Existence Of Extraterrestrial Life Research Articles

How do Astrophysics and the Qur'an Perceive the Extraterrestrial Life? A Qualitative Study

The topic of extraterrestrial life is still only a theory and the truth is still being investigated. Therefore, this research aims to analyze the beginning formation of the universe according to astrophysics and the Qur’an, astrophysics discoveries about extraterrestrial life, and letters in the Qur’an that hint at extraterrestrial life, as well as analyzing the relationship between astrophysics and letters in the Qur’an related to extraterrestrial life. This research is qualitative research with a method consisting of library research and interviews. The primary data of this research comes from scientific articles of previous research, relevant books, and interpretations of Qur’an verses. The secondary data were obtained through the results of interviews with experts. The data analysis technique in this study was adapted from the analysis technique of Miles Huberman, while the verses of the Qur’an used the Kemenag interpretation with a scientific interpretation style. The results show that in line with the astrophysical discoveries, the creation of the universe and the existence of extraterrestrial life are also hinted at in the Qur'an. In addition, the alleged presence of water on other planets also supports the signs in the Qur'an. Based on the results, it can be concluded that there is no dichotomy between astrophysical discoveries and signs in the Qur'an regarding extraterrestrial life.

Microorganisms and Their Metabolic Capabilities in the Context of the Biogeochemical Nitrogen Cycle at Extreme Environments.

Extreme microorganisms (extremophile) are organisms that inhabit environments characterized by inhospitable parameters for most live beings (extreme temperatures and pH values, high or low ionic strength, pressure, or scarcity of nutrients). To grow optimally under these conditions, extremophiles have evolved molecular adaptations affecting their physiology, metabolism, cell signaling, etc. Due to their peculiarities in terms of physiology and metabolism, they have become good models for (i) understanding the limits of life on Earth, (ii) exploring the possible existence of extraterrestrial life (Astrobiology), or (iii) to look for potential applications in biotechnology. Recent research has revealed that extremophilic microbes play key roles in all biogeochemical cycles on Earth. Nitrogen cycle (N-cycle) is one of the most important biogeochemical cycles in nature; thanks to it, nitrogen is converted into multiple chemical forms, which circulate among atmospheric, terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. This review summarizes recent knowledge on the role of extreme microorganisms in the N-cycle in extremophilic ecosystems, with special emphasis on members of the Archaea domain. Potential implications of these microbes in global warming and nitrogen balance, as well as their biotechnological applications are also discussed.

Martian channels: Imagining interplanetary communication at the dawn of the radio age

In 1899 radio pioneer Nikola Tesla claimed to have received a wireless transmission from the planet Mars, which not only confirmed the existence of intelligent life but also invited a response. The public was immediately captivated by the idea that Mars was attempting to communicate with the Earth, and this widespread fascination reflected not only a belief in the existence of extraterrestrial life but also a notion of radio as a transnational medium that could potentially unite the world by making terrestrial borders obsolete. It may seem strange, therefore, that this fascination culminated in Orson Welles’ famous radio adaptation of H. G. Wells’ novel The War of the Worlds, in which radio was represented not as a medium of interplanetary communication but rather as an emergency broadcast system that warned Americans of an extraterrestrial invasion. Through a closer examination of the history of the idea of interplanetary communication, this article explores how radio was initially conceived as a medium that transgressed social, political and linguistic boundaries and how this utopian promise was later displaced by the idea of radio as a medium that served to construct and reinforce national borders and identities.

Diatoms in the Orgueil Meteorite

We report the discovery of frustules of pennate diatoms embedded in a freshly fractured interior surface of the Orgueil CI1 carbonaceous meteorite. Images and element composition by Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy were obtained with the TESCAN VEGA 3 Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) in the Astrobiology Sector of the Laboratory of Radiation Biology of the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Dubna, Russia. The distribution of chemical elements as shown by Energy Dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy (EDS) and 2-D element maps show no detectable nitrogen. Hence the diatoms are interpreted as indigenous to the Orgueil meteorite and therefore have direct implications to the existence of extraterrestrial life; and the hypothesis of Panspermia.

New Worlds, New Civilizations? From Science Fiction to Science Fact

ABSTRACTAlthough long predicted on theoretical grounds, prior to the 1990s there was no observational evidence of worlds orbiting distant stars; however, the development of new technologies has enabled the discovery of thousands of these exoplanets. The diversity of these worlds exceeds scientific expectations and rivals foreshadowing by the most creative science fiction writers. Extrapolations based on statistical arguments and our understanding of how planetary systems form suggest exoplanets may outnumber the roughly 10 million quadrillion stars in the observable Universe. There are compelling reasons to expect conditions conducive to life on many of these worlds, but the existence of extraterrestrial life remains an open question. Although galaxy-spanning civilizations envisioned in science fiction remain unlikely, future contact with extraterrestrial species is not implausible, and in any case, the likelihood of having a human presence on Mars within the next few decades lends urgency to global, cross-cultural religious and ethical discussions.

