Alien Life

First direct detection of a planet-like object orbiting a sun-like star and looking for Bracewell probes

2009-12-06T08:00:00.000-08:00

Welcome! "Alien Life" tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. Here's today's news:
g Stars - Astronomers have made the first direct detection of a planet-like object orbiting a sun-like star. The finding is a step forward for scientists searching for habitable worlds around distant stars. See article.
g Abodes - Astrobiology Magazine's climate blog, The Hot Zone, discusses the recent set of email messages sent by the Director of the University of East Anglia’s Climate Research Unit that were hacked and uploaded to a public Web site. The emails have sparked a great deal of debate concerning climate change. See article.
g Message - To contact an alien civilization, humanity might want to consider a Bracewell probe — a hypothetical concept for an autonomous interstellar space probe dispatched for the express purpose of communication with (an) alien civilization(s). It was proposed by Ronald N. Bracewell in a 1960 paper, as an alternative to interstellar radio communication between widely separated civilizations. See article.
g Aftermath - It was not suggested outside of science fiction — and there only after the 1890s — that extraterrestrials might come to Earth, except for a few believers in interplanetary spirit travel by mortals (an idea now well established among occultists). Among these was the well-known Belgian writer Maurice Maeterlinck, who, in what was perhaps the earliest conception of ETs as “gods from outer space,” reasoned that since no beings from other worlds have used their advanced science to abolish suffering on Earth, “Is there not reason to fear that we are forever alone in the universe, and that no other world has ever been more intelligent or better than our own?” But this, the first serious “Where are they?” argument, was not known to the general public and in any case would not have carried weight, since it depended on the concept of disembodied spirits. Physical contact between worlds was not thought possible outside of fiction. See article.

Get your SF book manuscript edited

Food on Titan and why SETI prefers radio

2009-12-05T08:00:00.000-08:00

Welcome! "Alien Life" tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. Here's today's news:
g Stars - Astronomers have found a super-duper supernova. See article.
g Abodes - New calculations have suggested that Saturn’s moon Titan’s hydrocarbon lakes are loaded with acetylene, a chemical some scientists say could serve as food for cold-resistant organisms. See article.
g Message - While advanced civilizations might be tempted to use optical means such as lasers to send information between the stars, there are some good reasons that nearly all the major Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence experiments are looking for radio waves instead. See article. Note: This article is from 1996.
g Aftermath - While most depictions of extraterrestrials are confined to science fiction, nearly two-thirds of Americans believe that some form of alien life exists somewhere in the universe, according to a new survey. See article.

Get your SF book manuscript edited

Returning Martian soil samples to Earth and how the Muslim faith would react to ETI

2009-12-04T08:00:00.000-08:00

Welcome! "Alien Life" tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. Here's today's news:
g Abodes - Researchers have suggested that Saturn's orbit around the Sun may be responsible for the uneven distribution of methane and ethane lakes over the polar regions of the planet's moon, Titan. The process resulting from Saturn's orbit may be similar to “astronomical forcing” of Earth's climate, which drives ice-age cycles. See article.
g Message - Is there any good reason to look for intelligently generated extraterrestrial emissions in the spectrum at Pi GHz or 3.141...GHz. See article.
g Learning - Looking for star maps? Here are some neat, free sites: 3D map of major stars out to 27 light years; Site for developing 3D maps with variety of 2D maps (mainly from science fiction); 2D map for nearby star systems with planets; 2D map for nearby star systems (though I’ve seen NASA maps that are better); Celestia (Not so much a map but a tour through the universe - it’s very cool and complete). Happy exploring!
g Cosmicus - When robotic spacecraft bring a sample of Mars back to Earth, scientists will need specially-designed facilities to study the samples and prevent them from escaping to the outside world. See article.
g Aftermath - How would believers in the Muslim faith generally react to an announcement that we’ve made contact with an extraterrestrial civilization? See article.

