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James Green: 3 moons and a planet that could have alien life

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Is there life beyond Earth? Join NASA's director of planetary science James Green for a survey of the places in our solar system that are most likely to harbor alien life.

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Seth Shostak: ET is (probably) out there -- get ready

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SETI researcher Seth Shostak bets that we will find extraterrestrial life in the next twenty-four years, or he'll buy you a cup of coffee. He explains why new technologies and the laws of probability make the breakthrough so likely -- and predicts how the discovery of civilizations far more advanced than ours might affect us here on Earth.

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Recently, TED collaborated with SETI and other organizations to launch SETI Live, a citizen science initiative spearheaded by astronomer Jill Tarter. Read about the genesis of SETI Live at http://www.seti.org/node/967 and explore the site at http://www.setilive.org. How can the average person participate? What equipment and/or skills are needed? How are they promoting the opportunity?

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Why can't we see evidence of alien life? - Chris Anderson

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Stand by for an animated exploration of the famous Fermi Paradox. Given the vast number of planets in the universe, many much older than Earth, why haven't we yet seen obvious signs of alien life? The potential answers to this question are numerous and intriguing, alarming and hopeful.

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Astronomers believe that every star in the galaxy has a planet, one fifth of which might harbor life. Only we haven't seen any of them - yet. Jeremy Kasdin and his team are looking to change that with the design and engineering of an extraordinary piece of equipment: a flower petal-shaped "starshade" that allows a telescope to photograph planets from 50,000 kilometers away. It is, he says, the "coolest possible science."
Visit the SETI Institute online to learn more about their work, the scientists on their team and the intiatives they are spearheading in the search for extraterrestrial life. http://www.seti.org/
Explore the SETI@home project, which harnesses the power of home computers around the world to aid in the search for alien life. http://setiathome.berkeley.edu/
Watch Jill Tarter's call to join the SETI search on TED.com http://www.ted.com/talks/jill_tarter_s_call_to_join_the_seti_search.html

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Calculating the odds of intelligent alien life - Jill Tarter

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Astronomers believe that every star in the galaxy has a planet, one fifth of which might harbor life. Only we haven't seen any of them - yet. Jeremy Kasdin and his team are looking to change that with the design and engineering of an extraordinary piece of equipment: a flower petal-shaped "starshade" that allows a telescope to photograph planets from 50,000 kilometers away.

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A survey conducted by Reuters has uncovered a surprisingly high level of paranoia amongst the Worlds population. Do aliens live among us or are we alone until proven otherwise? Join the discussion below.

Share this with the Universe!

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A survey conducted by Reuters has uncovered a surprisingly high level of paranoia amongst the Worlds population. Do aliens live among us or are we alone until proven otherwise? Join the discussion below. Share this with the Universe!

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A Brief History of Space Exploration | Visual.ly

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A brief timeline of some important events in man's space dreams till 2013. More information can be read at http://bit.ly/11RS4VS

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Ariel School, Ruwa, Zimbabwe, 62 School Children Encounter UFO

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CNN Cooper Anderson covers UFO disclosure

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CNN Cooper Anderson covers UFO disclosure

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The human race has been obsessed with finding Alien life for centuries. Turns out, they may actually exist - not in the planets far beyond, but right here on Earth. And the discovery was made by none other than the smart scientists of NASA, who announced their big news amidst much fanfare, at a press conference held in Washington D.C. on December 2nd.

Unfortunately for most of us, the 'aliens' are not little green men who have mistakenly arrived from a distant planet, but a bacterium identified as the GFAJ-1 strain of the Halomonadaceae family, which was discovered at the bottom of Northern California's highly saline, Mono Lake.

Until the discovery of this bacteria, scientists had always believed that for any organism to grow, there had to be carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, sulfur and most importantly phosphorous - all essential building materials for proteins, fats and DNA, the nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions about the development and function in living creatures.

