...Astronomy Research and the Search for Extraterrestrial Life The objective of this paper is to discuss life here on Earth and the possibilities of extraterrestrial life in one’s solar system. The team will describe the properties of life on Earth and explain the theories for the genesis of life, including the theory of natural selection. Members will provide a brief description of the evolution of life and include a geological timescale that describes specific eras throughout the previous three billion plus years. The team will assess the possibilities of extraterrestrial life, and results will be presented. Describe the properties of life on Earth Properties of life on Earth are what define the word life. The properties of life consist of cells and reproduction, responses to the environment, growth and development, and evolution. Every living thing is collected through cells which make tissues and organs that make a living organism. All living organisms can produce such as humans, animals, bacteria, and plants called asexual reproduction. The responses of the living in the environment are through any changes occurring in “light, sound, heat, and chemical contact” through “eyes, ears, and taste buds” (Cliff’s notes, 2011, para. 3). Behavior is one way that all living organisms changes through the environment such as the food chain for one’s survival. Growth and development of an organism takes in all substantial amount of information through energy of building...
Words: 1783 - Pages: 8
...Title of Paper Learning Team E Jose Santiago, Jessica Saunders, Holli Mitchell SCI/151 June 2, 2010 John Judkins Title of Paper The Universe is a topic that has been studied since the existence of man. The unknowns of the Universe have intrigued man for many years. As time has progressed many questions have been answered, but many more have been brought forth. Although we have no confirmation of life beyond earth, the odds of earth having the only sign of life in our Universe is slim. The Universe is too large and ever expanding to know what life can be found beyond Earth if any. For years we have studied our planet Earth, we have tried to understand its climate, atmosphere its lands and oceans. We try to understand how life as we know only exists on earth. This study is now known as Geology. Earth is the 3rd planet from the Sun at a distance of about 150 million kilometers It takes 365.2 days for the Earth to travel around the Sun and 23.9 hours for the Earth to rotate a complete revolution. It has a diameter of 12,756 kilometers, only a few hundred kilometers larger than that of Venus. Our atmosphere is composed of 78 percent nitrogen, 21 percent oxygen and 1 percent other constituents. It is believed that life began on earth about 4.6 billion years ago. Scientist believe that comets and meteorites could have contributed to life on earth by depositing carbon based molecules into the atmosphere. Nitrogen and oxygen in another...
Words: 2110 - Pages: 9
...advantages of radio interferometers. Discuss major discoveries that were possible after detection of radio waves from space and how they changed our understanding of Universe. 2. The Earliest Evidence for Life Review the earliest evidence for life on Earth. What form does the evidence take and where is it found. Discuss the controversies relating to some of this evidence and give your conclusion on the earliest date at which we can be confident that life was present on Earth. 3. Atmosphere Evolution on Rocky Planets Compare evolution of atmosphere on Earth, Venus and Mars, and explain differences in current atmospheric conditions on these planets. Describe how the Earth’s atmosphere helped life to originate, survive and develop, and how has life affected the atmosphere over time. 4. Life in Extreme Conditions Explain what extremophile life forms are and where they are found on Earth. In view of what we have learnt about extremophiles discuss the possibility of extraterrestrial life in different places of our Solar system. 5. Key Space Missions Choose ONE of the following space missions and give an account of the mission describing the challenges it had to overcome and the mission’s achievements. Describe in particular how it has influenced our understanding of the possibilities of past or present life in the solar system. o The Viking dual orbiter/lander mission to Mars. o The Galileo orbiter/probe...
Words: 1029 - Pages: 5
...Persuasive Essay: Extraterrestrial Life Kylie Surles Ex·tra·ter·res·tri·al. adj. Originating, located, or occurring outside Earth or its atmosphere. Example: Extraterrestrial life. Also known as aliens. It is currently unknown whether there are living, breathing beings outside of the planet Earth. SETI, Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence, along with other organizations has spent years researching and looking for signs of life on numerous planets, moons and stars. They are confident that the alien reports and alleged “alien abductions” are true. They are simply trying to find proof. On the other hand, some firmly believe that the existence of life outside of the earth is absolutely impossible. Those individuals feel that other life would have been discovered by now if it were real. Articles have been uncovered, revealing information about NASA forbidding its astronauts from expressing what it truly saw on its trip to the moon. There is no guarantee that these articles have any bit of truth to them. However, there is more reason to believe in the possibility of extraterrestrial beings rather than the nonexistence of them. Greek philosophers believed that there were vast amounts of different worlds, all with inhabitants and societies. Later, the view that the Earth is unique, and is the only planet able to sustain life, became supported. However, Copernican ideas in the 1600’s suggested there may be life on other planets or even the moon. But when it was discovered...
