The Daily Galaxy: Great Discoveries Channel

The 1.8 Gigayear Gap -A Galaxy Classic

Are we the lone sentient life in the universe? So far, we have no evidence to the contrary, and yet the odds that not one single other planet has evolved intelligent life would appear, from a statistical standpoint, to be quite small. There are an estimated 250 billion (2.5 x 10¹¹ ) stars in the Milky Way alone, and over 70 sextillion (7 x 10²² ) in the visible universe, and many of them are surrounded by multiple planets. The shear size of the known universe is staggeringly and inconceivably vast.

The METI Controversy Pro & Con: Is Detection by an Exo Civilization a Threat to Earth?

Mankind has always been driven by contradictory drives.  The relentless curiosity that pushes us forward and is directly responsible for our progress from caves to  cities.  The fear of change that tells us "hang on, these caves/cities are really nice, we don't want to risk losing them."  There isn't any greater potential threat to the status quo than the discovery of extraterrestrial life, which is why some people would prefer we didn't try.

The SETI Gambit: Broadcast Google into Deep Space

The UFO Phenomena -“Religion or Science”? A Galaxy Classic

Is the world’s fascination with the possibility of UFOs and  more a religion or a natural intuitive sense that life is “out there” based on current scientific research and recent planet-search discoveries?

One of the world’s preeminent astrophysicists, Carl Sagan, believed that “the interest in unidentified flying objects derives, perhaps, not so much from scientific curiosity as from unfulfilled religious needs.”

SETI Chief Astronomer: "Humans Predicted to Make Contact with an Extraterrestrial Civilization Within Two Decades"--A Galaxy Classic

"That's 500 billion planets out there, and bear in mind there are 100 billion other galaxies. To think this [the Earth] is the only place where anything interesting is happening, you have got to be really audacious to take that point of view."

Seth Shostak, SETI senior astronomer

 

Scientists Narrow In On the Best Shot at ET Contact

"If those civilizations are out there – and we don't know that they are – those that inhabit star systems that lie close to the plane of the Earth's orbit around the sun will be the most motivated to send communications signals toward Earth, because those civilizations will surely have detected our annual transit across the face of the sun, telling them that Earth lies in a habitable zone, where liquid water is stable. Through spectroscopic analysis of our atmosphere, they will know that Earth likely bears life. Knowing where to look tremendously reduces the amount of radio telescope time we will need to conduct the search.”

~ Richard Conn Henry, Johns Hopkins University

Vatican's Chief Astronomer -Advanced Extraterrestrial Life Not An Accident

The Vatican's chief astronomer says there is no conflict between believing in God and in the possibility of extraterrestrial civilizations perhaps more evolved than humans.

"In my opinion this possibility exists," said the Reverend José Gabriel Funes, head of the Vatican Observatory and a scientific adviser to Pope Benedict XVI, referring to life on other planets.

Jupiter's Europa -The Water Moon

Russia's Millimetron Space Observatory -The Search for Astro-engineering in the Universe

Russia has a new space mission in preparation that can be used for the search for extraterrestrial intelligence. The project Millimetron is a millimeter and sub-millimeter space observatory with a 10 meter diameter mirror, very sensitive receivers for single dish mode and will be used for orbiting VLBI (Very Long Base Interferometer). This telescope would be convenient for a very sensitive all sky survey with the possibility of constructing images of sources with a very high angular resolution. The mission will be useful for the search for astro-engineering constructions in the universe.

The Great Silence -Are We the Miss Lonely Hearts of the Milky Way?

Dennis Overbye, author of Lonely Hearts of he Cosmos wrote a brilliant essay about the probability of discovering intelligent, advanced technological civilization in our Galaxy. Overbye quoted Francis Drake, father of SETI, the search for extraterrestrial life, who says that to hear from ET we would "need to look at 10 million stars (there are 200 billion in our galaxy) and there is not enough time left."

The 1.8 Gigayear Gap -A Galaxy Classic

Are we the lone sentient life in the universe? So far, we have no evidence to the contrary, and yet the odds that not one single other planet has evolved intelligent life would appear, from a statistical standpoint, to be quite small. There are an estimated 250 billion (2.5 x 10¹¹ ) stars in the Milky Way alone, and over 70 sextillion (7 x 10²² ) in the visible universe, and many of them are surrounded by multiple planets. The shear size of the known universe is staggeringly and inconceivably vast.

The METI Controversy Pro & Con: Is Detection by an Exo Civilization a Threat to Earth?

Mankind has always been driven by contradictory drives.  The relentless curiosity that pushes us forward and is directly responsible for our progress from caves to  cities.  The fear of change that tells us "hang on, these caves/cities are really nice, we don't want to risk losing them."  There isn't any greater potential threat to the status quo than the discovery of extraterrestrial life, which is why some people would prefer we didn't try.

The SETI Gambit: Broadcast Google into Deep Space

The UFO Phenomena -“Religion or Science”? A Galaxy Classic

Is the world’s fascination with the possibility of UFOs and  more a religion or a natural intuitive sense that life is “out there” based on current scientific research and recent planet-search discoveries?

One of the world’s preeminent astrophysicists, Carl Sagan, believed that “the interest in unidentified flying objects derives, perhaps, not so much from scientific curiosity as from unfulfilled religious needs.”

SETI Chief Astronomer: "Humans Predicted to Make Contact with an Extraterrestrial Civilization Within Two Decades"--A Galaxy Classic

"That's 500 billion planets out there, and bear in mind there are 100 billion other galaxies. To think this [the Earth] is the only place where anything interesting is happening, you have got to be really audacious to take that point of view."

Seth Shostak, SETI senior astronomer

 

Scientists Narrow In On the Best Shot at ET Contact

"If those civilizations are out there – and we don't know that they are – those that inhabit star systems that lie close to the plane of the Earth's orbit around the sun will be the most motivated to send communications signals toward Earth, because those civilizations will surely have detected our annual transit across the face of the sun, telling them that Earth lies in a habitable zone, where liquid water is stable. Through spectroscopic analysis of our atmosphere, they will know that Earth likely bears life. Knowing where to look tremendously reduces the amount of radio telescope time we will need to conduct the search.”

~ Richard Conn Henry, Johns Hopkins University

Vatican's Chief Astronomer -Advanced Extraterrestrial Life Not An Accident

The Vatican's chief astronomer says there is no conflict between believing in God and in the possibility of extraterrestrial civilizations perhaps more evolved than humans.

"In my opinion this possibility exists," said the Reverend José Gabriel Funes, head of the Vatican Observatory and a scientific adviser to Pope Benedict XVI, referring to life on other planets.

Jupiter's Europa -The Water Moon

Russia's Millimetron Space Observatory -The Search for Astro-engineering in the Universe

Russia has a new space mission in preparation that can be used for the search for extraterrestrial intelligence. The project Millimetron is a millimeter and sub-millimeter space observatory with a 10 meter diameter mirror, very sensitive receivers for single dish mode and will be used for orbiting VLBI (Very Long Base Interferometer). This telescope would be convenient for a very sensitive all sky survey with the possibility of constructing images of sources with a very high angular resolution. The mission will be useful for the search for astro-engineering constructions in the universe.

The Great Silence -Are We the Miss Lonely Hearts of the Milky Way?

Dennis Overbye, author of Lonely Hearts of he Cosmos wrote a brilliant essay about the probability of discovering intelligent, advanced technological civilization in our Galaxy. Overbye quoted Francis Drake, father of SETI, the search for extraterrestrial life, who says that to hear from ET we would "need to look at 10 million stars (there are 200 billion in our galaxy) and there is not enough time left."