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Alan Boss: The Crowded Universe

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Alan Boss Predicts NASA's Kepler Finds Inhabited Planets

03 min 06 sec

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18 Comments

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MarkHick

Posts: 1

Posted: 12.28.09, 06:49 PM

"The ultimate proof that exrtraterrestial life doesn't exist is, that we haven't been found. We would probably know."

This is an incredibly naive statement. Humans have only been intelligent enough to broadcast out into space for less than 100 years and civilized for 10,000 out of our planet's 4.5 billion years. The galaxy is 100,000 light years across. The galaxy! Even if there were only 10 other intelligent lifeforms in our galaxy, per conservative estimates on the Drake equation, the chances are minute that they would find us in the time that we've been intelligent enough to distinquish that it's actually another intelligent lifeform contacting us. People grossly underestimate how long humans have been on our planet versus other life. Extraterrestial life could have come and gone, but Tyrannosaurus Rex, which lived far longer than we have, certainly wouldn't have responded.

We will find an exoplanet with oxygen that could harbor life in the next 10 years from the Kepler mission or others. But the problem is that an advanced civilization could have come and gone many times over by the time we find it.

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pierr0t11

Posts: 2

Posted: 12.20.09, 08:29 PM

I think,my intuition knowing biochemistry is, that we are ALONE. Life on eaarth as real as it is, is improbable, a singualrity. Plus, we can never go there, its physically improbable and if even non-primitive life exits we cannot detect it. The ultimate proof that exrtraterrestial life doesn't exist is, that we haven't been found. We would probably know.

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nightlight

Posts: 33

Posted: 10.10.09, 12:28 PM

I wonder what if we should detect possible life on another planet, even within five light years, then what. Would we want to communicate, being that it would take five years for our message to get there then, if there is intelligent life that has the ability to respond and wishes to do so, they would have to construct a responce and return a message which would alos take five years.
Would we want to to go there? This is a matter to give serious thought about due to the immense distances between stars. After all, the Voyagers launched in 1977, have just recently passed the regin of the sun's influence.
It would take a very, very long time for any kind of space craft to get there and when we do we may not like what we find, not to mention them getting here.

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nightlight

Posts: 33

Posted: 10.10.09, 12:11 AM

Great talk and a good rehash and general explanations and descriptions of the latest efforts of planet hunting.
However, the indications that planets may be wondering to other orbits is a bit unsettling.

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Piko

Posts: 5

Posted: 08.31.09, 06:24 AM

Gendou I believe the Earths thing was fairly self explanatory (pardon the pun). Especially in conjunction with the use of Jupiters.

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Gendou

Posts: 1

Posted: 08.29.09, 02:53 AM

This guy needs to talk more slowly and clearly.Also, he uses the term "Earths" to refer to "Earth-like planets".
That term could use a proper introduction.

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