Get your SF book manuscript edited

Super Earths better for life and Educate to Innovate initiative

2009-12-03T08:00:00.000-08:00

Welcome! "Alien Life" tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. Here's today's news:
g Abodes - Super Earths are named for their size, but these planets – which range from about 2 to 10 Earth masses – could be superior to the Earth when it comes to sustaining life. They could also provide an answer to the ‘Fermi Paradox’: Why haven’t we been visited by aliens? See article.
g Message - Book alert: As many earthlings already know - including more than 2 million computer users with firsthand experience - our best hope for finding extraterrestrial intelligence might just lie with an ingenious little screensaver. So it's not surprising that “Beyond Contact: A Guide to SETI and Communicating with Alien Civilizations (by Brian S. McConnell), an introduction to searching for and communicating with intelligent life, begins with some of the details behind UC Berkeley's groundbreaking, massively distributed SETI@home project, which processes intergalactic noise for pennies on the teraflop. But that's just the start of the story. Inventor and software developer Brian McConnell continues with an overview of whether and why we might find something out there, who's doing what to look for it (including the folks at Berkeley), and - once some ET picks up on the other end--what we might say and how we might say it.
g Learning - In his latest bid to spotlight science education, President Obama last week kicked off an “Educate to Innovate” campaign to help boost US students from middle-of-the- pack mediocrity internationally in science and math achievement to the head of the class over the next decade. See article.
g Aftermath - An intriguing conference is being held at NASA Ames: “Contact: Culture of the Imagination”. Contact is a unique interdisciplinary conference that brings together some of the foremost international social and space scientists, science fiction writers and artists to exchange ideas, stimulate new perspectives and encourage serious, creative speculation about humanity's future ... onworld and offworld.

Get your SF book manuscript edited

Astrobiology and sustainability; how proof of ETI would affect humanity’s ‘world’ view

2009-12-02T08:00:00.000-08:00

Welcome! "Alien Life" tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. Here's today's news:
g Abodes - We live in a cosmic shooting gallery. In Phil Plait's “Death from the Skies”, he lays out the dangers of a massive impact: destructive shockwaves, tsunamis, flash fires, atmospheric darkening … The scenario isn't pretty should a big one come our way. Fortunately, we may have a silent guardian: Jupiter. See article.
g Life - Scientists have reexamined the 1996 finding that a meteorite contains evidence that life may have existed on ancient Mars. The study argues that life remains the most plausible explanation for the materials and structures found in the meteorite. See article.
g Intelligence - Life on a global biosphere basis is substantiated in the form of organics and organisms, and defined as the intermediate forms (briefly expressed as CH2O) hovering between the reduced (CH4, methane) and (CO2, carbon dioxide) ends, different from the classical definition of life as a complex organization maintaining ordered structure and information. Both definitions consider sustenance of life meant as protection of life against chaos through an input of external energy. The CH2O-life connection is maintained as long as the supply of H and O lasts, which is in turn are provided by the splitting of the water molecule H2O. Water is split by electricity, as well-known from school-level experiments, and by solar radiation and geothermal heat on a global scale. In other words, the Sun’s radiation and the Earth’s heat as well as radioactivity split water to supply H and O for continued existence of life on the Earth. These photochemical, radiochemical and geothermal processes have influences on the evolution and current composition of the Earth’s atmosphere, compared with those of Venus and Mars, and influences on the planetary climatology. This view of life may be applicable to the “search-for-life in space” and to sustainability assessment of astrobiological habitats. See paper.
g Message - When it comes to signaling across space, power is paramount. See article. Note: This article is from 2004.
g Learning - The scientific community today needs professionals who can effectively work across the traditional boundaries of academic disciplines. See article.
g Aftermath - How would proof of extraterrestrial intelligence affect humanity’s “world” view? Astronomer Steve Dick discusses the matter in this transcribed Smithsonian Institute lecture, from 1999.

Get your SF book manuscript edited

Particle accelerator sets energy record (and we’re still here) and a slow diplomatic pouch to ETI

2009-12-01T08:00:00.000-08:00

Welcome! "Alien Life" tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. Here's today's news:
g Stars - Our Milky Way Galaxy is unusual in that it is one of the most massive galaxies in the nearby universe. Our Solar System also seems to have qualities that make it rather unique. According to astronomy professor Guillermo Gonzalez, these qualities make the Sun one of the few stars in the Galaxy capable of supporting complex life. See article. Note: This article is from 2001.
g Abodes - Quote of the Day: “The modern Earth may be the worst template we could use in searching for life elsewhere.” – Caleb Scharf
g Message - Chances are, there is life beyond Earth. But if anyone makes contact, the messages may be thousands of years old and indecipherable. See article. Note: This article is from 2005.
g Cosmicus - This weekend the CERN tweeted that the LHC had reached an energy of 1.18TeV, a record for Earth-bound particle accelerators — and we are all still here. So, when are we going to see some physics? See article.
g Learning - Hopefully you received (or gave!) some great astronomy gifts this holiday season. Astronomy.com offers a nice collection of articles introducing newcomers to the field, such as how to read star maps and how to use that new telescope. See article.
g Aftermath - For the last million years or so, mankind's principal diplomatic interest has been to handle social intercourse on his own planet. Interaction with other worlds’ societies was the province of science fiction. That soon may change. Modern science and technology suggest that a transmutation of past fiction to present reality could be imminent. If so, the dynamics of interaction will surely be far different than the alien encounters routinely portrayed in the cinema and on television. The ideas developed more than a century ago by European novelists such as Jules Verne and H. G. Wells, while imaginative, were not prescient. The aliens won't come here, and we won't go there. Our interaction will be a distant one, conducted by the electronic equivalent of very slow diplomatic pouch. See article.

