Outer space

Seems pretty probable. I don't believe they've ever contacted us, but it's still cool to look for planets we might be able to live on and they might be able to live on too.

One thing, though -- we do know that the center of the Earth is hot. Otherwise, the layer a bit below the surface wouldn't be hot, and if it wasn't hot then we wouldn't have volcanoes. As for what causes the phenomenon of gravity, though? No idea -- I look forward to learning more about it!

 

I definitely think there are microbes on Europa.

 

I do believe there is life to be found, but I doubt there is 'intelligent' life out there.

 

I think it's pretty likely that in our massive universe, there's other life.
I also agree with you OP in that we should explore our own planet more. We've only explored 5% of the ocean. Who knows what mysteries lie in those depths?

 

Given the massive size of the universe, there's probably life out there somewhere.

Will we ever get in touch with them, or they with us? No, I'm certain we won't. The nearest solar system outside our own is lightyears away already. One that might have life on it would be even further away.

People who claim they've been visited by aliens are stupid.

 

Yes, more or less, given the size of the universe. It seems much more unlikely that we'd be the only planet with life.

---------- Post added 30th Jun 2013 at 03:23 PM ----------

Yes, the center of the earth is hot. For certain. I think we should focus on exoplanets rather than a pointless research into the core of our own planet for a number of reasons: We've got much more to learn from other planets. We may want to migrate to other planets eventually and we'd have no reason to migrate to the core of the earth. We might meet some aliens (Unlikely, true, but I still think we're more likely to meet them in space rather than the core of the earth).

As for gravity: Gravity is caused by mass. As in, all atoms, particles and molecules (those with mass, anyway). The greater the mass, the stronger the gravity. Gravity isn't just caused by planets, but by all other massive objects like stars, galaxies etc. Its definitely not caused by heat in the cores of planets. But I don't need my own theory of gravity, when there are already some decent theories out there. Like general relativity.

 

Very likely that there is othe life in the universe. The question is how far away and whether it is intelligent and tool using like humans. In principle it is possible to communicate or travel across interstellar distances using technology we either have now (radio -this has already been done in the sense that our civilization outshines the Sun in radio frequencies and on deliberate message has been transmitted to a star cluster some thousands of light years away. The message won't arrive for thousands of years and any reply will presumably take thousands of years to get back here) or can imagine as having within the next few centuries. There are numerous books and websites on the subject available. I can recommend titles if anyone wants.

We would actually know if there were another planet orbiting in the same position as the Earth but on the other side of the sun. It would distort planetary orbits noticeably and our space probes wouldn't get where they are going,among other things.

Gravity is caused by mass (aka matter) bending or warping space-time in 4 dimensions. This per the theory of relativity which has been experimentally verified in numerous ways. To learn more about this I'd advise checking out the real vent Wikipedia pages, various other websites, and various books.

In Relativity theory space and time are just two aspects of the same thing. Bend or warp space (by putting a chunk of matter in it for example) and you get gravity and time will also slow down (a very tiny bit unless you are using a huge amt of mass). You can also slow down time by traveling faster and getting closer to the speed of light. This has also been experimentally verified btw.

Physics is fun

Todd

 

I think there has to be something else somewhere. Earth can't be the only planet with life.

 

I think it's likely, given the vastness of space. The set of conditions that allowed life to evolve here is likely not to be as unique as we think. And life could also adapt to more extreme conditions, even as life on our own planet has managed to, from thermal springs to the cold of the poles.

I'm not sure we'll find intelligent life anytime soon, but it would be rather fun. Plus aliens are known for having probes. =p

 

Well, it's certainly statistically possible for there to be life elsewhere in the universe. Besides, tardigrades can live in space. They can survive extreme temperatures and don't need oxygen to live. They're everywhere on earth, but we can't see them because they're microscopic. Just based on that, I think it's definitely possible for life to exist on other planets, or even just floating in space.

My take on aliens is that we're not ready to see them. Yeah, they have to be out there, but if they actually did make contact with us, the world in general would perceive them as a threat just based on the fact that it doesn't understand them.

 

I do think there's other life forms out there, likely an uncountable number of them. The universe is fucking huge.

But on that note, the universe is fucking huge. I doubt we'd ever make contact.

 

Well I certainly believe there is intelligent life on other planets. The universe is a very big place and there are lots of planets. I find it unlikely of all of the planets in the universe, only one would host intelligent life. Sure it is possible, but unlikely.

The tragedy of it is all due to the distances involved, we will likely never be able to have meaningful contact with them. Unless we increase out lifespans a couple of orders of magnitude the latency is just too great. Even if we knew where they where and could built a light speed ship, we could sent someone to meet them. Because of time dilation, by the time they returned, several generations would have passed on earth. Even if we sent a radio signal it would be unlikely the sender would still be alive when we got the response.


Now lets indulge in a little though expriment.
Let as assume that Alpha Centuri was home to a spacefaring race.
They have ships capable of .2c, it is fast enough to to travel long distances, but not so fast that relativity becomes a major concern, so I will ignore it for now.
At that speed they could make the round trip from Alpha Centauri to Earth in 42 of our years.
Now let us assume this race has an average life span of 10,000 of our years.
For a human this would be roughly 60% of our life span. (Assuming 70 years)
It would be .42% of an the average Alpha Centurian's life span.
.42% of our lifespan is about 3.5 months.
In the US Navy a deployment is typically 6 months or .71% of our lifespan.
So that would be about 70 years for an Alpha Centurian, or our whole lifespan.

So for them. Coming to visit, staying to looking around, and then going back would be like a Sailor going out to sea.

The tragic part. If a child is born when they leave for Earth. She would be in college when they arrive. Would be in her mid 40s when they leave, and would die, about the time they return home.

Now there already several forms of life on this planet that have lifespans 2 or 3 times ours. So it is not completely outrageous to think something could live 10,000 years somewhere in the universe. Now what life form could be I have no clue.

* Don't hold me to those exact numbers. There may be small errors as the math was done on the fly in a coffee shop.

 

Yeah, I'm quite certain there are other lifeforms out there on other planets. It'd be pretty ridiculous if there weren't. Some we may be able to contact, some we may not.

If we ever get in touch with any of them within the next century, it'll have to be that they come over here. They've proven that they are more advanced than we are, since they have the technology to find other lifeforms on other planets, AND the technology to power ships in the same distance we couldn't. It'll be quite a while before we can get our race to get to other planets with lifeforms.

But it's always the day that aliens come over here that I worry. Not because they'll immediately destroy our planet. It's because we as a race can't seem to bring peace among our own. How would we be able to communicate well with the race that has found us to do other interplanetary things? That would then force them to the conclusion that we're a useless race, and the universe is better off without it. This is why world peace is important.

---------- Post added 30th Jun 2013 at 12:55 PM ----------

I'm going to hold this a bit.. Chances are the race that finds us are evolutionarily stable for maybe hundreds of years. Human aging wouldn't apply to a different race, just like human aging doesn't apply to dogs or dinosaurs.

 

I have always believed in life elsewhere. It's just not probable that our planet would contain the only life in the universe. My love for space and everything in it is why I want to major in astrophysics