To test their theory, they extracted the bacteria from the lake and starved it for phosphorous, substituting it with arsenic, which while chemically similar to phosphorous is highly poisonous to most living things. The bacteria continued to grow, leading the scientists to conclude that it had successfully substituted the phosphorous with the arsenic.

The fact that this life form uses what was considered a poison as one of the building blocks for its body, is what makes scientist classify it as an Alien. It has led experts to think that maybe life form is much more flexible than they had originally believed, and that it can actually exist without everything being perfect - Which gives them even more hope that there may be life forms on Planets that we didn't originally believe were habitable - Watch out Aliens, we are on to you now!

Sources: Gizmag.com,Nasa.gov

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NASA Confirms Aliens Exist - Right On Our Planet!

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The human race has been obsessed with finding alien life for centuries. Turns out, they may actually exist - not in the planets far beyond, but right here on Earth. And the discovery was made by none other than the smart scientists of NASA, who announced their big news amidst much fanfare, at a press conference held in Washington D.C.

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Newsela | Mars' surface more hostile to life than originally thought, scientists find

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If there was ever life on Mars, it would have to have been underground because of the toxic chemicals on the planet's surface

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Newsela | Humans see evidence of alien life on Mars in pictures, or do they?

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Photo evidence of aliens, 2-headed dogs on Mars! Well, no.

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Newsela | Search for life beyond Earth might only need go as far as Saturn's rings

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NASA announces another small step in finding some form of life out there beyond Earth.

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We see them - but can they see us?

Robert Wells, a doctoral student in mathematics and physics at Queens University in Ireland, couldn't get that question out of his mind.

In recent years, astronomers have discovered more than 2,500 planets orbiting other stars by observing the subtle dimming of light as these exoplanets pass in front of their host stars. Wells wondered if alien scientists on some distant world might be doing exactly same thing but in the opposite direction: pointing a telescope our way and noting the flickering of starlight caused by our very own Earth as it "transits" the sun.

Wells sifted through astronomical catalogs and identified nine known exoplanets in one of the celestial sweet spots from which an Earth transit would be visible.

Alas, it seems unlikely that any of these worlds could be home to alien skywatchers looking our way. Most are Jupiter-sized gas-ball worlds so hot that they're unlikely to harbor life.

But it turns out there's more to the story.

Alignment is everything

We can observe the transit of a faraway planet only if, by pure chance, it and its host sun are perfectly aligned with Earth - what Wells calls "a very low-probability alignment." Statistically speaking, however, Wells knew there should be a whole crowd of relatively nearby planets in the sweet-spot regions - hundreds of them, probably - just not angled properly from our point of view. They could see us, but we can't see them.

Image showing where transits of our solar system planets can be observed. Each line represents where one of the planets could be seen to transit, with the blue line representing Earth; an observer located here could detect us. 2MASS / A. Mellinger / R. Wells

Even if the planets are aligned almost right, we could be missing out - staring past cozy, Earthlike exoplanets orbiting alongside those hot Jupiter-sized worlds. Unfortunately for any aliens, they face the exact same challenge. An E.T. astronomer might detect Jupiter while overlooking Earth entirely.

After crunching the numbers, Wells and his collaborators estimated that, in addition to the nine hot gas-ball worlds (and many more similarly unpromising neighbors), there are 10 potentially habitable worlds located where Earth would be visible to any aliens there using the kinds of telescopes and related equipment that we now use.

And experts say there's no reason to assume that E.T.'s astronomy tools are as primitive as our own.

More advanced tools?

"An alien civilization is unlikely to be technological lock-step with us," says David Kipping, a Columbia University astronomer who is known as a leading planet hunter. "Most likely they are either far less or far more technologically advanced. They may have used the transit method for a while but since moved on to more advanced techniques."

If so, all bets are off about where Earth-spying aliens might be located. They could be watching us from any part of the sky. And depending on the level of their technology, they could know a fair bit about us.

Some scientists have speculated that extraterrestrials could detect industrial chemicals in Earth's atmosphere or the glow of artificial lights at night, revealing that our planet has a technological civilization. If the E.T.s are less than 100 light-years away, our radio broadcasts will have had time to reach them.