Words: 1060 - Pages: 5
...planets has been a subject of debate in the scientific word and beyond. The probability of life mathematically is extremely low even when all the elements of life are present. Stages of evolution and development needed to create life take time. This time that it takes to develop is difficult to come by in the Universe according to some scientist. To understand what it takes to produce life scientist look to life as it evolved on Earth for an example on how this occurs. Properties of Life on Earth Life refers to any living system that can maintain homeostasis, grow or have the capacity to do so, respond to environmental stimuli, reproduce in some manner, and adapt to environmental changes. Anything that can do these things is referred to as a living organism. Life on Earth consists of carbon forms. Carbon is a key component for all life that has naturally occurred on Earth. Molecules made of carbon bond with hydrogen, nitrogen, and mostly oxygen to make complex molecules. The substance carbon is in excess on Earth. It is easy for enzymes to move and manipulate carbon molecules due the size and the fact that they are lightweight. The most common elements found in living organisms on Earth are hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorous, sulfur, and carbon. Possibilities of Extraterrestrial Life in Our Solar System The possibility of life within our solar system has been a question asked for years. Space exploration in the 1960s started to answer the question with no. ...
Words: 1215 - Pages: 5
...good job of making the idea of aliens a childhood dream. I liked the author's way of explaining the topic, making it very clear that Aliens truly existing is the excuse of those denying God. I find it interesting that so many people really do believe this with absolute surety. But then one can see that they want to believe this because they look around them and see there must be a creator. However, instead of then turning to God they decide to turn to extraterrestrial life. People all around the world are starting to believe that aliens are really in space. The amount of people joining this idea continues to grow. Many of the people who believe this are not in any type of church or are in any way religious. This belief is to them a substitute for God and religion. People use extraterrestrials as the explanation for creation and replace them with God. There is a strong link of evolution to the belief in aliens (UFOs are not Extraterrestrial). The development in space technology has created a growing search for extraterrestrial life even creating a new branch of science called astrobiology(Aliens are all around us?). Yet through all their searching they have found little to no evidence of actual existence of aliens. This belief is blind “faith” in something that rejects the creator. One scientist said, “Our universe is the remains of intelligent alien life which controls all aspects of the physical world-from gravity to the speed of life” (Aliens are all around us?) This statement...
Words: 1479 - Pages: 6
...Extraterrestrial Hypothesis The extraterrestrial hypothesis (ETH) is the hypothesis that some unidentified flying objects (UFOs) are best explained as being physical spacecraft occupied by extraterrestrial life or non-human aliens from other planets visiting Earth. Etymology Origins of the term extraterrestrial hypothesis are unknown, but use in printed material on UFOs seems to date to at least the latter half of the 1960s. French Ufologist Jacques Vallee used it in his 1966 book Challenge to science: the UFO enigma. It was used in a publication by French engineer Aimé Michel in 1967,[1] by Dr. James E. McDonald in a symposium in March 1968[2] and again by McDonald and James Harder while testifying before the Congressional Committee on Science and Astronautics, in July 1968.[3] Skeptic Philip J. Klass used it in his 1968 book UFOs--Identified. In 1969 physicist Edward Condon defined the "Extra-terrestrial Hypothesis" or "ETH" as the "idea that some UFOs may be spacecraft sent to Earth from another civilization or space other than earth, or on a planet associated with a more distant star," while presenting the findings of the much debated Condon Report. Some UFO historians credit Condon with popularizing the term and its abbreviation "ETH". Chronology Although ETH, as a unified and named hypothesis, is a comparatively new concept - one which owes a lot to the saucer sightings of the 1940s–1960s, it can trace its origins back to a number of earlier events such as the now...
