Earth size planet found orbiting Alpha Centauri

[chrisc]

Life (extra-terrestrial) will be stranger than we can ever imagine. Just because mankind went the technology route does not mean that other life-forms did. They may fly simply by thinking about it, not have to create a imbalance of air-pressure that makes insects fly. There are a lot of superb science-fiction stories about other life-forms and very few are humanoid in nature or construction. Earth, with 70% surface water, an iron core that deflects solar wind and an oxygen rich atmosphere is ideal for upright bipeds with flimsy skin, but what if the air-pressure was 12 times greater or there was only 2% oxygen available and the planet received 10 million times more radiation daily than us?

 

[Moosedrool]

^Agreed. You can look earth as the perfect example actually. It took millions of years only to have one species out of millions reach the point that humans classify as intelligent. Not to mention that intelligence is overrated and could be classified as a test in nature. We are basically the odd ones out, the mutation if you will. It doesn’t guarantee the survival of our species and might ultimately lead to our own extinction. We use up planetary resources at an exponential rate, we develop nuclear weapons, improve our technology to the extent that makes us unfit for nature itself.

Extraterrestrial beings will not be like anything on earth. Life on earth is molded to where we are now through extinction events and the changes in our environment over time. The environments are very different compared to earth in every case so far. Hotter, colder, less or more gravity, less or more radiation, different atmospheres and not to mention that other elements that could also be arranged in ways to create life or some form of duplication. We are carbon based. You might get silicone based life somewhere else, or even very short living species that only lasts a second or something. You might even find life in space that feeds of solar energy. Imagine giant jellyfish like beings floating around in space using solar radiation as food. If you think that is strange it could even get stranger. What about beings able to move around in extra dimensional space etc…

 

[noswal]

"… What do you mean you’ve never been to Alpha Centauri? Oh, for heaven’s sake, mankind, it’s only four light years away, you know. I’m sorry, but if you can’t be bothered to take an interest in local affairs, that’s your own lookout. Energize the demolition beams.
I don't know, apathetic bloody planet, I've no sympathy at all."

 

[DevSign]

Agreed, if you take into consideration that the first flight for mankind was in 1903, and now 109 years later, we've put a nuclear powered rover on Mars, then what technological advances will a civilisation have over us if lets say they've mastered flight 10 000 years ago?

bursting your bubble, humans have been building aircraft long before 1903......and flying successfully for many years, however the engines prior to the 1900's were too heavy to implement into an aircraft, thus the "aircraft" flew without engines, like a glider.

The earliest successful flying human operational glider dates back to the 1802's and earlier.

If you do your research as to why the so called wright brothers were the first to fly, you'll be disappointed into thinking that they were the first to build and fly an aircraft.

 

[chrisc]

The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy is your bible

 

[zippy]

You are looking at this using 20th century science. Just wait 50-60 years and the FTL travel problem will have been resolved

And in the 50's they said we would be buzzing around in our own personal hover card.

And we would be living on the moon

Until the physics says otherwise. We ain't going faster than light.

 

[spiderz]

Well, I have my towel ready ... when are we going?

 

[sunny1980]

If there is life in other planets and we find human beings just like us...hmmm its the death of some religion

 

[zippy]

One problem; That assumption is based off of human intellect and our technological capabilities. If there are any other intelligent species out there, there is no way we can apply our intellectual and technological limitations to "them".

And then there is the whole concept of cryogenics with regards to deep space travel.

It's easy to make assumptions about the future by essentially making up the tech that's needed to achieve this kind of travel.

We are way off from making cryogenics work. At some point in the future this may become possible. But right now it's science fiction, not science.

Our current technology and human intellect is what have. It will advance. And it will take directions we can't predict now(in the 50's they predicted we would off fossil fuels by now, but they completely missed the Internet)

I agree that we can't apply our limitations to them. Which is why the fact that they haven't found us before we have found them isn't promising. It may well be that we are the advanced civilisation in this corner of the galaxy.

 

[Bobbin]

Not entirely true.

Most people miss the actual benefit of relativity. Yes FTL travel is impossible but what people don’t understand is why and what actually happens at let’s say 99% the speed of light. Theorized and proven over and over again in particle accelerators, time itself gets modified to protect the light speed limit. Relative to the particles travelling almost light speed time outside will start speeding up. Relative to observers the particle’s time is slowing down. It will slow down just enough to protect the barrier. Thus if you can catch a ride on one of these particles you’ll have the illusion of travelling faster than light but you’ll be travelling into the future.

A photon however is said to experience no time at all as it would be slowed down infinitely and the photon itself will travel to the edge of our universe without experiencing a single second. Thus you can use relativity in order to travel great distances at the cost of time relative to the outside. Traveling at 99% the speed of light would mean the people/Aliens onboard would experience 70 years or so and find themselves on the other side of our galaxy. Unfortunately more than 100,000 years would have passed outside.

Building something this fast is impossible in today’s time but maybe not for them. BTW this is one of the fundamental rules of general relativity.

hmmmm. Maybe one day people will be forced to meet one another not only at geographical locations but in points in time as well. If we master eternal life that is