Top 10 Controversial pieces of evidence for
extraterrestrial life
Over the years many hints have
emerged that there might be life beyond Earth...
6.
2002, Russian scientists argue that a mysterious radiation-proof microbe may
have evolved on Mars
Tests
performed on Martian soil samples by NASA's Viking landers hinted at chemical
evidence of life. One experiment mixed soil with radioactive-carbon-labelled
nutrients and then tested for the production of radioactive methane gas.
The test
reported a positive result. The production of radioactive methane suggested
that something in the soil was metabolising the nutrients and producing
radioactive gas. But other experiments on board failed to find any evidence of
life, so NASA declared the result a false positive.
Despite
that, one of the original scientists - and others who have since re-analysed
the data - still stand by the finding. They argue that the other experiments on
board were ill-equipped to search for evidence of the organic molecules - a key
indicator of life.
Read more: Did
Viking missions see life on Mars?
2. 1977, The unexplained extraterrestrial "Wow!" signal is
detected by an Ohio State University radio telescope
In August
1977 an Ohio State University radio telescope detected an unusual pulse of
radiation from somewhere near the constellation Sagittarius. The 37-second-long
signal was so startling that an astronomer monitoring the data scrawled
"Wow!" on the telescope's printout.
The signal
was within the band of radio frequencies where transmissions are
internationally banned on Earth. Furthermore, natural sources of radiation from
space usually cover a wider range of frequencies.
As the
nearest star in that direction is 220 million light years away, either a
massive astronomical event - or intelligent aliens with a very powerful
transmitter would have had to have created it. The signal remains unexplained.
Read more: 13
things that do not make sense
3. 1996, Martian "fossils" are discovered in meteorite ALH84001
from Antarctica
NASA
scientists controversially announced in 1996 that they had found what appeared
to be fossilised microbes in a potato-shaped lump of Martian rock. The
meteorite was probably blasted off the surface of Mars in a collision, and
wandered the solar system for some 15 million years, before plummeting to
Antarctica, where it was discovered in 1984.
Careful
analysis revealed that the rock contained organic molecules and tiny specs of
the mineral magnetite, sometimes found in Earth bacteria. Under the electron
microscope, NASA researchers also claimed to have spotted signs of
"nanobacteria".
But since
then much of the evidence has been challenged. Other experts have suggested
that the particles of magnetite were not so similar to those found in bacteria
after all, and that contaminants from Earth are the source of the organic
molecules. A 2003 study also showed how crystals that resemble nanobacteria
could be grown in the laboratory by chemical processes.
Read more: Death
knell for Martian life
4. 2001, More rigorous calculations connected to the 1960s "Drake
equation" suggests that our galaxy may contain hundreds of thousands of
life-bearing planets
In 1961 US
radio astronomer Frank Drake developed an equation to help estimate the number
of planets hosting intelligent life - and capable of communicating with us - in
the galaxy.
The Drake
equation multiplies together seven factors including: the formation rate of
stars like our Sun, the fraction of Earth-like planets and the fraction of
those on which life develops. Many of these figures are open to wide debate,
but Drake himself estimates the final number of communicating civilisations in
the galaxy to be about 10,000.
In 2001, a
more rigorous estimate of the number of life-bearing planets in the galaxy -
using new data and theories - came up with a figure of hundreds of thousands.
For the first time, the researchers estimated how many planets might lie in the
"habitable zone" around stars, where water is liquid and
photosynthesis possible. The results suggest that an inhabited Earth-like
planet could be as little as a few hundred light years away.
Read more: Other
Earths
5. 2001, The red tinge of Jupiter's moon Europa proposed to be due to
frozen bits of bacteria, which also helps explain the mysterious infrared
signal it gives off
Alien microbes
might be behind Europa's red tinge, suggested NASA researchers in 2001. Though
the surface is mostly ice, data shows it reflects infrared radiation in an odd
manner. That suggests that something - magnesium salts perhaps - are binding it
together. But no one has been able to come up with the right combination of
compounds to make sense of the data.
Intriguingly,
the infrared spectra of some Earthly bacteria - those that thrive in extreme
conditions - fits the data at least as well as magnesium salts. Plus, some are
red and brown in colour, perhaps explaining the moon's ruddy complexion. Though
bacteria might find it difficult to survive in the scant atmosphere and -170°C
surface temperature of Europa, they might survive in the warmer liquid interior.
Geological activity could then spew them out periodically to be flash frozen on
the surface.
Read more: Bacterial
explanation for Europa's rosy glow
6. 2002, Russian scientists argue that a mysterious radiation-proof
species of microbe may have evolved on Mars
In 2002
Russian astrobiologists claimed that super-hardy Deinococcus radiourans
evolved on Mars. The microbe can survive several thousand times the radiation
dose that would kill a human.
The Russians
zapped a population of the bacteria with enough radiation to kill 99.9%,
allowed the survivors to repopulate, before repeating the cycle. After 44
rounds it took 50 times the original dose of radiation. They calculated that it
would take many thousands of these cycles to make common microbe E.coli
as resilient as Deinococcus. And on Earth it takes between a million and
100 million years to encounter each dose of radiation. Therefore there just has
not been enough time in life's 3.8 billion year history on Earth for such
resistance to have evolved, they claim.
By contrast,
the surface of Mars, unprotected by a dense atmosphere, is bombarded with so
much radiation that the bugs could receive the same dose in just a few hundred
thousand years. The researchers argue that Deinococcus's ancestors were
flung off of Mars by an asteroid and fell to Earth on meteorites. Other experts
remain sceptical.
Read more: Tough
Earth bug may be from Mars
7. 2002, Chemical hints of life are found in old data from Venus probes
and landers. Could microbes exist in Venusian clouds?