Words: 5830 - Pages: 24
...Extraterrestial Influence All our science, measured against reality, is primitive and childlike and yet it is the most precious thing we have. -Albert Einstein INTRODUCTION There are many things in this world that go unexplained. Not anymore, it was all aliens, everything you can’t figure out like, “Where does one sock go when I do the laundry?”, and “How do you get the caramel into the Caramilk bar?” Aliens. Earth has been profoundly impacted by extraterrestrials in its short history. Everything from supplying life-giving chemicals and wiping out the dinosaurs with meteorites to influencing human culture and evolution. The whole world is filled with evidence of extraterrestrials, though it is usually denied and ignored by governments and academics. This essay will provide a brief analysis of extraterrestrial events or evidence thereof the were especially significant. THE BEGINNING OF LIFE Evolutionary theory suggests that life on earth has been developing for millions of years into more and more complex organisms. These organisms evolved from inorganic molecules through the release of UV, heat and electrical energy in the atmosphere of early Earth. This theory was found to be valid by Stan Miller in 1953, who through a series of tests managed to create some hydrocarbons and amino acidsout of chemicals that were present on earth 3.5 billion years ago. These hydrocarbons and amino acids are very susceptible to oxidation and would not exist for very long in an...
Words: 2734 - Pages: 11
...Outline Title: 2001 A Space Odyssey film analysis Introduction: Begins a dawn in prehistoric Africa, about four million years ago a powerful force entered near Jupiter. The force later on somehow ended up in the prehistoric area. The monolith, was the force that was deliberately planted by an extraterrestrial but why? Body: I. What was learned about the movie before starting my complete analysis 1. Begins a dawn in prehistoric Africa 2. The dawn of man 3. Jupiter’s mission 4. Beyond the infinite II. My own personal analysis in regards to the list of questions from handout (1-14) 1. How and why is the film described as a work of art? 2. What colors are present and what are the color schemes? 3. What mood is set? 4. What is the possible symbolism?...
Words: 2126 - Pages: 9
...planet, 2.4 times the size of the Earth, is six hundred light-years away in what astronomers call the “Goldilocks Zone”, an area in which a planet has an ideal temperature because of its distance from a star. It orbits around a star similar to the sun of the Earth, and the temperature of its surface is habitable at 77 degrees Fahrenheit. Scientists are hopeful that this planet might possess water and land, but they are not sure as of the moment if the majority of it is made up of solid, liquid or gas (Bloxham). Kepler 22-b is just one of the extrasolar planets observed by NASA that has a probability to be inhabited by extraterrestrial life forms. Since 1960, NASA has funded different exobiology projects, including Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI), in hopes that astronomers can find evidences of life in outer space. Thinking that extraterrestrials would likely leave something behind to signal other intelligent beings during their exploration, astronomers of SETI previously tried to detect interstellar probes to be able send messages back to them, but until now, none have been discovered. Despite this, scientists working on SETI have not given up, focusing more on searching for Earth-like planets in different galaxies. So far, they have discovered “super Earths” that are larger and less temperate than Earth. Some astronomers estimate that perhaps half of the 200 billion or so suns in the Milky Way support terrestrial, Earth-like worlds. What the astronomers do is...
Words: 7781 - Pages: 32
...A human is the most advanced organism on the Earth. However, to come to this point, we went through 4 billion years of this phenomenon called evolution. However, the Universe, to our knowledge, is approximately 15 billion years. My idea is that in this 15 billion years life could develop everywhere. This means that how do you think we came to exist in the Universe. Most people think that planet Earth is unique in the whole Universe. Even ancient scientists, such as the genius Aristotle, put the Earth at the centre of the Solar system. However, now we know that it is not true. May be we were wrong in thinking that we are alone in the universe? The emergence of life on Earth gives obvious background for the assumption that the same conditions could emerge on other planets. This means that if life on the earth started 4 billion years ago, why it could not start somewhere else. Soviet astronomer Iosif Shklovsky cautiously suggested that favorable conditions for life exist on planets orbiting near the same age, cold enough and stable single stars of spectral type G, K, M (similar properties to the Sun). The number of stars in our galaxy can be estimated as 1000000000. Therefore, many planets like earth formed at the same time. Therefore, lots of time was to form the life. The discovery of planets in other star systems also indirectly indicates the availability of the universe conducive to the emergence of life in the "habitable zone." Now modern technology allows us to find...
