How could anyone believe that there's NOT life on other planets?

Question

I'm definatly not talking about "aliens". The way I calculate, there's many other planets with life just like Earth. Think about it. There are as many GALAXIES as there are grains of SAND. Our little solar system is NOTHING compared to what there could be. I guess the question is...do you think Earth will ever find the life?

Answer 1

So, you are basing your "belief" on statistical analysis?

How did you define life? What time span do you consider?  Are you counting civilization that may appear after ours has disappeared?  Are you doing this analysis in proper time (i.e., as we see) or in co-moving time (they are there but we will not know about them until their light reaches us in millions of years).

A statistical analysis would prove that others exist if and only if the universe is infinite.  Otherwise, all you can prove is "strong possibility".

Since your conviction is a "belief" (not a proven fact) then it is simply a better guess (nothing more) than the "belief" held by those who think there are no life out there.

As to your last question "will we ever find...", you would have to add a few more assumptions to your analysis (including restricting it to the proper distance frame, since we cannot get information from the co-moving frame).  Therefore, the result of this refined analysis cannot give a higher probability than the other analysis (the existence of life is a pre-requisite for its detection).

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proper versus co-moving.

Imagine two stars born at the same time, but separated by 1,000 light-years.  One is our Sun.

Life and intelligence develop at the same rate and both civilization begin radio transmissions at the same time in co-moving coordinates (let's say in the year that we call 1900).

If our means of "detecting life" is radio-signals, then we will not become aware of this parallel civilization until our year 2900.  We will think: these people are 1000 years behind us.  They will think exactly the same, for the same reason.

Answer 2

We've never had any proof that an ecosystem exists other than Earth that could support life.

Answer 3

I think the main problem is the word "believe".  Even in the light of overwhelming evidence, there are still people who "believe" that the earth is around 6000 years old.  Maybe God created the universe 6000 years ago but made it look older as a test to the faithful.  :)  In the end, science is a belief as well so who's to say which is right.

Now in the case of life on other planets, we lack even basic scientific evidence.  Most scientifically minded people would say that probabilities strongly favor extra-terrestrial life but nobody can say what form.  In fact, some in the scientific community still don't take SETI seriously and see it as a waste of good research money.

Answer 4

Blind faith never did anybody any good, and this is what you are suggesting. There is no proof yet and until there is how can you belive it.

Thats like deciding someone is guilty before seeing the evidence, I am glad you are not a judge or on any jury.

Answer 5

We can't really under-estimate or over-estimate the ability of scientists finding life on other planets. I hope one day they uncover the truth.

Answer 6

Um, well for starters, if there was life on Mercury, they would all burn up.

and if there were life on neptune, they would all freeze. all because they are the furthest and closest to the sun.

i donn't think that there could be life on any other planet except for Earth.

Answer 7

Although astronomers have discovered over 200 exoplanets, or extra solar planets outside of our solar system, many of them are planets which are "hot Jupiters". These planets orbit so close to their parent stars that their upper atmospheres are heated to 10,000 K by extreme-UV, or EUV, radiation.  In other words, they lack what is referred to as a habitable zone.

So, you might find the FRIED remains of Aliens.

Personally, I'd rather we exploit the 160+ moons in our solar system for humankind as I do not believe there's an exact DNA replica of Homo Sapiens Sapiens.

As for the super-Earths recently discovered, they're 42 light years away. Until NASA actually produces an Anti-Matter spaceship, we won't be able to use conventional spaceships to get there. But, not to worry, the Andromeda is hurtling at us at 300 km/sec and will merge with our galaxy over billions of years, giving us whatever moons, planets or solar systems it has.

Answer 8

Hello,

You are absolutely correct. Life is more abundant and common in the universe just like any other thing.

Scientists, according to their observation of the evolution/life on earth, used to believe that life needs all the ingredients such as Oxygen, light, H2O ect.. to exist. But, later on with the discovery of "Extremophiles", their understanding of life completely changed, and they began to believe that life can easily thrive in any given condition. <Extremophiles is the term given to those organisms which can survive and prosper without the need of Oxygen, h2o sunlight etc..>

Life is perhaps not that hard to find at all, infact there has been recently a meteor rock found <stated from mars> which contained a fossiled dead bateria-type organism. We know that mars once had water, therefore life could still be evolving there. We haven't established any bases on Mars, and have only sent bots to take some pictures and samle soil. There is much to be explored and there is I believe a 100% chance that we might find some sort of organisms there.

