Nismo Posted October 23, 2015 Share Posted October 23, 2015 (edited) We may soon find out. For me it's been fun star gazing the past few months; with the Blood Moon, Meteor Showers & this past week I've been observing (with the naked eye) Venus, Jupiter & Mars all aligned (in the eastern predawn sky). But, the Kepler Space Observatory (orbiting 93 million miles away) has focused on something potentially more exciting, a distant star: KIC 8462543 The preliminary data suggest something never observed before; a large unknown collection of massive objects circling the distant star. Initial theories range from the more pedestrian option of 2 planets that may have collided... to that of an artificial mega structure such as a Dyson Sphere. Now SETI has repositioned the Allen Telescope Array in an attempt to gather signals from the star & surrounding objects. They hope to gather data as early as next week. Here's a few links with info: http://www.businessinsider.com/search-for-aliens-at-kic-8462852-2015-10 http://www.popsci.com/have-we-detected-alien-megastructures-around-distant-star http://www.businessinsider.com/what-astronomers-behind-the-alien-hype-are-saying-2015-10 http://www.zmescience.com/space/alien-megastructure-star-aliens-15102015/ Edited October 23, 2015 by Nismo 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimjimbo Posted October 23, 2015 Share Posted October 23, 2015 Ah yes, the Dyson Sphere, a giant extraterrestrial vacuum cleaner....seriously though....no way we are alone. Would love to see contact in my lifetime... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sancho Panza Posted October 23, 2015 Share Posted October 23, 2015 YES 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolfbane Posted October 23, 2015 Share Posted October 23, 2015 Looking for evidence of absence, or absence of evidence? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Travis In Austin Posted October 23, 2015 Moderators Share Posted October 23, 2015 That is some pretty wild stuff. "SETI researchers have long suggested that we might be able to detect distant extraterrestrial civilizations, by looking for enormous technological artifacts orbiting other stars. Wright and his co-authors say the unusual star’s light pattern is consistent with a “swarm of megastructures,” perhaps stellar-light collectors, technology designed to catch energy from the star." It is over 1,500 light years away. So if SETI does pick up technical signatures, what then? We start broadcasting? So that is over 3,000 years to get a response. This just boggles the mind. Wait a minute, is this a publicity stunt for the new Star Wars movie thought up by astrophysicists with nothing to do? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derrickdj1 Posted October 23, 2015 Share Posted October 23, 2015 Just remember if other beings come here first, it will be like Columbus and the American Indians? 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nismo Posted October 23, 2015 Author Share Posted October 23, 2015 (edited) That is some pretty wild stuff. "SETI researchers have long suggested that we might be able to detect distant extraterrestrial civilizations, by looking for enormous technological artifacts orbiting other stars. Wright and his co-authors say the unusual star’s light pattern is consistent with a “swarm of megastructures,” perhaps stellar-light collectors, technology designed to catch energy from the star." It is over 1,500 light years away. So if SETI does pick up technical signatures, what then? We start broadcasting? So that is over 3,000 years to get a response. This just boggles the mind. Wait a minute, is this a publicity stunt for the new Star Wars movie thought up by astrophysicists with nothing to do? The Dyson Sphere concept has been around since the 1960's by Physicist & Astronomer Freeman Dyson: the concept was inspired from Sci-Fi, but basically is an artificial structure created to collect (gather) all the energy of a star. http://earthsky.org/space/what-is-a-dyson-sphere 3,000 years to get a response... but that concept of time & distance is based on our limited knowledge of time & space. There could be more advanced methods we have yet to discover, that shorten any potential response. Then again, if its just a bunch of rocks.... cue the crickets. I hope NASA isn't using the $500 million dollar Kepler for a Disney promo. But then again., the powers that be are never shy about wasting taxpayer's $$$. Edited October 23, 2015 by Nismo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators dtel Posted October 23, 2015 Moderators Share Posted October 23, 2015 It would be pretty depressing to think we are the smartest species in the universe. 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The History Kid Posted October 23, 2015 Share Posted October 23, 2015 If there is other life, I've settled on the idea that they're probably just like us. Granted I think if they predate us, they may be more technologically advanced, but I don't really buy into the "little green (or grey) men" theory. At least as far as intellectual life. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Islander Posted October 23, 2015 Share Posted October 23, 2015 Just remember if other beings come here first, it will be like Columbus and the American Indians? There has been a number of more recent examples of contact between Stone Age tribes and the modern world, mostly in the western Amazon forest. Based on how it usually turns out, the Brazilian and Peruvian governments initiated "no contact" policies, even setting aside large areas of land to keep the "modern people" out. As one anthropologist put it, "They're living happily in the forest, then contact occurs. Within a couple of years, they're begging by the roadside." However, at least one tribe has recently shown interest in making contact, causing the governments to have to re-think their policies: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/08/150813-uncontacted-amazon-tribes-peru-brazil/ This article goes into a bit more detail, explaining about the issues of diseases to which the tribespeople are vulnerable, and the challenges of avoiding endangering them: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/the-last-lost-tribes-of-the-amazon/article20369296/ When it comes to any extraterrestrials who may be observing us, let's hope they are as well-intentioned as some modern governments have become, and not like we were a few centuries, or even a few decades, ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cradeldorf Posted October 23, 2015 Share Posted October 23, 2015 My guess is they know about us and are hiding in hopes we don't find them. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeDirt Posted October 23, 2015 Share Posted October 23, 2015 Who's to say that we have not been contacted already? Not to go all MIB here, but aliens could be here walking amongst us and we'd never know it. I wonder sometimes about how technology aided our ancient ancestors. Where did the Mayans go? Were ancient rulers 100% human? We Humans might be hybrids from several galactic species. If so, then I'd be terrified of an alien visit in much the same way that I fear an un-announced visit from my mother-in-law now. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The History Kid Posted October 23, 2015 Share Posted October 23, 2015 Where did the Mayans go? They...didn't go anywhere. In fact, many of them are still in meso-America. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJkizak Posted October 23, 2015 Share Posted October 23, 2015 I have a picture of an alien on my website. Ok------it's a fake. JJK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Richard Posted October 23, 2015 Share Posted October 23, 2015 Where did the Mayans go? Well, the Mayan civilization faded away but there are millions of Mayas still living in the equatorial regions of South/Central America. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mallette Posted October 23, 2015 Share Posted October 23, 2015 Looking for evidence of absence, or absence of evidence? Either way, it's mind boggling. In fact, if we should prove to be alone it's far more incredible than finding the incredible numbers of civilizations that have come, gone, and transcended to levels we can't even comprehend that science says MUST be there. If we are alone, then we are Special. If there is other life, I've settled on the idea that they're probably just like us I don't think that is supported by available science. Intelligence developing in a place like Europa would only be like us in science. I'd suspect their music would be pretty hard to imagine. In fact, my imagination simply stalls trying to imagine an aquatic civilization. A methane atmosphere one is just as strange. Further, it would appear that most civilizations predating us by any significant amount of time would have, if they survived, evolved to a state of pure energy. Dave 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuzzydog Posted October 23, 2015 Share Posted October 23, 2015 If there is other life, I've settled on the idea that they're probably just like us. Granted I think if they predate us, they may be more technologically advanced, but I don't really buy into the "little green (or grey) men" theory. At least as far as intellectual life. I remember reading a theory that if there really was an ancient advanced alien civilization, the original organic life would be long gone and all that would remain is their intelligent robots. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJkizak Posted October 23, 2015 Share Posted October 23, 2015 Just think if we all get smart enough in a billion years we can be Gods. JJK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimjimbo Posted October 23, 2015 Share Posted October 23, 2015 Just think if we all get smart enough in a billion years we can be Gods. JJK I think that's already been established by the main participants in another thread named "New Hardware" 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Naseum Posted October 23, 2015 Share Posted October 23, 2015 The universes contain counties intelligences. That's a statistical certainty. Being able to contact and communicate with any of them is very unlikely at our current level of development. But, supposing we achieve a breakthrough of understanding time and space, then it could get interesting. Sent from my SM-T330NU using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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