Tag Archives: life

Crop Circles, Extraterrestial Communication, and a Response to the Arecibo message

In 2001, right near the world’s largest radio telescope in England, a strange phenomenon was observed. The crops near the telescope formed into an interesting formation: This formation from above convincingly resembled a face. Scientists were baffled, and what’s even more interesting is what came next. so in 1974, Carl Sagan sent out the Arecibo […] Continue reading

Posted in Class, Historical, Science | Tagged , | Comments Off on Crop Circles, Extraterrestial Communication, and a Response to the Arecibo message

Astrobiology – Indicators of Life on Other Worlds

Astrobiology studies the past, present, and future of life in the universe. One facet of this interdisciplinary field is considering the possibility of life on other planets or worlds. Scientists utilize research in biology, chemistry, astronomy, and cosmology to help determine if life could exist elsewhere in the universe, and if so, how we can […] Continue reading

Posted in Aliens, Class, Exoplanets | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Astrobiology – Indicators of Life on Other Worlds

Extremophiles (Post 7)

Extremophiles are types of organisms that can survive in abnormal or extreme conditions. The picture above is a popular tourist destination in Yellowstone National Park known as “Grand Prismatic Spring.” The spring is extremely hot at 160 degrees Fahrenheit but it is famous for its vibrant colors. These colors are actually caused by a type […] Continue reading

Posted in Aliens, Science | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Extremophiles (Post 7)

The Fermi Paradox : Are We Alone?

The Fermi Paradox Picture The universe is magnificently huge, and hence should have countless opportunities for life to develop, but that then begs the question, where are all the aliens? Due to the expansion of the universe being faster than the speed of life, there may be life throughout many galaxies, or even most of …

Continue reading The Fermi Paradox : Are We Alone?

Continue reading

Posted in Class, Galaxies, Space Travel | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on The Fermi Paradox : Are We Alone?

Blog Post 7: Drake Equation Odds

The Drake Equation is an equation used to determine the odds of communicating with another alien civilization. Created by Frank Drake in the 1961, it was a product of all of the odds of life forming, planets having suitable habitats, and how successful the life was on the planet. The first value was R, or […] Continue reading

Posted in Science | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Blog Post 7: Drake Equation Odds

Barophiles

The barophiles we have found are tiny organisms, usually bacteria, living in areas with intense pressure. They are found on ocean floors where pressure can reach about 400 atm. For reference, the atmospheric pressure at sea level is 1 atm. Some barophiles known as obligate barophiles cannot survive in low pressures. The barophile Halomonas salaria […] Continue reading

Posted in Class, Science, Universe | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Barophiles

You Live There?

Before humans and animals and even plants dominated the Earth, it was full of prokaryotic life. Extremophiles are types of prokaryotes that can not only survive, but thrive in extreme environments. There are several types of extremophiles. Acidophiles: like acidic environments, (pH levels of 3 and below) Alkaliphiles: alkaline environments, and like pH levels 9 […] Continue reading

Posted in Class | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on You Live There?

The Double Ridges of Europa: An Opportunity For Life

While looking into climate change related developments on the surface of Greenland, associate professor of geophysics at Stanford University’s School of Earth, Energy & Environmental Sciences Dustin Schroeder noticed small double-ridge formations developing, similar to those observed on the surface of Jupiter’s moon, Europa. The double ridges form when pressurized water from below pushes up […] Continue reading

Posted in Moons, Science | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on The Double Ridges of Europa: An Opportunity For Life

Exoplanets

The words in the above picture are hard to make out, but I really liked the visual of some of the known exoplanets graphed on a plot. The color and appearances of these planets are not truly known since we have not directly seen them, but they are inferred based on density, temperature, metal content, […] Continue reading

Posted in Class, Exoplanets | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Exoplanets

Enceladus: Alien Life in Our Own Solar System?

Enceladus is an icy moon of Saturn, and is fairly small (or medium-sized, for a moon) with a diameter of about 500 km. For reference, the Moon has a diameter of about 3,475 km. Despite its size, however, Enceladus has been rated as among the most probable sources of life in our own solar system […] Continue reading

Posted in Aliens, Class, Jovians, Moons, SolarSystem | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Enceladus: Alien Life in Our Own Solar System?