Get your SF book manuscript edited

Past climate of Mars and the Rio Scale for ETI detection

2009-11-30T08:32:00.000-08:00

Welcome! "Alien Life" tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. Here's today's news:
g Abodes - Scientists recently used an innovative computer program to produce a more detailed global map of valley networks on Mars. The results are consistent with past climate scenarios that include precipitation and an ocean in the Martian north. See article.
g Life - Scientists recently inventoried an astonishing abundance of deep sea species that have never known sunlight. These organisms have managed to live in frigid depths of up to 5,000 meters below the ocean. The study may help astrobiologists understand how life could survive in oceans on other worlds. See article.
g Message - What are the chances that an alien signal has been sent our way just at the right moment to splash upon our antennas during that brief interval? If the extraterrestrials beam their broadcasts to the whole galaxy (or at least a big chunk of it), the chances are 100 percent. See article.
g Cosmicus - Astronomers studying pictures sent back by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO), currently circling the Red Planet, say that an intriguing clump of depressions in the Martian soils could be the entries to an underground cave system. The underground refuges could be supporting microscopic life forms that were driven away from the surface when the planet lost its water, billions of years ago. In the future, as space agencies ponder manned explorations to the planet, these underground caverns could prove to be a wonderful refuge in which astronauts could take shelter from the harsh conditions on the surface of Mars. See article.
g Aftermath - A SETI detection will have important consequences for society. So at the International Astronautics Federation’s annual get-together in Rio de Janeiro a few years ago, Hungarian astronomer Ivan Almar and SETI Institute researcher Jill Tarter proposed the Rio Scale for ranking both the importance and credibility of claims that evidence for extraterrestrial intelligence has been found. See article.

Get your SF book manuscript edited

Exoworld orbits in opposite direction of star and consequences of receiving a signal from the cosmos

2009-11-29T08:00:00.000-08:00

Welcome! "Alien Life" tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. Here's today's news:
g Stars - New research shows that an unusual mix of stars at the center of our galaxy might be the remnants of a dwarf galaxy that merged with the Milky Way long ago. The findings could help astrobiolgists understand how galaxies evolve and, ultimately, the processes behind solar system and planet formation. See article.
g Abodes - The exoplanet HAT-P-7b has been observed to have a very curious orbit. It either has a highly tilted orbit – passing almost over the poles of its parent star, HAT-P-7 - or a retrograde orbit; that is, orbiting in the opposite direction of its parent star. See article.
g Life - For astrobiologists, it is very important to distinguish between living and inert beings. See article.
g Message - The search for extraterrestrial visitation is motivated not only by the writings of other authors on the subject of interstellar probes, but also by the awareness of the progression of our own probe technology. Included in this awareness are Earth's advancements in communication technology, growing understanding of exobiology and ongoing research of new possibilities to enable travel across vast distances. See article.
g Cosmicus - How we define "exploration" may set the success or failure of NASA's future. See article.
g Aftermath - Book alert: In their November 2003 book “In Cosmic Company: The Search for Life in the Universe,” authors Seth Shostak and Alex Barnett ponder the possibility of alien life and the consequences of receiving a signal from the cosmos. They explain why scientists think sentient life might exist on other worlds, how we could discover it and what it might be like. Entertaining and informative, this hard cover book is lavishly illustrated. See reviews.