"And if the aliens have really huge optical telescopes, it's conceivable they might see structures such as the highway systems or cities," says Seth Shostak of the SETI Institute, which is dedicated to the search for intelligent life beyond Earth.

Astronomers here on this planet are working hard to achieve those kinds of capabilities. They've proposed building the Habitable Exoplanet Imaging Mission (HabEx) as a successor to the Hubble Space Telescope. With a mirror up to 32 feet across and specialized technology to single out the dim glow of distant planets, HabEx would be capable of detecting Earthlike worlds around nearby stars and scanning them for signs of water, as well as for potential indicators of life like oxygen and methane gas.

HabEx Vehicle - Starshade JPL-Caltech

If approved by early next decade, HabEx could launch by the end of the 2030s.

At that point, humans, too, would be liberated from the limitations of transits, capable of finding Earthlike planets all around without relying on the luck of a happy alignment. Even then, though, there's no guarantee that we'd be able to detect the same aliens who could already be looking at us. Maybe they don't want to be found.

Related

"Advanced civilizations would have no trouble cloaking even the very signatures of life on their planet from our current telescopes by using a simple laser system," Kipping says. "Our remote-sensing abilities, impressive as they may seem, could be quite basic and easily thwarted."

Someday, maybe, extraterrestrials really will make contact. But it may not happen until they like what they see.

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If Space Aliens Are Looking Our Way, Here's What They Might See

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Let our news meet your inbox. SIGN UP We see them - but can they see us? Robert Wells, a doctoral student in mathematics and physics at Queens University in Ireland, couldn't get that question out of his mind.

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NASA announced Wednesday the U.S. agency is partnering with the Russians on space exploration goals.

"Building a strategic capability for advancing and sustaining human space exploration in the vicinity of the Moon will require the best from NASA, interested international partners, and U.S. industry. As NASA continues formulating the deep space gateway concept, the agency signed a joint statement with the Russian Space Agency, Roscosmos, on Wednesday, Sept. 27 at the 68th International Astronautical Congress in Adelaide, Australia," according to a statement from NASA.

The move is the opposite of America's approach to space travel in the 1960s when former President John F. Kennedy ordered NASA to beat the Russians to the moon due to fear that the Kremlin would control it.

NASA said both countries have a common vision for human exploration and see the deep space gateway as a "strategic component of human space exploration."

"While the deep space gateway is still in concept formulation, NASA is pleased to see growing international interest in moving into cislunar space as the next step for advancing human space exploration," NASA's acting Administrator Robert Lightfoot said in a statement. "Statements such as this one signed with Roscosmos show the gateway concept as an enabler to the kind of exploration architecture that is affordable and sustainable."

As a result of the partnership, NASA will expand its presence of humans in outer space, starting with the moon and then deep space exploration.

"At least five countries are working on the creation of their own manned spacecraft and systems. In order to avoid problems in the future in technical cooperation, part of the standards should be unified - for the ability of different countries to work on their products and to join the international near-moon station. Part of the key standards will be formed on the basis of Russian developments. The agreements reached open new prospects for international cooperation and expand the opportunities for using the capabilities of the Russian space industry," Igor Komarov, general director of Roskosmos State Corporation, said in a statement.

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NASA partnering with Russia on moon and deep space exploration

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NASA announced Wednesday the U.S. agency is partnering with the Russians on space exploration goals. "Building a strategic capability for advancing and sustaining human space exploration in the vicinity of the Moon will require the best from NASA, interested international partners, and U.S. industry.

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Editors' note: Dear Future is a collaboration between CNET and VICE Motherboard that looks at major innovations -- in robotics, space travel, VR and more -- shaping the world around us.

For the last half-century or so, astronomers around the world have been scanning the cosmos with massive radio telescopes in hopes of finding some sign of intelligent life. This network of alien-hunters comprises the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI), but despite all their efforts, the interstellar radio waves have remained quiet. One might even say too quiet.

