100 billion planets

[donkey]

Based on the findings of the PLANET survey and extrapolating the observations to the galaxy as a whole, scientists estimate there are at least 100 billion planets in our galaxy, 1500 within 50 light years of Earth.

http://www.physorg.com/news/2012-01-milky-billion-planets-survey.html

[Gunner]

Well, without FTL or wormhole travel, those 1500 aren't "around the corner" now are they?  I am sure that ONE day, we will be able to reach them.

[anunitu]

The other thing you might concider,they might reach us first.

[donkey]

Well, without FTL or wormhole travel, those 1500 aren't "around the corner" now are they?  I am sure that ONE day, we will be able to reach them.

I doubt that we'll ever be able to reach them but we may be able to observe them in the future as telescope (optical and other) technologies advance, they are close enough to perhaps allow some resolution that could be useful, even being able to analyze their light spectrum would be interesting enough.

[hutch--]

 :bg

I am of the view that "they" long ago reached us, bugz, viruses (non computer), a variety of what we may see as space junk, its just that little of it would necessarily be life in the form we understand it. Humourous part is we may even be made up of parts of the alien invasion, I have heard the comment in the past that human beings are a colony of co-operating bugz so we may all be E.Ts by descendant.

[Farabi]

Well, before we know how to escape the van hallen belt (or something) radiation, we will never escapes from this blue globe.

[oex]

:bg

I am of the view that "they" long ago reached us, bugz, viruses (non computer), a variety of what we may see as space junk, its just that little of it would necessarily be life in the form we understand it. Humourous part is we may even be made up of parts of the alien invasion, I have heard the comment in the past that human beings are a colony of co-operating bugz so we may all be E.Ts by descendant.

.... Every action we perform, everything we have thought to date may be the learning curve of a planned global AI system embedded in our biological hardware, taking into account the expected environmental parameters over the last 400,000,000 years.... Like a neural network uncoiling for a singular purpose beyond our scope of comprehension....

.... lol if that is the case it puts our ai systems to shame.... but.... Consider backwards that our ai systems are more intelligent than the entire of humanity was 10,000 years ago.... Even if we have not yet mastered future predicting AI completly we are living on a generational AI wave where each generation computerises and automates the logic of it's time and at least has some and a growing capacity for future prediction....

Indeed.... With a little biological viral 'bugging' the minds of every living thing on this planet could be being tapped for processing power like a honey bee hive.... Would you catch MI5 bugging your calls? Of course not because if someone warned you they'd know and remove the tap....

How extreme is this concept? About as extreme as the existance of life being only on one planet out of 100 billion I guess.... Maybe a lot less....

Consider further the concept of faster than light travel and indeed we might currently be tweaking the parameters of our own present at an atomic level with nutrino pincers from our future....

Oh you can tell me I'm wrong but seriously.... What do we possibly know.... We're only human :lol

[baltoro]

EDGAR, 
This is an important issue for citizens of the Milky Way Galaxy.
I've always assumed that there are huge numbers of planetary bodies out there,...and, swarms of dark, frozen worlds streaking around at near-relativistic speeds,...
But, I like this one,...even if the politics here are oppressive and diabolical.
We have Britney Spears,...and, she gets an abundance of GOOGLE hits from extra-terrestrials,...
My current crack-pot theory is that someone like her will be the first to do a (Magical Mystery) tour of the Galaxy,...
Primitive, single-celled orgainsims on distant worlds will worship her as a GOD.

[dedndave]

i think she IS an alien - sent to infect our society


http://www.mywebpower.com/graphics/comments/thumbnails/funny_pictures/9_funny_britney_spears_poop.jpg

[donkey]

The other thing you might concider [sic],they might reach us first.

Well, they are constrained by the same laws of physics as we are, at least that's the current understanding of the universe. But who knows, there are a few theories that allow for super-luminal displacement (I don't say travel) that can be cajoled into the current incarnation of special relativity.

Well, before we know how to escape the van hallen belt (or something) radiation, we will never escapes from this blue globe.

I think you mean the Oort cloud, we have already sent men past the Van Allen belt (it is within Earth's magnetic field).

.... Every action we perform, everything we have thought to date may be the learning curve of a planned global AI system embedded in our biological hardware, taking into account the expected environmental parameters over the last 400,000,000 years.... Like a neural network uncoiling for a singular purpose beyond our scope of comprehension....

That smacks of Theism or begs the question what is the communication method used to direct the AI. I believe in the more chaotic model, everything is coincidence but the problem with coincidence in a unary system is that it can never appear that way until we have something to compare it to. Once we have a valid statistical base to study the issue of why we are here I'm confident that the answer will be "no reason, we're just here".

i think she IS an alien - sent to infect our society

Well, if oex is right I hope they're not judging our collective brain power based on her. And if they sent her here, they are obviously malevolent and I think we should be starting to build the gun-ships right now...

Hopefully all this made sense, I took a nasty hit playing hockey yesterday and my brain's still a bit scrambled...

Edgar

[Bill Cravener]

When I was young I was pretty sure my mother and father were aliens. :bg

[donkey]

I was looking through the NASA website and it appears that they thought they had found intelligent life, they captured an image of it with Hubble but it was a false alarm, still no intelligent life found. After this discovery many of the SETI scientists have given up and went home saying they've lost all hope...

his intellectual capacity is clearly such that he shouldn't even be allowed to rant in public parks to passing squirrels

http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2007/10/26/glenn-beck-idiot/

[MichaelW]

100 billion planets, and yet not an intelligible peep from any of them?

[donkey]

100 billion planets, and yet not an intelligible peep from any of them?

I have doubts as to whether we will ever recieve a signal from another intelligence even if they exist. If you look at the history of communications on Earth, the start of the RF era saw many high powered signals sent off in every direction. As devices get smaller the signal power lessens and is more focused, this means attenuation becomes a huge factor and bleed over is virtually eliminated. If this is the standard model for the evolution of RF communication then the odds are incredibly slim, as close to non-existent as can be, that we will ever capture a signal from outside our solar system. After all not only do we have to deal with attenuation over trillions of kilometers, we likely only have a small window of time that the signals will be emitted in a form we can recieve, probably a couple of hundred years at most. Even with billions of intelligent alien civilizations, the chances of our intercepting a signal is negligible. Its a tough pill to swallow but I really don't believe we'll ever know if we have company in the universe, it just seems like wishful thinking that we will eventually capture a signal and be able to say definitively that it is artificial in origin.

[baltoro]

I get the distinct impression that EDGAR is actually an extra-terrestrial,...he's highly intelligent, incredibly rational, totally fearless...and, well,...Canadian,...
It's possible that he's completely oblivious to it, though,...what we really need is regression therapy and hypnosis to excavate all the weird shit buried deep in his unconscious.

...All kidding aside,...if there were an advanced civilization within several dozen light years of Earth,...why would radio frequency transmission be the way to make contact ???
Anything else, out there,...say,...the other side of the Galaxy (50,000 light years or more),...what would be the point of sending a message ??? By the time we received it and replied,...both civilizations would, in all probability, be extinct.