Life in our Solar System – Earth

In previous posts I’ve looked at some likely, and some less likely, candidates for planets or moons in our solar system that could harbour life, including Jupiter, three of it’s moons, two of Saturn’s moons, and Mars and Venus.

Now its time for Earth. Yep, you read right.

In 1990 NASA used the Galileo spacecraft to look for life on Earth. Why bother you scream, whilst hurling your cup of tea violently against the wall? Well, NASA did it to test how well spacecraft like Galileo can find life on planets and moons from space. Call it a proof of concept, if NASA can find life on Earth, then at least they know the tech works, and hopefully won’t miss signs of life on other planets.

Here’s what they found on Earth:

Life in our Solar System – Europa, Ganymede & Callisto

Astrobiology is all about finding alien life, and many astrobiologists believe life could be found in our Solar System, on Mars, on moons like Titan, Europa or Enceladus, and potentially on other bodies, like Kuiper Belt Objects.

In this post I’ll look at why some scientists think life may exist on Europa, and maybe even Ganymede and Callisto too, three of Jupiter’s largest moons.

So what’s so special about theses ice worlds?

A NASA scientist lays down the truth about 2012

I’ve written quite a few posts about 2012, as I’m a fan of science and the truth, and I hate bullshit, particularly anti-science bullshit.

Lots of people are spreading rumours and non-science rubbish about 2012, some of them to make money. One of the worst lies is that NASA knows that something will happen in 2012 and they’re keeping quiet about it. It’s not true.

A NASA scientist called David Morrison has been bombarded by questions about 2012 on the ‘Ask an Astrobiologist’ section of the NASA website. It’s heart-breaking that this guy has spared time to answer scientific questions from the public, but has received over 5000 questions about this 2012 nonsense, including threats for denying its existence.

Here’s his response to all this bullshit.

Now stop it! And go and ask him some real scientific questions

Want to see some more David Morisson? He gave a long, but very entertaining lecture about 2012 that can be watched here.

Robonaut – NASA’s android reaches the International Space Station

I mentioned Robonaut in a previous post about how robots have suddenly becoming awesome, like they were supposed to back in the year 2000.

He’s a humanoid robot who’s designed to carry out maintenance, lab work and other routine tasks on the International Space Station. Although I’m sure he’ll soon assume dominance and do creepy things like watch the astronauts sleep. Anyway, he’s arrived in space now. In this video he’s ‘unboxed’ and floats around the space station a bit. Not sure if he’s been turned on yet.

He looks awesome, except he doesn’t have any legs. Legs aren’t that important in space. Its all pretty futuristic though, human-like robots on space stations…. in space.

PS. Check out the crazy weightless hair and the ‘comedy’.

Panspermia: did life on Earth come from space? – Part 3, Richard Hoover & cyanobacteria from space

In two previous posts I’ve looked at different versions of panspermia, the idea that life may have originated elsewhere in our Galaxy and may have travelled to our planet early in its formation, giving rise to all of the life we see on Earth today.

In post 1 I introduced the idea, and looked at how simple bacterial life could travel to the Earth, and in post 2 I looked at some more extreme versions of panspermia, including the idea that intelligent aliens could have deliberately seeded the Earth with life.

You may have also seen in the news recently that a NASA scientist called Richard Hoover has claimed he has found fossilized bacteria in a number of meteorites.

What does this mean for panspermia? Unfortunately, probably not much. Find out why…

Kepler discovers a 6 planet mini-solar system

Kepler’s done it again; this time the space telescope has found 6 exoplanets orbiting a distant star called Kepler 11, but this mini-solar system is vastly different from ours, and may have implications for the search for alien life.

These goddamn lunatics

What is it with the insane? Can’t they keep it to themselves? Why do they have to come onto proper science websites and demand to see NASA’s evidence for the 2012 Apocalypse, or peddle their anti-evolution nonsense? Sometimes this kind of lunacy is fun, but it’s getting a bit out-of-hand. I’m not proposing a solution by the way, just complaining (people who work in offices say things like ‘every problem is an opportunity’, not always, you thoughtless dicks.

Did someone say ‘scorched super-Earth’?

A what? Yep, a ‘scorched super-Earth’. A rocky planet, like Earth, but bigger, and extremely hot, hot enough to melt silicate rock. The Kepler space telescope has just found one.

But so what, is this really exciting news? Surely we’ve discovered loads of exoplanets (planets outside of our Solar System); there are hundreds of billions of stars in our galaxy and if they all have planets then there must be loads of exoplanets, right?

Phat astrobiology jam – why not?

A bloke rapping about astrobiology, because, well why not? Its better than ‘dropping rhyme bombs’ about bling, gats and ho’s. Plus he’s got some great samples from Carl Sagan

Listen and like

He’s also got the same text book as me, so he’s defo legit

Astrobiology – Oortkuiper

PS. Check me out putting videos in my blog, whatever

The Drake Equation: The coolest equation you’ll ever understand?

Science is full of equations, some relatively simple, lots of them not so simple. I suspect most of coolest equations require a PhD in quantum physics to understand. The Drake Equation is not one of these though. It’s only a freakin’ equation for predicting the number of intelligent alien civilizations in our Galaxy! Put that in your pipe and smoke it Dr Quantum Physics PhD.