Geezer

I disagree with your first statement, it's simply a numbers game. However, I agree it's unlikely we will ever see it.

I read an excellent article in New Scientist once about how the lack of intelligent life everywhere shows that the problem of overcoming interstellar travel is simply too great.

I can't remember exactly how it went, or find the article, but basically as the Universe is so old, intelligent life will probably have risen many many times, and for long enough to have travelled thoughout entire galaxies, so either it's too hard, or civilisations are snuffed out, either by themselves or by natural disaster before they can make that leap.

Geezer

Gordo

you're referring to the current human theory about the 'laws' of physics. doesn't mean it's unbreakable?

e.g. look at quantum tunelling on the web (German scientists in 2007 claimed to break the speed of light) and this piece of light reading:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faster-than-light

I also wonder if we're really a 'higher' life form - we're not bright enough to know how to manage our own population / planet! A bit like when someone says their child is 'very bright' and you then watch it run into the nearest wall......

We could just be an experiment to find the question 42 anyone?

Gordo

Terminator X

iTrader: (7)

You need unique conditions ie like on Earth - chance of those conditions elsewhere will be so small to be almost zero, just can't see it myself. Even with that it takes a long time ... 13bn years to get where we are today?

TX.

tempop1

I believe there could be. What we know is only what we presumed to be correct or what we can prove in our surroundings. Whats to say the the law of physics a billion miles away is the same as what we know?? We just presume that it is. Nice read on wikipedia, and its yet another example of what we believe to be true. Take a lot of things we have now that are so advance, would people 500years ago even think it would be possible.

bioforger

iTrader: (1)

Anyway to answer the original question.

1st vid is an electrical occurrence a bit like you would get with lightning. It's just static in this case causing the electrical like orbs.

2nd vid is a meteorite entering the earth's atmosphere.

No aliens, move along

stilover

Unique conditions for us. That's not to say life can't evolve on another planet in conditions that are unique to them.

ditchmyster

iTrader: (7)

Agreed whole heartedly, it's not so long ago that the world was flat and we would have fallen of once we got to the end.

This goes back to my original point it's all about what we know now and who would have thought we would all have a means of transport capable of travelling at over 100mph let alone the speeds that planes can travel at even 100yrs ago.

Did they not think that the flesh would litterally be torn from our bodies above something like 100mph.

Terminator X

iTrader: (7)

Nope, this is the only way that intelligent life can pan out imho ... the concept of little green aliens just not possible. Even if there there were life elsewhere it would be just like us either as in the past, right now or at some point in the future.

Just bear in mind the billions of variables on this planet every day then multiply that over billions of years ... it's just not possible so see that anywhere else imho = no intelligent life elsewhere.

TX.

boxst

It does of course make you wonder what is the point? We are just a little insignificant planet with life and we will all be nothing but fading photographs in 100 years.

Off to rock back and forth in a darkened room.

Steve

Bubba po

You can't use the argument from probability. It only counts if you try to predict an exact outcome from initial starting conditions.

Anyway, I agree that intelligent life is highly improbable, even if the evolution of life is fairly universal. This planet got by without human-like intelligence for 3.5 billion years of evolution without a problem, which indicates that we are an aberration, not a natural consequence or goal of organic evolution.

ChefDude

the universe has billions of years under its belt, so time is the great leveller. chances of life out there, as near evolved as us, right now is pretty slim to none.

dunx

iTrader: (3)

Whilst the universe is >13 bn years old this planet solidified around 5 bn years ago...

Before that we were "star stuff".

dunx

P.S. A million years ago we were busy dodging predators, what might we be doing in a million years time ?

Trout

iTrader: (1)

We are stardust, we are golden....

Trout

iTrader: (1)

Super rare only according to our criteria for life bearing planets which is changing all the time!

JTaylor

That reminds me, I need to mow the lawn.

stilover

That is a very narrow minded way to look at things. Life can only survive on a planet with exactly the same criteria as ours, or not at all?

The Universe is Billions of years old. Planet earth is just a fraction of that. We are still relatively new in the grand scheme of things. And human kinds time on this planet is less than a second, if you took the whole planet earth as a hour in time.

Also remember Dinosaurs were roaming around over 300 million years ago, when the atmosphere was very different to what it is now.

There may very well be a planet out there with little green Aliens on it. They may also be narrow minded enough to think that life can only occur if another planet replicates there exact criteria, and that if life out there was to exist, then they should be Green........ because they are.

Leslie

You've got one like that as well then!

Les

Leslie

Life could develop into a form which can survive the conditions which would finish us off. There are creatures on earth which can live in very high temperatures. Beings will evolve according to their surrounding conditions.

Les

Bubba po

No they weren't, and no it wasn't.

The earliest dinosaurs known are from about 230 mya and the majority went extinct 65 mya. And the atmosphere wasn't that different, perhaps a bit more oxygen, that's all.

dunx

iTrader: (3)

No I haven't, but I do know my place...

dunx

jods

At the risk of global ridicule. I was out the other day taking a few photos (as you do) and zoomed in on an airliner flying overhead. Took a couple and zoomed out to see a small bright object in the sky. Took a series of shots (3) the first shows what appears to be two cylindrical objects very close side by side, the second shows what appears to be a diagonal vapour trail, the third shows an oval shape with a bright trail approx 1/2 the width of the oval to the left with a dark triangular shape just above.

Showed it to some friends at a photography course at holland park a week ago.
They laughed when I told them about it - They weren't laughing after seeing the photos!

Sadly - I don't have an UBER powerful zoom lens so the detail isn't crystal clear but there was definately something there!

Jods

Turbohot

Can we see those pictures, Jods? Not ridiculing, just intrigued.

stilover

NUTTER ALERT NUTTER ALERT NUTTER ALERT.

jods

Sure thing TH - I'll load the photos up to photobucket.

If memory serves me right - Photobucket restricts filesize? If so I'll either PM you the full files or crop originals. I'm totally 100% open to analysis on this - I haven't a clue what it was.



WIBBLE@STI-L :P

Turbohot

That will be great, Jods. Thanks.

Geezer

You talk of billions of variables, but there is between 1022 and 1024 stars in the Universe. Even if only 1 percent have planets in the Goldilocks zone, and 1 percent of those evolve life, and then 0.1 percent of those evolve intelligent life, that's still in the millions, possibly billions.

Evolution here won't necessarily reflect evolution elsewhere either, it could me much faster (as well as slower too!). Just because it took Earth 4.5bn years to churn us out, doesn't mean that will have happened elsewhere.

Even if it does, then the Universe has been around for 13.5bn years, so plenty of chances for life to arisen.

Geezer

Leslie

Don't we all?

Les

Leslie

It will be interesting to see the pictures.

Les

austinwrx

I like the theory from both red dwarf and the hitchhikers guide to the galaxy that none of what we perceive to be real, really is:

i.e we're all running inside a giant computer game effectively.

put in place by higher level beings to test out theories.


btw- red dwarf was " back to reality" where they all wake up having been wired and playing a fully interactive game for many years.

which in turn, was a hoax set in place by the despair squid.

Hitchhikers was in series 4: whereby the dolphins in California set the whole scenario in process, millenia ago.

might just need to be corrected slightly on the last one !



back to Aliens: yes, if this is real, then surely something similar may exist elsewhere.

I also like the two ronnies take on it:

"you know that stonehenge?"

well its not an ancient church at all.....

what is it ?

is a flying saucer repair ramp: just like they have a 4 post ramp at the garage for your car !!!

fantastic !!!!!!!!

billythekid

Links!