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Extraterrestrial life is defined as life which does not originate from planet Earth. The existence of such life is theoretical and all assertions about it remain disputed. Hypotheses regarding the origin(s) of extraterrestrial life, if it exists, are as follows: one proposes that it may have emerged, independently, from different places in the universe. An alternative hypothesis is panspermia or exogenesis, which holds that life emerges from one location, then spreads between habitable planets. These two hypotheses are not mutually exclusive. The study and theorization of extraterrestrial life is known as astrobiology, exobiology or xenobiology. Speculated forms of extraterrestrial life range from life with the simplicity of bacteria to sapient or sentient beings. Suggested locations which might have once developed, or presently continue to host life similar to our own, include the planets Venus and Mars, moons of Jupiter and Saturn (e.g. Europa, Enceladus and Titan) and Gliese 581 c and d, recently discovered to be near Earth-mass extrasolar planets apparently located in their star's habitable zone, and with the potential to have liquid water. To date, no credible evidence of extraterrestrial life has been discovered which has been generally accepted by the mainstream scientific community. All other proposals, including beliefs that some UFOs are of extraterrestrial origin (see extraterrestrial hypothesis) and claims of alien abduction, are considered hypothetical by most scientists. UFO sightings are sightings of unidentified flying objects that may or may not be connected with extraterrestrial intelligent life. Most of these sightings can be dismissed as sightings of Earth based aircraft or known astronomical objects, or perpetration of hoaxes. Some sightings have remained unexplained, in some cases having been reported by trained professionals. In 2006, New Scientist published a list of ten controversial pieces of evidence that extraterrestrial life exists, but scientists do not consider them credible since no direct observational evidence has been encountered. Many scientists, such as the late Carl Sagan, believe that it is nearly impossible for no other intelligent life to exist in the universe. From Wikipedia under the
GNU Free Documentation License How do you imagine extraterrestrial life? Q. So it is almost a guarantee (I believe) that there is extraterrestrial life somewhere in this universe. For those who feel the same, what do you imagine these "aliens" look like? Do they look like our human race, considering they evolved like us, or are they totally different, evolving to fit the needs of the planet they inhabit? I'm assuming the latter because, depending on which planet you are from, should determine how you evolve to adapt to your surroundings. We also must consider that other living beings may not be as far evolved as we are, or they may be millions of years ahead of us. Any thoughts? Asked by Jimi - Fri Apr 17 02:38:19 2009 - - 7 Answers - 0 Comments A. I would guarantee different. Think about the dissimilarities between humans (homo sapiens) on this ONE planet (dark skin for sunlight in warm regions, thin slanted eyes for wind protection in Asia, straight hair for heat retention in cold areas such as Europe) and between now-extinct hominids (homo neanderthalensis, homo erectus, homo floresiensis, etc; you get the picture.) The sheer mathematical diversity (200-400 billion stars in our galaxy alone, most believed to be orbited by planets; 100 billion+ galaxies in the observable Universe...) indicates that anything from another planet will TRULY be alien. I believe that imagining them truly defies our ability until we have life or specimen from another world on which to base it. Answered by Intelek - Fri Apr 17 02:59:40 2009 Do you believe that there are Extraterrestrial life out there? Q. Do you believe that there are Extraterrestrial life out there? and Why? Asked by Jude - Tue May 8 11:28:54 2007 - - 3 Answers - 0 Comments A. I believe there is because: It seems implausible that given the size of the universe, that this would be the only planet with "life" on it. Having said that, let me say that we humans might not recognize life on another planet when we first saw it... unless it looked or acted a lot like life on this planet. 40 years ago for example nobody would have belieed that life lived around subsea thermal vents either because the temperatures were way too high and the environment was too chemically different.. but eventually they found life forms living in places they never would have dreamed possible.. Answered by d - Tue May 8 12:38:24 2007 What characteristics similar to terrestrial life would extraterrestrial life exhibit?
Q. Based off of natural selection and biology, what traits do you think would be universal? Limbs, perhaps? Or maybe they wouldn't even need those? Asked by Charles - Thu Jun 4 04:01:11 2009 - - 3 Answers - 0 Comments A. Natural selection of traits can only be applied when you know all traits and out of which one that more convenient and helpful for the survival of the organism, and which would be passed genetically, but since we cannot expect what type of traits they will have and what type of climate, environment and their essential necessities will be we cannot say anything for sure, and they might not even need water or other things which we need so they might adopted to entirely different conditions or they might some things in similar to us so it all depends on the practical evidence which we do not possess, so we cannot make any sort comment on this issue unless we have some firm source of evidence until we find that nothing can assumed or taken for… [cont.] Answered by absol1234 - Thu Jun 4 04:12:32 2009 From Yahoo Answer Search: "extraterrestrial life"  news.google.com NPR (blog) Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr In 1961 Frank Drake, the astronomer who pioneered the search for extraterrestrial life (SETI), devised a simple equation to ... news.google.com RenewAmerica The gospel according to ET The Extraterrestrial : "Be good" (perhaps with a Santa clause: "for goodness' sake.") Well, mushy spirituality leads to, ... news.google.com Boston Globe Alien Nation 8 pm (FXM) Human and humanoid cops search for an extraterrestrial murderer. James Caan. R (1988) The Bitter Tea of General Yen 8 pm (TCM) Frank ... From Google News Search: "extraterrestrial life"  media.kentucky.com 325px x 452px | 27.90kB [source page] the sky above Sydney Australia The Vatican has hosted a dayslong conference to study the possibility of alien life in the universe and its implication for the Catholic Church Sandro Pace File  networlddirectory.com 90px x 120px | 1.60kB [source page] A Year Of Extraterrestrial Fountains And Flows The past year was extraordinary for the discovery of extraterrestrial fountains and flows some offering new potential in the search for liquid water and the origin of life beyond planet  blog.wired.com 588px x 660px | 205.80kB [source page] Plumes of methane have been found seasonally emanating from the surface of Mars providing new targets for the extraterrestrial life hunters From Yahoo Image Search: "extraterrestrial life"  seedmagazine.com Mon, 09 Nov 2009 13:29:53 GM The search for . life. beyond our pale blue dot is fraught with dashed hopes. Will the chemical and mineral fingerprints of Earthly organisms apply on other worlds?  geology.com Geology.com Wed, 11 Nov 2009 16:26:07 GM The Vatican recently hosted a conference that brought scientists and clergy together for the purpose of exploring the possibility of sentient . extraterrestrial life. . This AOL article reports on the conference and relationships between ...  americanbuddhist.net ABN Wed, 11 Nov 2009 21:01:42 GM This follows the statement made last year by the Pope's chief astronomer, Father Gabriel Funes, that the existence of . extraterrestrials. does not preclude a belief in God, and that it's a question to be explored by the Catholic Church. ... From Google Blog Search: "extraterrestrial life" |