Get your SF book manuscript edited

Extreme exoworlds and impact of advanced ETI on humanity

2009-11-28T08:00:00.000-08:00

Welcome! "Alien Life" tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. Here's today's news:
g Abodes - Of the planets discovered beyond our solar system to date, here are five of the most extreme. See article.
g Intelligence - Astrobiology Magazine's climate blog, The Hot Zone, recently spoke with Professor Brigitte Nerlich about aspects of climate change related to human behavior. The future of life on Earth may truly be in the hands of humankind - yet our actions are sometimes hard to predict or understand. See article.
g Message - Some people sit in the tub, yell "Eureka", and come up with a brand new view of matter. Others can be riding a trolley home and at the sight of a clock initiate a whole new concept of time. Yet another more pedantic method is to follow government procedures to resolve riddles. Steven Dick and James Strick in their book, “The Living Universe - NASA and the development of Astrobiology”, narrate how this occurred for the new academic field of astrobiology. Though perhaps not as film-worthy as instantaneous flashes, the four decades of meetings, workshops and programs described therein show that this distinct academic area had an eventful and exciting coming of age.
g Cosmicus - Since 1995, astronomers have found more than 400 planets orbiting other stars. And yet not one of them has a formal name, other than their orginal scientific designation such as MOA-2008-BLG-310-L b, (a sub-Saturnian mass planet recently detected in the Galactic Bulge). How come? See article.
g Aftermath - If we hear from ET, not only can we expect his civilization to be an old one with a great time lag in correspondence, a SETI astronomer says. Could this limit the impact of extraterrestrial contact upon humanity? See article. Note: This article is from 2001.

Get your SF book manuscript edited

Planet that rains rocks and naming exoworlds

2009-11-27T08:00:00.000-08:00

Welcome! "Alien Life" tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. Here's today's news:
g Abodes - On Earth, strange things, including frogs and fish, sometimes fall from the sky, but on a distant extrasolar planet, the weather could be even weirder: When a front moves in, small rocks rain down on the surface, a new study suggests. See article.
g Intelligence - Given the Great Silence, and knowing what we may be capable of in the future, we can start to make some fairly confident assumptions about the developmental characteristics of advanced civilizations, a Canadian futurist argues. See article.
g Message - A new paper argues that Fermi's paradox (or the "Great Silence" problem), not only arguably the oldest and crucial problem for the Search for ExtraTerrestrial Intelligence, but also a conundrum of profound scientific, philosophical and cultural importance. See paper.
g Cosmicus - A planet formation expert has decided he's not happy with the International Astronomical Union's insistence that exoplanets will be known solely by their "assigned scientific designation", and has come up with names for the 403 such bodies discovered to date. See article.
g Aftermath - Even if the public seems less than awestruck by the prospect that alien life is a bunch of microscopic bugs, astrobiologists say unequivocal discovery of microbial life beyond Earth will change human society in profound ways, some unfathomable today. See article. Note: This article is from 2001.

Get your SF book manuscript edited

New evidence for fossils in Martian meteorite and sending music to ETI

2009-11-26T08:00:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving! "Alien Life" tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. Here's today's news:
g Stars - NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope has contributed to the discovery of the youngest brown dwarf ever observed - a finding that, if confirmed, may solve an astronomical mystery about how these cosmic misfits are formed. See article.
g Abodes - Compelling new data that chemical and fossil evidence of ancient microbial life on Mars was carried to Earth in a Martian meteorite is being elevated to a higher plane by the same NASA team which made the initial discovery 13 years ago. See article.
g Life - Scientists have revealed new information about a period of time spanning three of Earth's largest mass extinctions. The study shows how different marine environments - from oceans to seas that once covered large portions of the continents - respond differently to agents of mass extinction. See article.
g Message - Put yourself in the situation of the aliens, out there somewhere in the galaxy. They surmise that Earth looks promising for the emergence of intelligent life one day, but they have no idea when. There would be little point in beaming radio messages in this direction for eons in the vague hope that one day radio technology would be developed here and someone would decide to tune in, says one astrobiologist. See article. Note: this article is from 2004.
g Cosmicus - The U.S. Air Force has released new images of its experimental new X-37B space plane as the secretive mission's launch date next April draws near. See article.
g Aftermath - The structure of terrestrial music might provide clues to creating interstellar messages that could be understood by extraterrestrial intelligence, an American composer suggests. In the process, he suggests that music may provide a means of communicating "something of our consciousness that is essentially human, regardless of the civilization from which it emerges." See article. Note: This article is from 2002.

