Stepping Stones to Our Extraterrestrial Neighbors

Astrophysics is still a very young science. Most of the theories we have about exoplanets and the potential for life on these objects is constantly changing.

For example, Europa was discovered in 1610 by Galileo. Until the 1970s, life, at least as the concept is generally understood, was believed to be entirely dependent on energy from the Sun (Europa (moon), 2013). In 2006, Robert T. Pappalardo, an assistant professor in the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics at the University of Colorado in Boulder said, “We’ve spent quite a bit of time and effort trying to understand if Mars was once a habitable environment. Europa today, probably, is a habitable environment. We need to confirm this … but Europa, potentially, has all the ingredients for life … and not just four billion years ago … but today. (Leonard, 2006)”

Recently, astronomers using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope have found compelling evidence of a planet forming 7.5 billion miles away from its star, a finding that may challenge current theories about planet formation (Space News: NASA'S Hubble uncovers evidence of farthest planet forming from its star, 2013). The planet is estimated to be relatively small, at 6 to 28 times more massive than Earth. Its wide orbit means it is moving slowly around its host star. If the suspected planet were orbiting in our solar system, it would be roughly twice Pluto's distance from the sun.

So, what does this mean for us as we scour the cosmos, seeking communication with intellegent life on other worlds? It means that we have to potentially widen our original search area.

Our search has been for planets in the “Goldilocks Zone (The Goldilocks Zone, 2003).” In a nutshell, this means that the planet has to be like earth in its distance from the Sun. Too close, it is too hot, like Venus. Too far, it is too cold, like Mars. Just right, like Earth, life develops.

Seeking contact with life existing away from Earth is just a stepping stone. Once life is found, we will learn so much that we can’t even estimate the discoveries. We might find clues to the origins of the Universe itself. We may find that the Goldilocks Zone was a faulty theory. That life does not need to evolve on Earth-like planets. Life may exist on moons like Europa.

Admittedly, Europa probably only has microbial life and that we will not be looking for communications streaming out from that moon. However, why does intelligent life have to exist like mankind? Can so called “lower” life forms also develop high levels of intelligence.

We don’t know much about the potential for even life on other planets and moons. We are currently only theorizing based upon our brief studies of the planets in our own star system. Studies that are less than 40 years old in a universe that is billions of years older.

Finding life outside of Earth is more than just communications. It is exploration and discovery. Those people who think it is just ancient astronaut theories driving us to seek life in the Universe don’t understand that we are not looking for ETs that might have visited Earth in the past or who crashed in Roswell. No, the search for life is about finding out that we are not alone, we are not unique. It is about taking another step in our journey to learn more about the Universe and consequently, learn more about ourselves.

Works Cited

The Goldilocks Zone. (2003, October 2). Retrieved June 16, 2013, from NASA Science: Science News: http://science1.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2003/02oct_goldilocks/

Europa (moon). (2013, June 3). Retrieved June 16, 2013, from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Europa_(moon)#Exploration
Space News: NASA'S Hubble uncovers evidence of farthest planet forming from its star. (2013, June 16).

Retrieved June 16, 2013, from Lake County News: http://www.lakeconews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=31695:space-news-nasas-hubble-uncovers-evidence-of-farthest-planet-forming-from-its-star&catid=1:latest&Itemid=197

Leonard, D. (2006, February 7). Europa Mission: Lost In NASA Budget. Retrieved June 16, 2013, from Space.com: http://www.space.com/2022-europa-mission-lost-nasa-budget.html

Should Earth Go Dark for its Own Safety????

Over the years there has been an on-going discussion about transmitting signals from earth because it may increase the chance of detection by some advanced civilization that will come and do us harm.   Below is a recent post on this topic by GEORGE DVORSKY.   Please read and post your comments.   Should we transmit?  Should earth go dark?   Why?

http://io9.com/are-we-screwing-ourselves-by-transmitting-radio-signals-493800730

Do you need to talk to someone? How about talking with an Alien?

The presence of life on other planets has been put forth by many noted scientists. As more and more planets are discovered, the probability of some of these planets sustaining some form of life increases. As the presence of potentially living planets increases, so does the likelihood of some number of these planets supporting intelligent life. To date, there has not been any life, intelligent or not, discovered on any planet other than Earth.

While the presence of intelligent life in the universe increases with each new discovery, the fact remains that the universe is vast and our own galaxy is enormous. The sheer distance between Earth and the nearest stars are measured in light years.

The closest planet yet outside of our solar system has been found by European astronomers orbiting Alpha Centauri B, one of the three stars that make up the Alpha Centauri system, which, at 4.3 light years away, is the nearest star system past our Sun.

“This result represents a major step towards the detection of a twin Earth in the immediate vicinity of the Sun,” said Xavier Dumusque, an astronomer at the Universidade do Porto, Portugal, and the lead author of a new paper on the discovery, in a statement on Wednesday. “We live in exciting times!” (Dumusque, 2012)

“Immediate vicinity” is relative though: It would take a spacecraft like NASA’s unmanned Voyager, which is currently on the edge of the solar system, about 40,000 Earth years to reach Alpha Centauri.

The SETI project attempts to contact intelligent life on other planets, such as the one orbiting Alpha Centauri B. This is a long and tedious process since space is filled with signals from pulsars and other objects, such as black holes. Additionally, there are different sources of light with different colors all around the galaxy.

It would take 4.3 years for the communications to make it to us and another 4.3 years for our response to be received. This is very slow communication. Clearly, though we speak about radio communication, we are not talking about listening to the radio in our cars. Radio signals may not be our best form of communication, though it is the form we normally consider when thinking about SETI.

According to Brian McConnell (McConnell, 2001) Optical SETI (OSETI) looks for two types of laser signals: a pulsed beacon, or a steady, continuous signal. The laser signals sent out by intelligent aliens could be turned on and off within extremely short periods of time (billionths of a second or less). These lasers can be focused into very tight beams. The beam would outshine an entire star, if only for an instant.

Another option is to use lasers using specific color signatures. Each color could be a different meaning, much like each note in an octave has a precise vibration that gives it meaning.

The use of laser signals can also add something that radio signals cannot. Laser signals are capable of encoding several messages within one laser pulse. This can be accomplished through the use of spectra encoding.

Just like the mariners before the invention of radio, we could communicate via semaphores.  They communicate through the use of flags combined with arm movements of the flags to communicate from ship to ship without being able to come within earshot. So too will we be able to communicate with alien life through lasers. Yes it will take 4.3 years to get the message from Earth to the other planet, but with lasers we can pack more into each message.

All we need is someone to talk to. That is a matter of time based upon the number of inhabitable planets in our galaxy.

Dumusque, X. (2012, October 16). ESO for the Public > News > Press Releases. Retrieved May 1, 2013, from ESO — Reaching New Heights in Astronomy: http://www.eso.org/public/news/eso1241/

McConnell, B. (2001). Beyond Contact, A Guide to SETI and Communicating with Alien Civilizations. Sebastopol, CA, USA: O'Reilly Media.