entirely possible. Imagine the life forms that could emerge if they used more amino acids than the organisms on earth, or if they used some other manner of living that we aren't even creative enough to think of!

I "Liked" your comment, but tend to think that Life throughout this galaxy
Is more likely similar, (Even if only slightly), to life here, rather than "Mindblowingly different. But I like you sense of open-mindedness! Anyway, To the others in previos comments that suggest life would be found nearby, particularly animal life, I tend to agree only slightly. I feel that space telescope and travel technology MAY advance soon enough for me to still be living, to take a better look at some candidates to possibly discern weather or not there is life.

Actually "mindblowingly different" may be a more likely scenario. Think about this. You are more closely related to a fungus than you will be any life form on another planet. All organisms on Earth arose from a common ancestor and if we had the ability to rewind time and start again it would not turn out the same way. If life forms exist on another planet they will most certainly not resemble anything on Earth. Natural Selection will still operate on their planet but the environment, climate, and competition will drive it in a completely different way!

[UnderTheMicroscope]

Is it Europa that has oceans of liquid methane? I was reading about this on some science speculation website that methane is almost unstable like oxygen, and its decay rate is within the realm of 3 million years. So for Europa to have such a high quantity of methane is must be coming from somewhere... methane on earth is made mostly by biological processes.

Don't know how much of that is true, just thought I'd throw my 2 cents in there

[helland]

(25-04-2011 08:10 AM)UnderTheMicroscope Wrote:  Is it Europa that has oceans of liquid methane? I was reading about this on some science speculation website that methane is almost unstable like oxygen, and its decay rate is within the realm of 3 million years. So for Europa to have such a high quantity of methane is must be coming from somewhere... methane on earth is made mostly by biological processes.

Don't know how much of that is true, just thought I'd throw my 2 cents in there

You're probably thinking about Titan, which has been confirmed to have liquid hydrocarbons (spesifically ethane i think). The temperature and composition is just right for it and a completly different kind of life, NOT originating in water, has been proposed as a possibility there

We think Europa has an enormous underground ocean of liquid water created by the tidal forces between it and jupiter. I guess this, and Mars, are the most likely candidates for life in our solar system outside Earth.