So basically were still a long way off until we see that's there's life on extra solar planets?

Question

Even a high probability of one having life on it? If so then that really saddens me.

Answer 1

we have measured the gases in the atmosphere of one exoplanet.  If we can do this to other exoplanets, we might find signs of life.  CO2 and CH4 are NOT necessarily signs of life.  An oxygen atmosphere however would almost certainly be a sign of biologic activity.  Oxygen is a very reactive element and, unless something like life is replenishing it, it will all react with things like aluminum and iron and not be present in the atmosphere.  ex-Mars, Venus.  The lack of O2 would not necessarily mean there is no life, as the early Earth was thought to have an atmosphere similar to Titans today.  

Answer 2

Maybe, maybe not. With the improvements in equipment that have been made we may soon be able to detect the signs of life on other planets. If you were to look at earth from say Alpha Proxima, 4.3 light years away, you would perhaps detect a fairly high CO2 and methane signature in our atmosphere and hypothesize that it was caused by biological activity. You'd be right of course. Closer examination might reveal the presence of liquid water in vast quantities, which is pretty much a guarantee of life.

Answer 3

If they have (or have had) technology similar to our radios, analog televisions, or microwaves, that intentionally or not got sent out into the cosmos, and SETI has their frequencies tuned just right, we would be able to "hear" them, or at least as they were when those telecommunications were sent.  

If you ever read the book "Probability 1" by Amir D Aczel, or get a chance to, that basically states that the universe is large enough and old enough to be guaranteed intelligent life must exist (or has existed) elsewhere.  Finding it and/or communicating with it, however, appears to have significantly lower probabilities.

Answer 4

There are probabilities of stars containing planets and those planets being in the right spot so its not too hot or too cold and having every other perfect condition for life to develop and for that life to actually be a sentient being. The probabilities are very small. But there is such a massive number of stars in the entire universe that after doing all the math you still end up with a fairly large number. So its possible for life to be out there..but yes we don't have the technology as of now to actually SEE them. We can listen with radio waves and things like that but as fast as light is it still takes a long time for us to recieve signals.

Answer 5

While we can't resolve images from extra-solar planets, we can analyze

the light that they reflect and get hints as to the composition of their

atmospheres.

Signs of life would be water/oxygen/CO2 mixed atmospheres.

Answer 6

i agree because in my oppinion weve already ruined this one what gives them the right to ruin another one?