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Category Archives: Aliens
Binary on the Golden Records
The Voyager Golden Records are the successors to the pioneer plaques in that they were launched four years later and contain more information than their predecessors. As phonographic record, there are lots of sounds and images of life on Earth contained on them, which can be read in detail here. The cover of the records, […] Continue reading
Posted in Aliens, Class, Space Travel
Tagged astro2110, blog8, golden record, voyager
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The Statistics of Life
Artist interpretation of Kepler-452b, currently the most Earthlike planet discovered, which could potentially have an atmosphere and life Source: NASA Ames/JPL-Caltech/T. Pyle When faced with an effectively boundless universe, it inevitable to ask the question of how many other lifeforms are out there. In asking this question we tend to be a bit biased, looking […] Continue reading
Posted in Aliens, Class, Observables
Tagged astro2110, blog7, drakeequation, Kepler, life, Uncategorized
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Binary in the Pioneer Plaques
About the size of a license plate, the Pioneer plaques were placed on the Pioneer 10 and Pioneer 11 spacecrafts with the hopes of reaching intelligent extraterrestrial life. The two circles on the upper left of the plaque represent two hydrogen atoms, the most abundant element in the universe. If you look closely, the line […] Continue reading
Posted in Aliens, Class, Space Travel
Tagged astro2110, blog7
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Where is Everybody?
The Fermi paradox is a very simple question whose answer could have massive consequences for the future of humanity: where is everybody? With equations like the Drake equation predicting a huge number of extraterrestrial civilizations, it seems odd that we have detected no signs of life outside of Earth. In this blog post, I will […] Continue reading
Call Me Maybe?
Unfortunately, I come to the conclusion at the end of this class that it is extremely unlikely, and mathematically almost impossible, that we will receive any extraterrestrial contact within our lifetime. Reading about SETI makes me happy that humans have thought to reach out and prioritized it in a way (it is a very expensive […] Continue reading
the fermi paradox
Sir Arthur C. Clarke, a British science fiction author, said that “two possibilities exist: either we are alone in the universe or we are not. Both are equally terrifying”. And he was exactly right! The more that we learn about and explore the universe, the more we learn about the possibility of life out there, […] Continue reading
Posted in Aliens, Class, Observables
Tagged aliens, astro2110, blog7, Class, fermi, life, Observables
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Fast Radio Bursts
Fast radio bursts, or FRBs, are a phenomenon in astrophysics that has captivated researchers since their discovery in 2007. These are short-lived but extremely powerful bursts of radio waves that originate from far beyond our own galaxy. The duration of these bursts is typically measured in milliseconds, but during that time, they can emit as […] Continue reading
“Where is everybody?”
The Fermi Paradox has puzzled scientists and philosophers for over half a century. It is named after Enrico Fermi, the Italian American physicist who, during a lunchtime conversation in 1950, asked, “Where is everybody?” Fermi was referring to the apparent contradiction between the high probability of the existence of intelligent extraterrestrial life and the lack […] Continue reading
Blog 7 – Where did life on Earth come from?
Many people, myself included, may have assumed that life developed here on Earth and evolved from there. However, other promising theories suggest that life may have originated elsewhere and then traveled to Earth on meteorites. These theories are called panspermia theories. Although space is a very harsh vacuum environment, experiments have determined that a number […] Continue reading
Scientists Dream of Complex Life on Europa
Images from BBC Article on Europan Life and CNET Article on Proposed NASA Rover The search for extraterrestrial life is often focused upon deep space with distances the human mind can barely comprehend. However, evidence has been building that complex life could be present in our cosmological backyard on the icy moon of Europa. The […] Continue reading