They are out there! Somewhere!

[Bozos of Bones]

Sure there's life on other planets. If universe is infinite(don't think so) then there's an infinite chance of life on other planets, ergo there are an infinite number of other races. The Drake equation, which is a principle guideline for SETI and the like uses astronomical, biological and social factors to calculate the potential number of other races in this galaxy:
N = R * f p * n e * f l * f i * f c * L
And it equals 50.
There have been and still are many discussions on the validity of the equation, but the point is, even mathematically speaking there is bound to be life on other planets.
There is life on other planets.

[Rokenn]

If there isn't then it is an aweful waste of space [img]smile.gif[/img]


Personally I still think the jury is out on whether or not there is intelligent life here on Earth. Though the Dolphins have a strong claim to the title [img]tongue.gif[/img]

[Paladin2000]

Originally posted by Rokenn: If there isn't then it is an aweful waste of space [img]smile.gif[/img]

Hey, I recognise that quote. It is from the movie "Contact". And I do agree that there are other intelligent life/species in the universe. Whether we would be able to contact any of them in our lifetime is another issue.

It is possible that some aliens has been to Earth, but we are relatively "primitive" in their context, therefore they would not reveal themselves. Perhaps when our technology are advance enough, some of them would choose to do so.

[Vaskez]

Originally posted by Bozos of Bones: Sure there's life on other planets. If universe is infinite(don't think so) then there's an infinite chance of life on other planets, ergo there are an infinite number of other races. The Drake equation, which is a principle guideline for SETI and the like uses astronomical, biological and social factors to calculate the potential number of other races in this galaxy: N = R * f p * n e * f l * f i * f c * L And it equals 50. There have been and still are many discussions on the validity of the equation, but the point is, even mathematically speaking there is bound to be life on other planets. There is life on other planets.

There's no use posting an equation if you don't post what the sybols mean. Also whaddaya mean it equals 50!? LOL can't you see that there several variables in that equation and they are multiplied together thus the answer can vary greatly. The Drake equation:
N = R x Fp x ne x Ft x Fi x Fc x L

With a pessimistic evaluation:

N is no. of intelligent civilisations in a galaxy
-R is birth rate of suitable stars for life in the milky way measured in stars per year. A good average estimate is 5. Estimated by scientists as between 1 and 10.

-Fp is the fraction of stars with planets. Let's say 5%.

-ne is the no. of planets in a star's habitable zone - based on our solar system, only 1 as only earth for sure has water in liquid form. However, as I said before the location of other bigger planets is also important - so the average no. could be far less, say 0.1 or 0.01 (1%).

- Ft is fraction of civs that have the technology and desire to communicate with other civs - can we assume 100%?

Fi is the fraction of habitable planets where life does arise - a very complicated thing to guess but it took a few billion years for life to evolve on earth - the star and planet have to remain stable during this time - let's guess a low fraction e.g. 1% or 0.01.

Fc is the fraction inhabited by intelligent beings - chance of being extinct = high - scientists know of at least 10 extinction level events on the earth that wiped out half the life on teh planet - let's say 0.1 (10%)

L is the average no. of years a technologically advanced civilisation lasts- well technologically advanced means they've discovered radio so our civilisation has lasted over 100 years so far - how long will it last? 1000 years before we destroy ourselves? Or much longer.... let's say 1000.

so we have N = 5 * 0.05 * 0.01 * 1 * 0.01 * 0.1 * 1000 = 0.0025
so even if you multiply that by 100 or increase 2 of the factors by a factor of 10, you still get less than 1 civilisation per galaxy.

So maybe we ARE alone?

[Gangrell]

Originally posted by Vaskez: I also think that there could be smart life out there somewhere - a lot of work has been done on this though, and the odds are not good. For life anything like life on earth to exist, you need a planet with a similar size and climate to Earth. If a planet is too small it cannot generate a big enough gravitational field and may itself be pulled into its star. If it's too big it will attract all sorts of space debris, asteroids etc. which will probably kill any life on impact.

