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Now I have to say that I'm a believer in the potential for there being other lifeforms out there in the cosmos, but what if we are currently the most advanced so far? What is the likelyhood of this being the case? There could be planets out there with lifeforms thousands if not millions/billions of years behind us. It could be us at some time in the future visiting planets and being seen as advanced lifeforms.

Well depending on how fast their planet is moving compared to the earth they operate in their own time spectrum, so basically what you see as a minute here could be ages there so they would have more time to advance.

Plus you have to take into account the time it takes to travel space, it's likely that you may set off for another planet when they're cavemen and get there when they own weapons which can destroy stars.

In short, the faster you, your spaceship, your planet is traveling, the slower time goes.

None of it matters anyway as galaxy domination as it is in 40k is pretty much impossible.

I think there is other life.

Some more advanced, some less.

But if aliens are visiting us why do they keep taking cows and white trash in the US to experiment on?

I think it's almost a certainty that somewhere in the universe there are other sentient beings, but I don't think they've ever been in contact with earth, there's just no evidence that isn't from crackpots.

There could be all kinds of sentient life out there. however, that real world light speed barrier thing puts the kybash on most sci fi thinking.

Wolfstan wrote:Now I have to say that I'm a believer in the potential for there being other lifeforms out there in the cosmos, but what if we are currently the most advanced so far? What is the likelyhood of this being the case? There could be planets out there with lifeforms thousands if not millions/billions of years behind us. It could be us at some time in the future visiting planets and being seen as advanced lifeforms.

Look at it this way:

There are about 7.5 trillion galaxies in the visible universe. Inside those galaxies exist approximately 30 billion trillion stars. The visible universe is roughly 15 billion light years in either direction, and this is where it gets a bit complicated. If we can see roughly 15 billion light years before hitting the cosmic microwave background, then that should be true of any alternate point in space. This means that no force can, per a constant speed of light, affect anything beyond a distance of 15 billion light years. Now, here's the issue. If no force can reach beyond 15 billion light years, then we would expect the universe to be encapsulated within a sphere defined by a radius of 15 billion light years. However, we have observed galaxies at roughly that distance from us in approximately opposite directions; indicating that those galaxies are about 30 million light years apart, and incapable of interacting with one another. What does that mean for the possibility of alien life? It means that there could be a, theoretically, infinite number of additional stellar bodies (as if 30 billion trillion wasn't enough) beyond out light horizon. Meaning that the probability of sentient life need only be above zero in order to be certain. It also means that Einstein's cosmic speed limit is almost certainly incorrect, as the alternative is for space to be curved back on itself at such an extreme arc as to be fairly easily detected.

dogma wrote:
Look at it this way:

There are about 7.5 trillion galaxies in the visible universe. Inside those galaxies exist approximately 30 billion trillion stars. The visible universe is roughly 15 billion light years in either direction, and this is where it gets a bit complicated. If we can see roughly 15 billion light years before hitting the cosmic microwave background, then that should be true of any alternate point in space. This means that no force can, per a constant speed of light, affect anything beyond a distance of 15 billion light years. Now, here's the issue. If no force can reach beyond 15 billion light years, then we would expect the universe to be encapsulated within a sphere defined by a radius of 15 billion light years. However, we have observed galaxies at roughly that distance from us in approximately opposite directions; indicating that those galaxies are about 30 million light years apart, and incapable of interacting with one another. What does that mean for the possibility of alien life? It means that there could be a, theoretically, infinite number of additional stellar bodies (as if 30 billion trillion wasn't enough) beyond out light horizon. Meaning that the probability of sentient life need only be above zero in order to be certain. It also means that Einstein's cosmic speed limit is almost certainly incorrect, as the alternative is for space to be curved back on itself at such an extreme arc as to be fairly easily detected.

Yep, what he said!

dogma wrote:It also means that Einstein's cosmic speed limit is almost certainly incorrect, as the alternative is for space to be curved back on itself at such an extreme arc as to be fairly easily detected.