Get your SF book manuscript edited

First contact with a microbe and NASA/ESA plan joint Mars exploration

2009-11-25T08:00:00.000-08:00

Welcome! "Alien Life" tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. Here's today's news:
g Abodes - Much of Earth's mineral wealth was deposited billions of years ago when chemical cycles on our planet were very different than today's. Recently, scientists used geochemical data from minerals to yield surprising information about conditions on the ancient Earth. See article.
g Life - For many years, paleobiological researchers interested in the history of biodiversity have focused on charting the many ups (evolutionary radiations) and downs (mass extinctions) that punctuate the history of life. Because the preserved record of marine (sea-dwelling) animals is unusually extensive in comparison, say, to that of terrestrial animals such as dinosaurs, it's been easier to accurately calibrate the diversity and extinction records of marine organisms. See article.
g Message - When scientists get together to talk about extraterrestrial life, they certainly don't imagine little green men. In fact, our first contact with life beyond our planet probably will involve a microbe. See article. Note: This article is from 2001.
g Cosmicus - NASA and the European Space Agency have signed a statement of intent for the Mars Exploration Joint Initiative (MEJI), a proposed string of cooperative Martian lander and orbiter missions intended to prepare the way for a sample return. See article.
g Aftermath - Movie aliens often are like distant relatives: They resemble us in an unpleasant sort of way. This is hardly a surprise. Hollywood creates characters that audiences can identify with, and that’s why its aliens are so anthropomorphic (and why Donald Duck looks more like a human than a duck.) But appearances aside, cinema aliens have another implausible attribute: they’re nearly always at our level of technical sophistication. We frequently trade gunfire with them or chase them around in dogfights. This is silly, of course. Any beings capable of bridging the vast distances between the stars would be able to clean our clock when it comes to science and engineering. Visitors from other worlds — should any appear — would be enormously ahead of us from a technological viewpoint. See article. Note: This article is from 2000.

Get your SF book manuscript edited

Oceans show past/future of planet and could we understand ETI’s language?

2009-11-24T08:00:00.000-08:00

Welcome! "Alien Life" tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. Here's today's news:
g Abodes - A new study that reconstructed ocean temperatures from millions of years ago could provide new insight into how the Earth responds to climate change. See article.
g Life - A census of the ocean depths reveals hundreds of new species. See article.
g Message - Want to help SETI discover alien life? If you haven’t already done so, download the free SETI at Home software. Using Internet-connected computers, the program downloads and analyzes radio telescope data on your desktop when it is idle. The program has been so successful in plowing through data that other scientific researchers, especially in medicine, are adopting it to their fields. Click here for the program.
g Cosmicus - Scientists could begin garnering information on the origins of the universe in the coming months as the world's biggest particle collider starts moving to full power next year See article.
g Learning - Are we alone? That's the primary question incoming researchers will be asking as participants of the newly created Canadian Astrobiology Training Program. See article.
g Aftermath - If we encountered an intelligent species on another planet, could we understand them? In turn, could extrasolar species decipher one of our 8,000 terrestrial languages in use today? See article. Note: This article is from June 2004.

Get your SF book manuscript edited

Would ETI act in an alien manner and helping NASA explore Mars at your desktop

2009-11-23T08:00:00.000-08:00

Welcome! "Alien Life" tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. Here's today's news:
g Intelligence - It is wrong to think that if there are aliens out there, they necessarily have to act in an alien manner. See article.
g Message - George Dvorsky’s ongoing series on the Fermi Paradox, which appears on his Sentient Developments site, is drawn from a recent conference presentation about the implications of Fermi’s question. ‘Where are they?’ indeed, and what factors could explain our inability to find other sentient life forms? See article. Note: This article is from 2007.
g Learning - NASA and Microsoft have created the new “Be a Martian” Web site, which allows citizen scientists to participate in projects such as improving Martian maps and assisting Mars science teams. Now the public can help astrobiologists determine the past habitability of Mars. See article.
g Aftermath - A Penn State professor recently had the opportunity to visit the Vatican to participate in a conference one wouldn’t normally associate with the Catholic authority: a three-and-a-half-day discussion of extraterrestrial life. See article.