Life in
Venus' clouds may be the best way to explain some curious anomalies in the
composition of its atmosphere, claimed University of Texas astrobiologists in
2002. They scoured data from NASA's Pioneer and Magellan space probes and from
Russia's Venera Venus-lander missions of the 1970s.
Solar radiation
and lightning should be generating masses of carbon monoxide on Venus, yet it
is rare, as though something is removing it. Hydrogen sulphide and sulphur
dioxide are both present too. These readily react together, and are not usually
found co-existing, unless some process constantly is churning them out. Most
mysterious is the presence of carbonyl sulphide. This is only produced by
microbes or catalysts on Earth, and not by any other known inorganic process.
The
researchers' suggested solution to this conundrum is that microbes live in the
Venusian atmosphere. Venus's searing hot, acidic surface may be prohibitive to
life, but conditions 50 kilometres up in the atmosphere are more hospitable and
moist, with a temperature of 70°C and a pressure similar to Earth.
Read more: Acidic
clouds of Venus could harbour life
8. 2003, Sulphur traces on Jupiter's moon Europa may be the waste
products of underground bacterial colonies
In 2003,
Italian scientists hypothesised that sulphur traces on Europa might be a sign
of alien life. The compounds were first detected by the Galileo space probe,
along with evidence for a volcanically-warmed ocean beneath the moon's icy
crust.
The sulphur
signatures look similar to the waste-products of bacteria, which get locked
into the surface ice of lakes in Antarctica on Earth. The bacteria survive in
the water below, and similar bacteria might also thrive below Europa's surface,
the researchers suggest. Others experts rejected the idea, suggesting that the
sulphur somehow originates from the neighbouring moon Io, where it is found in
abundance.
Read more: Vital
clues from Europa
9. 2004, Methane in the Martian atmosphere hints at microbial metabolism
In 2004
three groups - using telescopes on Earth and the European Space Agency's Mars
Express orbiting space probe - independently turned up evidence of methane in
the atmosphere. Nearly all methane in our own atmosphere is produced by
bacteria and other life.
Methane
could also be generated by volcanism, the thawing of frozen underground
deposits, or delivered by comet impacts. However, the source has to be recent,
as the gas is rapidly destroyed on Mars or escapes into space.
In January
2005, an ESA scientist controversially announced that he had also found
evidence of formaldehyde, produced by the oxidation of methane. If this is
proved it will strengthen the case for microbes, as a whopping 2.5 million
tonnes of methane per year would be required to create the quantity of
formaldehyde postulated to exist.
There are
ways to confirm the presence of the gas, but scientists will need to get the equipment
to Mars first.
Read more: A
whiff of life on the Red Planet
10. 2004, A mysterious radio signal is received by the SETI project on
three occasions - from the same region of space
In February
2003, astronomers with the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI)
project, used a massive telescope in Puerto Rico to re-examine 200 sections of
the sky which had all previously yielded unexplained radio signals. These
signals had all disappeared, except for one which had become stronger.
The signal -
widely thought to be the best candidate yet for an alien contact - comes from a
spot between the constellations Pisces and Aries, where there are no obvious
stars or planets. Curiously, the signal is at one of the frequencies that
hydrogen, the most common element, absorbs and emits energy. Some astronomers
believe that this is a very likely frequency at which aliens wishing to be
noticed would transmit.
Nevertheless,
there is also a good chance the signal is from a never-seen-before natural
phenomenon. For example, an unexplained pulsed radio signal, thought to be
artificial in 1967, turned out to be the first ever sighting of a pulsar.
Read more: Mysterious
signals from light years away
From New Scientist @ http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn9943-top-10-controversial-pieces-of-evidence-for-extraterrestrial-life.html?full=true
For more information about extraterrestrial life see http://nexusilluminati.blogspot.com/search/label/extraterrestrial
- See ‘Older Posts’ at the end of each section
YOU can help this unique
independent website’s author survive in a small cabin in a remote rainforest
Donate any amount and receive at least one New Illuminati eBook!
Please click in the
jar -
Xtra Images – https://str.llnl.gov/June11/images/goldman_open.jpg
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2011/08/09/article-2023946-0010369B00000258-277_634x494.jpg
http://images.nationalgeographic.com/wpf/media-live/photos/000/597/overrides/how-meteors-could-have-brought-life-to-earth-slow-speed_59714_600x450.jpg
For further enlightening
information enter a word or phrase into the random synchronistic search box @ http://nexusilluminati.blogspot.com
And see
New Illuminati – http://nexusilluminati.blogspot.com
New Illuminati on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/the.new.illuminati
New Illuminati Youtube Channel - http://www.youtube.com/user/newilluminati/feed
The Her(m)etic Hermit - http://hermetic.blog.com
The Prince of Centraxis - http://centraxis.blogspot.com (Be Aware! This link leads to implicate &
xplicit concepts & images!)
DISGRUNTLED SITE ADMINS PLEASE NOTE –
We provide a live link to your original material on your site - which
raises your ranking on search engines and helps spread your info further! This site
is published under Creative Commons Fair Use Copyright (unless an individual article
or other item is declared otherwise by copyright holder) – reproduction for non-profit
use is permitted & encouraged, if you give attribution to the work &
author - and please include a (preferably active) link to the original (along
with this or a similar notice).
Feel free
to make non-commercial hard (printed) or software copies or mirror sites - you
never know how long something will stay glued to the web – but remember
attribution! If you like what you see, please send a donation (no amount is too
small or too large) or leave a comment – and thanks for reading this far…
Live long
and prosper!
From the New
Illuminati – http://nexusilluminati.blogspot.com
No comments:
Post a Comment
Add your perspective to the conscious collective