Depending on who you ask, first contact with an extraterrestrial civilization might happen any day now. Seth Shostak, director of the SETI Institute, has famously predicted that we'll hear from ET within the next two decades. Others, such as the Cornell University astronomer Yervant Terzian are less optimistic -- his probabilistic calculations place first contact in about 1,500 years, assuming there's anyone left on Earth to receive the call.

Haiton Yu/Getty Images

But many SETI astronomers aren't content with only scanning the airwaves for signs of ET. Instead, they think we should also be actively reaching out to the cosmos on behalf of planet Earth.

These astronomers occupy a controversial niche within the SETI community known as Messaging Extraterrestrial Intelligences, or METI. At the forefront of this group is Douglas Vakoch, president of METI International, a research group dedicated to designing and sending messages intended for extraterrestrial recipients.

Vakoch and his colleagues at METI International are fighting an uphill battle. Aside from all the technical problems that come with trying to contact aliens, many SETI astronomers think it's a bad idea.

The METI opposition group, which includes scientists like Stephen Hawking, argues that since we have no idea what ET might be like, sending a message into the cosmos comes with a huge existential risk. If the aliens happen to be friendly, no problem. But if they're hostile, that means we're essentially sending out a beacon that says "ATTACK HERE."

A lot of ink has been spilled over whether or not actively attempting to make contact with extraterrestrials is advisable. But despite the arguments to the contrary, Vakoch said he's not worried.

"One of the reasons people are so afraid of METI is that it seems riskier to do something than to do nothing," Vakoch told me over email. "When we try to evaluate the risks and benefits of an unknown situation where we have little or no actual data, we fall back on the most vivid images that come to mind. But just because the first images of alien contact that come to mind are horrific, that doesn't mean they're realistic."

By 2018, METI International hopes to begin sending messages into space. This immediately presents a host of problems, such as: how do you design a message for a species that is totally unfamiliar with any language on Earth?

Over the last 50 years, a number of solutions to this problem have been proposed, ranging from full-fledged mathematical languages to rudimentary chatbots, music, or pictograms. For the most part, SETI scientists are in agreement that the message will have to be strongly rooted in mathematics and physics, since these are likely to be the only two types of knowledge we have in common with the ET. METI International is also taking this approach.

"Some of the most prominent messages of the past have tried to cover everything," Vakoch said. "We're taking the opposite approach. Rather than trying to communicate everything [about math, science and life on Earth], we are focusing on saying a few things very clearly. For our first messages, we are emphasizing the essentials of math and physics."

Another point of consideration is where to send a message. Every year, astronomers are discovering more planets orbiting other stars in the so-called habitable zone. This means the planet is just far away from its host star to host liquid water without it evaporating or completely freezing. Vakoch said METI International will be targeting nearby stars, especially those known to have planets in the habitable zones.

Finally there's the question of what the message should say. Here too, history has seen a wide variety of answers. At this point, we've sent a Doritos commercial, the molecular formula for alcohol (accompanied with "Cheers!" of course), and a bunch of Craigslist classified ads to other solar systems, as well as more scientifically rigorous messages in which we've attempted to teach an alien recipient about math, science, and life on Earth.

The question of who gets to speak for Earth is a tricky one, especially given the contentious nature of the METI project as a whole. But for now, Vakoch and his colleagues are focused on figuring out how to communicate with aliens so that when we get that first "Hello," we won't be left speechless.

"Many of our most severe problems on Earth today are due to a focus on immediate gratification," Vakoch said. "If future generations of SETI researchers are looking for replies to today's transmissions, committed to a multigenerational scientific project, the very act of continuing to look will be a success in itself, whether or not they ever find life out there."

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Next year, scientists will send messages to search for aliens

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Editors' note: Dear Future is a collaboration between CNET and VICE Motherboard that looks at major innovations -- in robotics, space travel, VR and more -- shaping the world around us. For the last half-century or so, astronomers around the world have been scanning the cosmos with massive radio telescopes in hopes of finding some sign of intelligent life.