I agree with you, to a certain extent Vaskez. I've heard many people and scientific researchers in the field of extraterrestrials saying no life can exist anywhere else because of the unlivable conditions such as no oxygen, immense gravity, and so on. In other words, when they say "Nothing can live here" they are saying "Human beings cannot live here." If there are organisms that can withstand a toxic atmosphere, then over a period of time the organisms evolve such as most of the life on this planet, and that life adapts to it's environment.

I'm not saying there is diffinite life on Jupiter, considering it's entirely made of gas or Venus with it's ultimately poisonous environment, I'm just saying there can be life that can endure these conditions. In the end, no one is right or wrong, but quite frankly life could be living underneath the ground on a couple of planets in our galaxy for all we know.

And like I said, I doubt there isn't life on other planets, ignorant or intelligent, otherwise the universe would be an incredible waste of space.

[Zuvio]

For the love of organisms! Watch a single Star Trek episode and you KNOW that there is life out there. Sjeeeesh, that wasn't so hard, now was it? [img]graemlins/saywhat.gif[/img]

[Gangrell]

Originally posted by Zuvio: For the love of organisms! Watch a single Star Trek episode and you KNOW that there is life out there. Sjeeeesh, that wasn't so hard, now was it? [img]graemlins/saywhat.gif[/img]

Yes, I'm sure there's plenty of alien women out there that are willing to sleep with the captain of the ship [img]tongue.gif[/img]

[Vaskez]

Originally posted by Gangrell: quote: Originally posted by Vaskez: I also think that there could be smart life out there somewhere - a lot of work has been done on this though, and the odds are not good. For life anything like life on earth to exist, you need a planet with a similar size and climate to Earth. If a planet is too small it cannot generate a big enough gravitational field and may itself be pulled into its star. If it's too big it will attract all sorts of space debris, asteroids etc. which will probably kill any life on impact.

I agree with you, to a certain extent Vaskez. I've heard many people and scientific researchers in the field of extraterrestrials saying no life can exist anywhere else because of the unlivable conditions such as no oxygen, immense gravity, and so on. In other words, when they say "Nothing can live here" they are saying "Human beings cannot live here." If there are organisms that can withstand a toxic atmosphere, then over a period of time the organisms evolve such as most of the life on this planet, and that life adapts to it's environment.

I'm not saying there is diffinite life on Jupiter, considering it's entirely made of gas or Venus with it's ultimately poisonous environment, I'm just saying there can be life that can endure these conditions. In the end, no one is right or wrong, but quite frankly life could be living underneath the ground on a couple of planets in our galaxy for all we know.

And like I said, I doubt there isn't life on other planets, ignorant or intelligent, otherwise the universe would be an incredible waste of space. [/QUOTE]Hmm yeah I guess that TO A DEGREE aliens could withstand different conditions but as I said earlier, everything is still made up of the same basic elements having to obey the same chemical and physical processes (even if their biology varies) thus their required living conditions can't be all that different.

[Xen]

Sure there is. I am certain. It is a little weird that in zillions of miles we are the only life form... shees.

[Aelia Jusa]

Yes, I agree with Vaskez re the Drake equation. What answer you get depends on what values you plug in. And I would almost guarantee that if you have 10 people working it out they would come up with 10 different answers - we simply don't know the values of the terms so they must be estimated.

I think there may be life, however 'intelligent' life is a different story. By 'intelligent' of course as well, you have to specify you're defining it as intelligent enough to make a radio telescope or otherwise be able to communicate across the universe, as we can (though crudely and rather weakly at this point). Basically the hypotheses I find most compelling suggest that perhaps there isn't that sort of intelligent life elsewhere - because it's simply so unlikely that the circumstances for life to evolve in exactly the right way to allow for a tool-making, science-using civilisation elsewhere.

Sythe, and others who are interested in this sort of thing, I strongly recommend reading Where is everybody: 50 solutions to the Fermi paradox and the question of extra-terrestrial life by Stephen Webb. It's an excellent description and discussion of the various theories for why we haven't found or been found by extra-terrestrial civilisations [img]smile.gif[/img]