Get your SF book manuscript edited

Active SETI and commercial travel to outer space routine by 2012

2009-11-22T08:00:00.000-08:00

Welcome! "Alien Life" tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. Here's today's news:
g Stars - Prevailing theoretical models attempting to explain the formation of the solar system have assumed it to be average in every way. Now a new study by Northwestern University astronomers, using recent data from the 300 exoplanets discovered orbiting other stars, turns that view on its head. See article.
g Abodes - The search for Earth-like life on other worlds should focus on solar systems with Jupiter-like planets, a University of Arizona scientist reports. See article. Note: This article is from 2001.
g Message - Recent discussions within the SETI community have thoroughly explored the issue of whether people with access to radio telescopes should send powerful signals to alien civilizations without some process of prior international consultation. In particular, those exchanges have focused on the question of "Active SETI." See editorial.
g Cosmicus - Routine commercial travel to outer space may be the norm as soon as 2012, as the next generation of spacecraft — designed by private sector firms like Virgin Galactic, Orbital Sciences Corp., Space Exploration Technologies Corp. and others — transport adventure-seeking civilians into low-Earth orbit. See article.
g Aftermath - The search for extraterrestrial life grips the human imagination because it tells us about ourselves. See article. Note: This article is from 2003.

Get your SF book manuscript edited

Terraforming Mars and is the Vatican ready to welcome ETI into the church?

2009-11-21T08:00:00.000-08:00

Welcome! "Alien Life" tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. Here's today's news:
g Abodes - Astrobiology Magazine's climate blog, The Hot Zone, recently discussed how receding glaciers could have catastrophic consequences for Earth's climate. Increasing loss of glacial ice will lead to increasing water levels in the oceans. Ultimately, these changes could profoundly affect the biosphere. See article.
g Intelligence - According to a recent study by UCLA psychologists, looking at a photo, holding the hand or even just thinking of a loved one will reduce pain. See article.
g Message - What if we examined how to communicate with extraterrestrials from a telecommunication engineer’s point of view? That’s the approach of Brian McConnell’s book, “Beyond Contact: A Guide to SETI and Communicating with Alien Civilizations.” Though the book has been out a few years now, it’s still worth a read if you haven’t already delved into it. For more about the book and an interview with McConnell, see article.
g Cosmicus - Here’s a neat Web site: The Terraforming Information pages, an exhaustive look at terraforming by one of the world's leading experts on terraforming. Highly recommended.
g Aftermath - Is the Vatican ready to welcome aliens into the church? According to Jesuit Father Jose Funes, Papal Astronomer and Director of the Vatican Observatory, "Christians should consider alien life as an 'extraterrestrial brother and a part of God's creation." See article.

Get your SF book manuscript edited

New way of finding exoplanets and history of SETI

2009-11-20T08:00:00.000-08:00

Welcome! "Alien Life" tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. Here's today's news:
g Abodes - A proposed space mission that aims to measure dark energy could also detect planets that current surveys are unable to find. See article.
g Life - New fossils unearthed in what is now the Sahara desert reveal a once-swampy world divided up among a half-dozen species of unusual and perhaps intelligent crocodiles. See article.
g Message - Want to get a sense of SETI’s history and varying projects? Jodrell Bank Observatory offers an easy to follow yet informative primer.
g Aftermath - Book alert: If you have been interested in scholarly theories concerning extraterrestrial intelligence but have not had the opportunity to read the books, journal articles and conference reports on the subject, this is the book for you. In “Extraterrestrials: Science and Alien Intelligence,” editor Edward Regis, Jr., science writer and associate professor of philosophy at Howard University, brings together the reflections of notable scientists and philosophers concerned with the existence and nature of ETs. One essay specifically discusses the philosophical and sociological impact of contact. See article. Note: The book was published in 1990.

Get your SF book manuscript edited

How planets migrate and the first thing an extraterrestrial civilization is likely to hear from Earth

2009-11-19T08:00:00.000-08:00

Welcome! "Alien Life" tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. Here's today's news:
g Abodes - Astronomers have found that the extrasolar planet HAT-P-7b has a retrograde or highly tilted orbit. Studying such planets is important in understanding the diversity of planetary systems and assessing current models of how planets migrate. The findings could help astrobiologists in the search for habitable planets beyond our solar system. See article.
g Life - In both A&E’s recent remake of The Andromeda Strain, and the 1971 version of the Micheal Crichton novel, scientists are confronted with a microscopic invader, Andromeda, that has none of the trappings that we associated with life, but which is definitely alive. It grows, reproduces and evolves—all without the benefit of DNA, amino acids, water, or the complex carbon-based proteins that make all life as we know it tick. Instead, Andromeda appears to be crystalline in nature. Is such a lifeform possible? See article. Note: This article is from 2008.
g Message - Chirps and whistles of our planet's auroral kilometric radiation (AKR) might be the first thing an extraterrestrial civilization is likely to hear from Earth. In reality, they are the sounds that accompany the aurora. The European Space Agency's Cluster mission is showing scientists how to understand this emission and, in the future, search for alien worlds by listening for their sounds. See article.
g Learning - If you need a last minute Christmas idea, here it is: Model rocketry is a great way to get children interested in science and engineering. After buying that starter kit, head to the National Association of Rocketry’s outstanding collection of resources for getting started in the hobby and teaching it in school.
g Aftermath - As we look toward exploring other worlds, and perhaps even bringing samples back to Earth for testing, astrobiologists have to wonder: could there be alien pathogens in those samples that will wreak havoc on our world? See article. Note: This article is from 2003.

