Seeking extra-terrestrial life; an worthy pursuit?

[Guest peepshow]

its our numbers that will cause the problem... bit like a virus we reproduce too successfully and the planet will eventually not sustain that, climate wise or resources wise

We will all  be able to live on those new beef burgers made in the lab.   Yummy yum yum

 

          "2050" 

"Ten thousand million tongues

Uttering, stuttering, muttering,

Cluttering up the sweet air,

I once breathed."

[Tibbz2]

I fully agree with that. We are going to have to be smarter in the future to live within our resource levels.

 

I think we will have to have some humans leave this planet and live on others in the future, Earth will become so over crowded that if a disease arises it may well be the end of the human race, the only way to survive in the long term is to have colonies on other terraformed planets

[xanthic]

I think we will have to have some humans leave this planet and live on others in the future, Earth will become so over crowded that if a disease arises it may well be the end of the human race, the only way to survive in the long term is to have colonies on other terraformed planets

Also risk of massive impactor event, nearby gamma ray burst or passing rogue planet. Also the Zlurg Imperium turning up to harvest us for food...

[Tibbz2]

Also risk of massive impactor event, nearby gamma ray burst or passing rogue planet. Also the Zlurg Imperium turning up to harvest us for food...

 

Haha

 

But yeah look what happened to the dinosaurs etc, that's all we need to see to notice single planet civilizations aren't safe in the slightest

[xanthic]

I see the next step will be robotic mining of the asteroid belt. This will make us resource rich. We should then use this to fund research and build vessels to take us out of the solar system.

[Sheila]

Haha

 

But yeah look what happened to the dinosaurs etc, that's all we need to see to notice single planet civilizations aren't safe in the slightest

erm it was not actually the impact that killed off the dinosaurs, contributory factor yes, but the extinction event had already started several thousand years before,

maybe final nail but not the root cause ......  lots of extinctions occurred before the KT boundary

[Tibbz2]

I see the next step will be robotic mining of the asteroid belt. This will make us resource rich. We should then use this to fund research and build vessels to take us out of the solar system.

 

I always thought that would be out of our reach for the time being but seeing as there are already a few companies competing to do it makes it seem far more real now!

 

erm it was not actually the impact that killed off the dinosaurs, contributory factor yes, but the extinction event had already started several thousand years before,

maybe final nail but not the root cause ......  lots of extinctions occurred before the KT boundary

 

Well maybe not (I didn't know that, yes I'm that retarded), but I think the idea is still the same, if you're on one planet its far easier to be wiped out and become extinct than being on a few or more

[Guest]

Imagine if we came across something like the daleks.

[tuckstar]

I think we will have to have some humans leave this planet and live on others in the future, Earth will become so over crowded that if a disease arises it may well be the end of the human race, the only way to survive in the long term is to have colonies on other terraformed planets

Ark a,b and c!.

H2G2

[Guest devil74]

See J you have the whole of EMS arguing now..nice one 

[Sheila]

Imagine if we came across something like the daleks.

then you would need the new Dr Who

[Sheila]

See J you have the whole of EMS arguing now..nice one 

we never argue.. we politely discuss different opinons

[Guest]

Ark a,b and c!.

H2G2

I'm definitely a B ark type of person.

[Al.Grant]

It's probably safe to say that we will keep on looking as far into deep space as our technology allows us (and long may that continue).

 

So if we are already looking into deep space then I think it is only sensible to examine the huge amounts of data that we are already gathering to see if there is anything in there that could indicate the presence of extra-terrestrial life.    If we've already gathered the date then it would be silly not to fully examine it for anything it could tell us.  As I understand it this is what the seti program is currently doing, piggy backing on existing array missions/data, rather than running their own array. 

 

If we did find anything there is no guarantee that it will be a deliberate attempt to communicate!  It could easily be stray electromagnetic transmissions (similar to our early TV signals spreading out into space), it could be from analysis of an exo-planets atmosphere that gives us an indication of the presence of life.

 

If we detect a signal that is not a deliberate attempt at communication then there is probably little point in trying to talk back (especially given the likely time/distances involved), but it would certainly be worth listening in and trying to understand.

 

Even if  'aliens' were sending out a dedicated "hello" message there is no guarantee that we would actually see it.  Many of our existing communication systems use spread spectrum / frequency hopping technology that can be difficult to distinguish from the background noise, even when you know it's there!  (as somebody who used to try intercept it for a living I know how hard it can be)

 

Should we keep on looking .....  yes, I think we probably should. But if we find anything we shouldn't automatically expect to enter into some form of intergalactic chat!

 

But if we did find undeniable proof that life exists out there .....  it would be truly amazing!

[Guest]

It's probably safe to say that we will keep on looking as far into deep space as our technology allows us (and long may that continue).

 

So if we are already looking into deep space then I think it is only sensible to examine the huge amounts of data that we are already gathering to see if there is anything in there that could indicate the presence of extra-terrestrial life.    If we've already gathered the date then it would be silly not to fully examine it for anything it could tell us.  As I understand it this is what the seti program is currently doing, piggy backing on existing array missions/data, rather than running their own array. 

 

If we did find anything there is no guarantee that it will be a deliberate attempt to communicate!  It could easily be stray electromagnetic transmissions (similar to our early TV signals spreading out into space), it could be from analysis of an exo-planets atmosphere that gives us an indication of the presence of life.

 

If we detect a signal that is not a deliberate attempt at communication then there is probably little point in trying to talk back (especially given the likely time/distances involved), but it would certainly be worth listening in and trying to understand.

 

Even if  'aliens' were sending out a dedicated "hello" message there is no guarantee that we would actually see it.  Many of our existing communication systems use spread spectrum / frequency hopping technology that can be difficult to distinguish from the background noise, even when you know it's there!  (as somebody who used to try intercept it for a living I know how hard it can be)

 

Should we keep on looking .....  yes, I think we probably should. But if we find anything we shouldn't automatically expect to enter into some form of intergalactic chat!

 

But if we did find undeniable proof that life exists out there .....  it would be truly amazing!

I think we can safely assume that trying to chat over anything more than 50 light years (possibly less) would not be possible. I think the huge majority of alien life would not be capable to sending signals.

[Guest peepshow]

Aaallllllooooow,   aaallllllooooow.

 

eeeeees teeeer   eeeeennnnnniiiiiii  booooooodddddyyyyyyyyyyy  ttteeeeeeeeeeeerreeeeeee   ?

 

 

  ^&%$£"_+?@{$&]     

[tuckstar]

Sorry we've all gone for tea!

[BAZ]

As you say, that's assuming there is no extinction of the human race. I watched a program about the Yellowstone caldera, and that bad boy is getting twitchy, if it does go bang that is pretty much most things finished. Well except Crocodiles.  

[Sheila]

As you say, that's assuming there is no extinction of the human race. I watched a program about the Yellowstone caldera, and that bad boy is getting twitchy, if it does go bang that is pretty much most things finished. Well except Crocodiles.

and cock roaches will inherit the earth

[Guest peepshow]

and cock roaches will inherit the earth

But where will the restaurants'  kitchens be for them to live in?

Edited August 7, 2013 by peepshow

[+Ibbo]

there is always Milliways