Words: 601 - Pages: 3
...Alien Existence There are a lot of things in this world that go unexplained. Not anymore, it was all aliens, everything you can’t figure out like, “Where does one sock go when I do the laundry?” Aliens. Earth has been very much impacted by aliens in its short history. Everything from supplying life-giving chemicals and wiping out the dinosaurs with meteorites to influencing human culture and evolution. The whole world is full of evidence that aliens exist, even though it is usually denied and ignored by the government and academics. This paper will give a short investigation of extraterrestrial events and evidence. Ancient people, especially their huge structures and exciting grip of mathematics and astronomy, have always attracted human kind. For example, the Sumerians were aware of Pluto as early as 5,000 bce, seven thousand years before it was discovered by Clyde W. Tombaugh in 1930. The first written evidence of extraterrestrials was discovered in 1935 by Prof. Tsum Um Nui of the Academy of Prehistoric Research in Beijing who found a stone disk in the cave part of the Baian Kara Ula Mountains near Tibet. The stone disk was buried with a group of humans with delicate bodies and weird large skulls. At first they were thought to be apes, Prof. Um Nui was rumored to have said “Who ever heard of apes burying each other?” They ended up finding 716 disks but the Chinese government would not let any more research be done until a Russian, Dr. Saitsew, examined them and wrote a...
Words: 2115 - Pages: 9
...There Exist Intelligent Life Forms on Other Planets Name Institutional Affiliation There Exist Intelligent Life Forms on Other Planets When it comes to reflecting on the state of the universe, the most prevalent question on people’s minds is, “Is there anyone else like us out there?” Even though scientists have been scrutinizing electromagnetic waves emanating from outer space for decades, and are still to find conclusive evidence of life on other planets, this does not resolve the issue. This universe is so vast; discovering other forms of life is akin to searching for the proverbial needle in a haystack. Nevertheless, there are persuasive reasons to believe that ultimately scientists will discover some, possibly even in this solar system. The intent of this paper, therefore, is to list reasons why some people believe that there exist other intelligent life forms in the Universe. Ever since scientists grasped the enormity of the universe, they have intuited that other intelligent life form must exist someplace, either in this galaxy or some other galaxy very far away (Peterson, 2000, p.92). If the universe is composed of billions of galaxies and if every galaxy holds billions of stars, and if just a tiny proportion of those stars contains Earth-like planets, then thousands- maybe even millions- of alien civilization must be present across the cosmos. Recently, telescope projects and deep-space satellites have identified...
Words: 1103 - Pages: 5
...Astronomy Research and the Search of Extraterrestrial Life Faith M. Sorensen SCI/151 March 22, 1015 John Serri The search for life outside of our world has become a full time job for our astrophysicists they search day in and day out looking and seeking for life on other planets and in other solar systems. The life on earth as we know it can only exist because we have the right mixture of properties to provide us with the perfect planet setting and atmosphere. Describe the properties of life on Earth. All living creatures and organisms have the same basic characteristics and/or functions, sensitivity, response or order to their environment, development and growth, reproduction, homeostasis, regulation and processing energy. When we view these together the eight items define life. Organisms and creatures are organized and coordinated structures that consist of one or more cells. Even the very simple, single-celled organisms and creatures are complex. Inside each cell atoms make up molecules, these atoms and molecules in turn make up organelles and other inclusions. In a multicellular organism or creature similar cells from tissues. These tissues in turn work together to form organs. Organs collaborate to form organ systems. Organisms respond to different stimulus. A good example of this is that plants grow toward the light they also climb on walls and fences or respond to the touch. Even the smallest bacteria can move away or toward chemicals. Movement toward...
Words: 1478 - Pages: 6
...Does science make belief in God obsolete? Yes, if by… No, and yes. Absolutely not! Not necessarily. Of course not. No. No, but it should. No. Yes. No, not at all. It depends. Of course not. No, but only if… Steven Pinker Christoph Cardinal Schönborn William D. Phillips Pervez Amirali Hoodbhoy Mary Midgley Robert Sapolsky Christopher Hitchens Keith Ward Victor J. Stenger Jerome Groopman Michael Shermer Kenneth Miller Stuart Kauffman 2 4 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 Does science make belief in God obsolete? irteen views on the question Online at www.templeton.org/belief INTRODUCTION T he John Templeton Foundation serves as a philanthropic catalyst for research on what scientists and philosophers call the Big Questions. We support work at the world’s top universities in such fields as theoretical physics, cosmology, evolutionary biology, cognitive science, and social science relating to love, forgiveness, creativity, purpose, and the nature and origin of religious belief. We encourage informed, open-minded dialogue between scientists and theologians as they apply themselves to the most profound issues in their particular disciplines. And, in a more practical vein, we seek to stimulate new thinking about wealth creation in the developing world, character is booklet neatly embodies our approach to the Big Questions: the contributors are education in schools and universities, and programs for cultivating the talents of the gifted. scholars and thinkers of the...
Words: 13856 - Pages: 56