Erm? Ok. Now go learn about hubble's law. From somewhere other than a chain e-mail where your info looks to have come from.

dogma wrote:
Look at it this way:

There are about 7.5 trillion galaxies in the visible universe. Inside those galaxies exist approximately 30 billion trillion stars. The visible universe is roughly 15 billion light years in either direction, and this is where it gets a bit complicated. If we can see roughly 15 billion light years before hitting the cosmic microwave background, then that should be true of any alternate point in space. This means that no force can, per a constant speed of light, affect anything beyond a distance of 15 billion light years. Now, here's the issue. If no force can reach beyond 15 billion light years, then we would expect the universe to be encapsulated within a sphere defined by a radius of 15 billion light years. However, we have observed galaxies at roughly that distance from us in approximately opposite directions; indicating that those galaxies are about 30 million light years apart, and incapable of interacting with one another. What does that mean for the possibility of alien life? It means that there could be a, theoretically, infinite number of additional stellar bodies (as if 30 billion trillion wasn't enough) beyond out light horizon. Meaning that the probability of sentient life need only be above zero in order to be certain. It also means that Einstein's cosmic speed limit is almost certainly incorrect, as the alternative is for space to be curved back on itself at such an extreme arc as to be fairly easily detected.

If there are Alien civilisations out there, do you really think they evolved for millions of years and come to the excact same conclussions on interstellar travel than we have? Tehym ight have other energy sources or insight into travelling through a warp-like parallel dimension.

Well we can only work with the information we have!
If you considering things we have no idea about this becomes much much too confuddling!

Interesting fact, 2% of Americans claim to have been abducted by aliens

Do you mean extraterrestrial or illegal?

You know that 2% of Americans is 6 million people right? That's more than the population of Los Angeles and Chicago.

Somehow I think your fact may be incorrect.

Ozymandias, King of Kings

I don't know, I read it in new Scientist

whatwhat wrote:
Erm? Ok. Now go learn about hubble's law. From somewhere other than a chain e-mail where your info looks to have come from.

Yeah, I know about Hubble's Law. Basically it states that the farther away from us a galaxy is the greater its redshift/apparent velocity. This makes sense on a number of levels, but unfortunately it does not account for the horizon problem which Hubble's observations gave rise to. What does do that is Inflationary Cosmology, (as well as a few other minor, dissenting theories) which requires that negative pressure vacuum energy function to expand space at a rate far, far greater than the speed of light. Of course, that doesn't necessarily mean that we can move faster than light, but when considered in the context of quantum mechanics (specifically a quantum theory of gravity) it follows that something must have the capacity to do so.

Incidentally, the WMAP measurements taken over the last few years point towards a flat universe (at least on the scale of distances of about 10-20 billion light years), which precludes the possibility of a small, closed universe of the kind necessary for a universal value of c.

What about the existence of other forms of reality in other dimensions? Where all the laws we have here in our existence could be reversed in the other. That could tell you, since there are an infinite number of chances for other forms of life to exist, that another life form has reached a point to where their understanding of such extra dimensional travels is close to, if not at, mastery. They're probably here observing our internets and having a nice lol. Probably can't bring us in the loop due to some politicians.

Interesting fact, 2% of Americans claim to have been abducted by aliens

I hate this kind of crap.... I have lived in America for over 25 years and have yet to be asked a survey question. Moreover if I was approached by someone taking a survey on alien abductions being an average American I would:


A. Rudely ignore him.
B. Make up some cheeky story about aliens putting things in my butt.
C. Shoot him in the face (after all everyone knows every American carries a gun)



And this is surveys based on an anonymous questionares are complete folly.

Clthomps wrote:

Interesting fact, 2% of Americans claim to have been abducted by aliens

I hate this kind of crap.... I have lived in America for over 25 years and have yet to be asked a survey question. Moreover if I was approached by someone taking a survey on alien abductions being an average American I would:


A. Rudely ignore him.
B. Make up some cheeky story about aliens putting things in my butt.
C. Shoot him in the face (after all everyone knows every American carries a gun)



And this is surveys based on an anonymous questionares are complete folly.

Too true.

I worry that eventually the worst policies conceivable will be voted into law by people only voting for it as a joke.