Get your SF book manuscript edited

Dramatically cooler early Earth and imagining an ecosystem on Alpha Centauri

2009-11-18T08:00:00.000-08:00

Welcome! "Alien Life" tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. Here's today's news:
g Abodes - Features discovered in 3.4 billion-year-old rocks indicate that temperatures on early Earth may have been dramatically cooler than previously believed. The finding could have implications in understanding the conditions in which life first evolved on our planet. See article.
g Message - Among the most important SETI work is being done at Harvard University. The Harvard SETI home page discusses the Radio Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence, The Arecibo Search for Early Hydrogen and Optical SETI.
g Cosmicus - Equipped with wearable AI systems and digital eyes that see what human eyes can’t, space explorers of the future could be not just astronauts, but “cyborg astrobiologists.” See article.
g Imagining - "Avatar", a film by former NASA Advisory Committee member James Cameron, will debut across the planet on 18 December. Widely hailed as "ground breaking" the film may well push the boundaries of what can be portrayed on the big screen. The film centers around humans mining precious materials on a world in the Alpha Centauri star system - and the inevitable conflict that arises with the local (sentient) inhabitants. The film delves into a wide range of issues that intersect with what NASA's Astrobiology Institute and Exobiology Programs have looked into in one way or another. See article.
g Aftermath - Quote of the Day: "This is the century for the discovery of extraterrestrial life. It is an incredibly exciting time." - Conway Morris

Get your SF book manuscript edited

Testing drills for Mars and doomsday film condemned

2009-11-17T08:00:00.000-08:00

Welcome! "Alien Life" tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. Here's today's news:
g Message - How did the SETI program come to be? For a timeline of the program’s history, see article.
g Cosmicus - NASA’s IceBite team will spend six weeks studying a place on Earth that resembles the Phoenix landing site on Mars. The place: a mile above sea level in Antarctica’s McMurdo Dry Valleys. The ultimate goal: to test ice-penetrating drills for a future mission to the Martian polar north. See article.
g Learning - A NASA scientist has condemned the doomsday film "2012" and launched a web site, "Ask an Astrobiologist," to quell the fears it is raising. See article.
g Aftermath - The Catholic church is comfortable with the idea of aliens. Good news for those who believe in compassion for extra-terrestrials. See article.

Get your SF book manuscript edited

Water on the Moon and how SETI works

2009-11-16T08:00:00.000-08:00

Welcome! "Alien Life" tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. Here's today's news:
g Abodes - Preliminary data from NASA’s LCROSS mission indicates that water ice is present in a permanently shadowed lunar crater. LCROSS crashed into the Cabeus crater on Oct. 9, creating a plume of material. Water ice could be a vital resource for future human explorers. See article.
g Message - Just exactly how does SETI work? See primer.
g Cosmicus - Astronomers are using SDI technology to give us better, deeper views of the universe. See article.
g Aftermath - The next big discovery in science will be the proof that alien life exists — and it could come any day now. See article.

Get your SF book manuscript edited

Lithium as an indication of planetary systems and Catholicism acknowledges the possibility of ETI

2009-11-15T08:00:00.000-08:00

Welcome! "Alien Life" tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. Here's today's news:
g Stars - A census of 500 stars has successfully linked the 'lithium mystery' observed in our sun to the presence of planetary systems. The study shows that sun-like stars with planetary systems lack lithium, and could help astronomers identify more stars that host planets. See article.
g Abodes - Is there water on the Moon? The NASA LCROSS mission has determined the answer to be a resounding YES! See article.
g Message - There’s an intriguing set of four articles, each with a separate explanation of a different quantum phenomena, that when taken together form a mosaic needed to understand the final explanation of a proposed quantum astronomy experiment, possibly using the Allen Array Telescope and the narrow-band radio-wave detectors being build by the SETI Institute and the University of California, Berkeley. Here are the parts in the series: Part-I; Part-2; Part-3; and Part-4. Note: This series is from 2004.
g Cosmicus - With the shuttle program entering its final year of operation, engineers are readying Atlantis for launch Monday on a three-spacewalk mission to deliver 15 tons of spare parts and equipment to the International Space Station as a hedge against failures when the shuttle is no longer available for service calls. See article.
g Aftermath - The Catholic Church may have theological problems acknowledging some “miracles,” but not, it seems, the possibility of little green men. See editorial.