Besides Mars, there are way too many planets in our own solar system to be looked for life rather than searching in neighbour galaxies or solar systems. For example, there are the moons of jupiter, consallidos< sp?> etc. There are many planets in our solar system which contain water, though water is not compulsary for life.

Now, what is "life" anyways? Life isn't anything miraculous, but is just a complex form of the material which its made of. In reality, we are not "living-beings", we are just made of molecules, which got more complex over the time <evolution>. These molecules were formed by the things which were present on earth, and since we are the oldest on the planet we got the most time to develop, therefore today we rule it completely. So, on a different planet which has different "materials" present on them, they will eventually start forming complex structures as long as there is adequate energy for the molecules to form bonds, and not too much energy to not form them <example the sun>.

To put it philosophically, everything you see around you is living, the computer sceen, the keyboard the mouse, pencil etc. They are yet still the same as humans but far less complex in nature.

So, there might be life in our own solar system, struggling to survive, also there might be life on other solar systems which might be as evovled as we are and be waiting to contact us.

About our solar system, it seems that our solar system is quite different than other solar systems due to its circular orbits.

About WHY people cannot believe in other life forms?

It is very simple, these are the people who are bound by religious "faith", and by the existance of another life, their faith is challenged. This is called being "weak-minded" and being not able to accept reality and embrace it. Whatever religion it may be, such denial is an act of terrorizm in comparison.

Yes, I think earth will find life pretty soon, maybe in our own life time. And who knows, when we find it we might try to stimulate its growth by providing it favorable conditions to thrive? Then maybe some day when that life will evolve to our status, they might wonder how did they came to existance with so much ease, and where did the humans go? LOL JK :]

You might wanna check these videos if you like:

Link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zz7QfVNVM...

Anyhows, good question though.

Thankyou,

Peace :)

Answer 9

I DONT HAVE NO IDEA BUT COOL 2 POINTS!!

Answer 10

As the late, great Carl Sagan said: If we are the only life in the universe, it sure is an awful waste of space.

I suspect the religious right would have a hard time accepting it as it would severely question the origins of their beliefs.

As for finding it, if we survive as a species long enough (the vote is still out on that one) and assuming other races exist and have survived their adolescence, we (and they) may advance enough to communicate.

The main problem with contacting another race may be that their thought processes are so different from our own that we may never understand each other. Even the simple concept of a number system could affect it. We have ten fingers, what if they had 14 and used base 14 numbers while we use base 10. We might figure it out eventually but it might be confusing at first.

Answer 11

the total lack of evidence is a good place to start.

you can make very good arguments for the possibility of life elsewhere in the universe. the necessary elements are abundant, and whenever they combine, they always combine in the direction of life. but that's a long way from actual detection.

in our solar system my money is on europa.

Answer 12

There is plenty of life out there.

We are too early in our development to yet understand how to find it.

But, when we do the whole universe will light up on our comms screen.

We need to be much less dangerous before any advanced civilization attempts to talk to us.

Answer 13

There is no real way for us to know the odds involved. Perhaps there is life, perhaps not. However, until life is discovered on another planet, its perfectly understandable and healthy to be skeptical of its existance.

I will tell you the chances of us finding life on another planet in the next 500 years is extremely low. Until we can travel to planets outside of our solar system, we really cant explore such possibilities (unless they were to come to us).

The mars rovers got a lot of people looking, but mars has only had a maximum of 50 million years of fertility, and thats a generous estimate. It took 2 billion years for single cell creatures to develope on earth. So consider those factors when you are calculating odd.

It could very well be that we are the one grain of sand on the beach that has life on it.

Answer 14

yes if you look at the sheer numbers there really has to be

Answer 15

The question really is HOW MANY planets have life on them? If it was one per million galaxies, we would never find it. If it was one per thousand stars, then we might.