Venus phosphine discovery: Unexplained gas hints at potential for alien life

Discussion in 'Science' started by wgabrie, Sep 14, 2020.

  1. wgabrie

    wgabrie Well-Known Member Donor

    Joined:
    May 31, 2011
    Messages:
    13,830
    Likes Received:
    3,054
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Gender:
    Male
    Venus phosphine discovery: Unexplained gas hints at potential for alien life
    https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/tech...hints-at-potential-for-alien-life/ar-BB191qo6


    Ok, so there may be some form of life on Venus. This is some new news, but I can't help but wonder if this could have been done years ago and just wasn't done because the reaction of the people of Earth to a weird new form of life would be negative and subversive.
     
  2. An Taibhse

    An Taibhse Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jan 10, 2016
    Messages:
    7,238
    Likes Received:
    4,819
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Ahh, so that’s where the UFOs are coming from.
     
  3. Diablo

    Diablo Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Oct 6, 2016
    Messages:
    2,772
    Likes Received:
    2,310
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Gender:
    Male
    We don't know enough yet to say whether the gas was produced by a lifeform, but it's interesting.
    There are lots of people looking for life on other planets/moons, and they don't care what people might think.
     
  4. joesnagg

    joesnagg Banned

    Joined:
    Aug 12, 2020
    Messages:
    4,749
    Likes Received:
    6,799
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Gender:
    Male
    Don't know about Venus, but the Hubble deep field images capped it for me. BILLIONS of galaxies containing BILLIONS of stars undoubtedly containing BILLIONS of planets.....I truly believe life is as much a part of the cosmic order as photons and gravity, anywhere it can exist it must.
     
  5. An Taibhse

    An Taibhse Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jan 10, 2016
    Messages:
    7,238
    Likes Received:
    4,819
    Trophy Points:
    113
    The search for life elsewhere in the universe is somewhat limited by the cognitive bias of the expectations that life elsewhere in places numbering far beyond what the human mind can grasp will follow the same pattern of the only known sample, life on earth. So, in using the known, single sample of life on earth, our understanding of what life on earth has for survival requirements (I.e., H2O, temperature limits, etc.) and how life evolved to the development of technology as a means of adaptation, the development of the social structures resulting in civilization as we know it, and the development of the means of long range communications technology as emerged here, there is a supposition that life elsewhere will exhibit the attributes of life as we know it. So, we search for life elsewhere by searching for life elsewhere limiting the search criteria based on a set of expectations shaped by our collective understanding of how the characteristic signatures of life on this planet as viewed from somewhere else in the universe. But, given we are only familiar with life on this planet, it doesn’t logically follow that life elsewhere will resemble life here; for instance life elsewhere may not be carbon based, may not have an analog to DNA, may not require the same chemical and environmental conditions for survival, and may not have followed a similar evolutionary path. Our search for life in the universe is constrained by our essentially searching for ourselves existing elsewhere because we can’t see beyond what we know about ourselves (in the Earth life broader sense). We might be an entirely unique stupendously lucky (from a human centric point of view) occurrence in the universe, or we may be just one of many forms and different possibilities that might exist. Hard to find something of a different possibility if you limit your search based on limited preconceptions.
    As an aside, speculation of the possibility for life in Mercury’s atmosphere is something I have read be suggested previously. I have even read of those suggesting it possible to colonize Mercury, not on it’s surface, but in near orbit. I have also read of those wondering if life may exist in the upper atmosphere of Jupiter... some suggesting the conditions might be conducive to supporting life in the high altitudes. Aside from the search for life elsewhere in the universe, there are many wondering yet about the potential of finding life in this solar system on some of the moons of planets here, such as Europa and Enceladus. Who know, interesting fodder for speculation. Hell, we are still discovering life forms here on earth in places and conditions once thought improbable, and even life forms that can survive in the vacuum and hazards of space. What we don’t know seems to grow with every discovery. One observation made by Neil DeGrasse Tyson I found interesting, was, paraphrased... “ along with the knowledge we are accumulating is an even greater recognition of the growing revelations of what we don’t know. But, what keeps me up at night, is the prospect that with our limited human minds, we may not even know the right questions to ask”... to me a statement that is both scary and at the same time, a vastly exciting thought.
    Will finding life else where in the solar system or the universe cause a major existential crisis a possibility that would lead to justifying suppressing that information? I doubt it, but that is the opinion of one nut in the peanut gallery. If we do, such a thing will vastly result in expanding our sense of what we don’t know, vastly expand the number of questions we might ask, and, might result in stimulating one of the things that define us as a human species, our curiosity and drive to explore and to seek understanding of the universe we inhabit.
     
    Diablo likes this.
  6. Diablo

    Diablo Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Oct 6, 2016
    Messages:
    2,772
    Likes Received:
    2,310
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Gender:
    Male
    Nice post.
    I'm not sure we're limiting our searches, we have the best brains involved so they'll think of all possibilities.
    It's my best estimate that we're not alone in the cosmos, but the others are a looooong way away.
    We"d better just take care of our beautiful blue and white planet.
     

Share This Page