Get your SF book manuscript edited

Stars masquerading as planets and would ETI understand our pictures?

2009-11-14T08:00:00.000-08:00

Welcome! "Alien Life" tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. Here's today's news:
g Stars - Astrophysicists at the University of Warwick and Kiel University have discovered two Earth-sized bodies with oxygen rich atmospheres - however there is a bit of a disappointing snag for anyone looking for a potential home for alien life, or even a future home for ourselves, as they are not planets but are actually two unusual white dwarf stars. See article.
g Abodes - Astrobiology Magazine's climate blog, The Hot Zone, recently spoke with Dr. Marty Mlynczak of NASA's Langley Research Center about the limitations of the technology we have on hand to measure climate change. Some of the things we can't measure could be important in understanding the links between climate and habitability. See article.
g Message - A picture is worth a thousand words, especially if you're trying to get your point across to someone who doesn't speak your language. At least that has been the assumption of many proposals for communicating with extraterrestrials; in a recent image beamed into outer space, the world’s largest radio telescope in Arecibo, Puerto Rico, images of a human being, the double helix of DNA and our solar system were included. But would pictures necessarily be understood at interstellar distances? See article. Note: This article is from 2001.
g Cosmicus - Scientists and curiosity seekers who want to know what a partially or completely cloaked object would look like in real life can now get their wish -- virtually. A team of researchers has created a new visualization tool that can render a room containing such an object, showing the visual effects of such a cloaking mechanism and its imperfections. See article.
g Aftermath - Quote of the Day: "The possibility of intelligent life beyond Earth … . Few important subjects are so data-poor, so subject to unwarranted and biased extrapolations - and so caught up in mankind's ultimate destiny - as is this one." — David Brin

Get your SF book manuscript edited

Testing ground for the future human exploration of other worlds and decoding ETI’s messages

2009-11-13T08:00:00.000-08:00

Welcome! "Alien Life" tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. Here's today's news:
g Life - We know there's life in the universe. We see it all around us here on Earth. But is there life anywhere else? By studying the extremes that life can take here on Earth, scientists are learning just how hardy and adaptable life can really be. And if you consider other ways that life might function, the options open up considerably. See article.
g Message - How will we decode any message from ET? For some speculation and a discussion of the inherent difficulties, see article and Part II. Note: This article is from 2001.
g Cosmicus - Scientists from NASA and the Canadian Space Agency have been using Pavilion Lake as a testing ground for the future human exploration of other worlds. See article.
g Aftermath - The Pontifical Academy of Science has concluded a five-day study week devoted to the emerging field of astrobiology, the scientific study of extraterrestrial life. See article.

Get your SF book manuscript edited

Why wet and warm Mars went dry and cold and Vatican presents summary of its first astrobiology conference

2009-11-12T08:00:00.000-08:00

Why wet and warm Mars went dry and cold and Vatican presents summary of its first astrobiology conference
Welcome! "Alien Life" tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. Here's today's news:
g Abodes - Some scientists believe that a relatively wet and warm ancient Mars may have been a second location for life. However, Mars did not end up as a planet filled with the multitude of life we see on Earth. NASA's new Mars orbiter, MAVEN, may help astrobiologists understand why. See article.
g Message - A team of American scientists note that recent astrophysical discoveries suggest that we should find ourselves in the midst of one or more extraterrestrial civilizations. Moreover, they argue it is a mistake to reject all UFO reports since some evidence for the theoretically predicted extraterrestrial visitors might just be found there. See article. Note: This article is from 2005.
g Learning - An excellent collection of books about SETI, including some for elementary and middle school children, appears online here. These would make some great holiday gifts.
g Aftermath - Questions about extra-terrestrial life are "very interesting and deserve serious consideration" the Vatican said yesterday, as one of its officials presented a summary of its first conference on astrobiology. See article.

Get your SF book manuscript edited