"Who'd you vote for?"
"'Grand Dragon Ezikiel'. Lol, the KKK is so funny. 'Hey look at me! I'm dressed up like a ghost!'"
"Grand Dragon Ezikiel wins the presidency today..."
""

I saw something on the history channel once about the big bang.. so, we're moving still from that bang and so is everything else, we're getting farther away from other galaxies so even if we could travel to one, and come home.. how do we know home will still be in the same place we left it?

Anyway I'm sure there is other life out there. I mean, there has to be. If we exist, how can there not be any other life at all out there one the bazillions and bazillions of planets?

My personal theory is that if we encounter extraterrestrial life, they will look like elves or goblins or robotic skeletons.

Anyone else feel this way?

I just finished a basic astronomy science course as a college requirement. There was this thing we learned about called the Drake Equation. Which basically says there are plenty of habitable worlds out there so mathmatically there must be/have been other life out there. But more likely is that we just havent made contact. I personally believe that Ganymede is the closest place we might find life. Life being tiny microbes but life no the less.

They are finding more and more planets and one of them was found to have water on it a few months ago didn't it?

Orkeosaurus wrote:My personal theory is that if we encounter extraterrestrial life, they will look like elves or goblins or robotic skeletons.

Anyone else feel this way?

My pics are:

Robots
Tyranids
Some vaguely humanoid type with an opposable thumb.

If we do encounter life from another planet, wouldn't that be a hard kick in the nuts for every religous person on the planet?

Nope, they´ll adapt. They did it before and either they become alien inclusive (We are all children under God) or alien exclusive (Burn the Heretic! Kill the Mutant! Purge the Unclean)

M.

There was an interesting article awhile back saying that we shouldn't be announcing our presence to the universe. The arguement being that it's crazy to assume that any advance race out there wouldn't come over and stamp all over us. It does kinda make you stop and think "oh yeah, you have a point". Just because they are advanced, don't mean they are peaceful.

dogma wrote:

whatwhat wrote:
Erm? Ok. Now go learn about hubble's law. From somewhere other than a chain e-mail where your info looks to have come from.

Yeah, I know about Hubble's Law. Basically it states that the farther away from us a galaxy is the greater its redshift/apparent velocity. This makes sense on a number of levels, but unfortunately it does not account for the horizon problem which Hubble's observations gave rise to. What does do that is Inflationary Cosmology, (as well as a few other minor, dissenting theories) which requires that negative pressure vacuum energy function to expand space at a rate far, far greater than the speed of light. Of course, that doesn't necessarily mean that we can move faster than light, but when considered in the context of quantum mechanics (specifically a quantum theory of gravity) it follows that something must have the capacity to do so.

It does explain the horizon problem, look it up again. What people forget when claiming it is possible to travel faster than the speed of light is to explain the million other laws of physics they have just threw out the window. For example by traveling faster than the speed of light, by rules which are considered in science as solid as the sky is up and earth is down, you would actually be traveling backwards in time. Find me one rule which proves it false i'll give you a million which proves its true.

If we do encounter life from another planet, wouldn't that be a hard kick in the nuts for every religous person on the planet?

No. Every creationist maybe. You can still believe in god and appreciate science as well you know.

I think it's fair to assume that anyone we bump into will be more advanced than ourselves.

How so certain I guess you might ask?

Well, our Planet has been flattened, stomped, chinned, knacked, brayed, hoofed etc so many times, life has always had a bit of a reset. Humans and Dinosaurs got jammy in that we evolved in a relatively calm period.

Did you know the Earth once stacked it into a twin planet?

That's no different from any other planet though.

All depends on the event and how quickly life reasserted itself.

For instance, ice ages. We have those because the Earths orbit around the sun is unstable. Sometimes we're closer, other times further away.

A planet with a more stable orbit would have fewer if any, again allowing life to get on with it without interruptions.

And one theory I can see the merit in is that any other advanced races are more likely to be Lizardlike and Cold Blooded than Mammalian...

Do you know how many ice ages humans have survived?

The dinosaurs were killed by an asteroid. asteroid collisions would be no different than on any other planet, small ones once in a while, big ones every 100 million years.