Gas cluster ion beam for the characterization of organic materials in submarine basalts as Mars analogs

The solar system contains large quantities of organic compounds that can form complex molecular structures. The processing of organic compounds by biological systems leads to molecules with distinctive structural characteristics; thus, the detection and characterization of organic materials could lead to a high degree of confidence in the existence of extra-terrestrial life. Given the nature of the surface of most planetary bodies in the solar system, evidence of life is more likely to be found in the subsurface where conditions are more hospitable. Basalt is a common rock throughout the solar system and the primary rock type on Mars and Earth. Basalt is therefore a rock type that subsurface life might exploit and as such a suitable material for the study of methods required to detect and analyze organic material in rock. Telluric basalts from Earth represent an analog for extra-terrestrial rocks where the indigenous organic matter could be analyzed for molecular biosignatures. This study focuses on organic matter in the basalt with the use of surface analysis techniques utilizing Ar gas cluster ion beams (GCIB); time of flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS), and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), to characterize organic molecules. Tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH) thermochemolysis was also used to support the data obtained using the surface analysis techniques. The authors demonstrate that organic molecules were found to be heterogeneously distributed within rock textures. A positive correlation was observed to exist between the presence of microtubule textures in the basalt and the organic compounds detected. From the results herein, the authors propose that ToF-SIMS with an Ar GCIB is effective at detecting organic materials in such geological samples, and ToF-SIMS combined with XPS and TMAH thermochemolysis may be a useful approach in the study of extra-terrestrial organic material and life.

Preparing for extraterrestrial contact

This article introduces the issue of extraterrestrial life to the study of disasters, their prevention and their management. Up until now, major journals in the field of risk and disaster research have ignored the potential threats posed by the existence of extraterrestrial life. With increasing scientific support for the existence of planets able to support life, and the rapid development of scientific disciplines such as astrobiology, the article argues that limiting the scope of disaster research to terrestrial matters is increasingly intellectually untenable. In order to rectify this situation, and begin a debate within the field, the article develops five theoretical scenarios concerning the likelihood of, and the threats posed by, extraterrestrial life forms. Doing so highlights possible new themes in disaster and risk management research. It is thus hoped that subsequent researchers may close the gap between scholarly discourse about risk management, and the scientific findings of disciplines such as astrobiology.

Possible Signs of Life on the Planet Venus

It is possible, the question on the existence of extraterrestrial life will be answered not as a result of its search for in other worlds removed by distances of dozens of parsecs but on the surface of Venus, i.e., of the nearest planet of the Solar system. The search for “habitable zones” in extrasolar planetary systems is based on the postulate on “normal” physical conditions, i.e., the pressure, temperature, and maybe atmospheric composition similar to those on Earth. But could not such an approach be a kind of “terrestrial chauvinism”? Considering the conditions on Venus as a possible analogue of physical conditions on low-orbiting exoplanets of the “super-Earths” type, a new analysis of Venusian surface panoramas’ details has been made. These images were produced by the VENERA landers in 1975 and 1982. A few relatively large objects were found with size ranging from a decimeter to half meter and with unusual morphology. The objects were observed in some images, but were absent in the other or altered their shape. The article presents the obtained results and analyzes the evidence of reality of these objects.

Comments on the article by L.V. Ksanfomality “Results of the New Processing of Images Obtained from the Surface of Venus in a TV Experiment Onboard the Venera-9 Lander (1975)”

The manuscript by L.V. Ksanfomality continues the theme published earlier in “Astronomicheskii Vestnik” (Ksanfomality, 2012). The article is of great epistemological interest. The existence of extraterrestrial life that is similar to ours, or strongly differs from it, is one of the most important problems of modern natural science. Where we came from, whether there is any more life in the Universe, whether it differs from ours are questions of interest to both researchers and many thinking people on the Earth. It is not without reason that the search for extraterrestrial life is a focus of the NASA space program.

Biomimetic Properties of Minerals and the Search for Life in the Martian Meteorite ALH84001

The existence of extraterrestrial life was heralded by controversial claims made in 1996 that the Martian meteorite ALH84001 harbored relics of ancient microorganisms. We review here the accumulated evidence for and against past extraterrestrial life in this Martian meteorite. The main pro-life arguments—the presence of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, magnetite crystals, carbonate globules, and structures resembling terrestrial life-forms known as nanobacteria—can be deemed ambiguous at best. Although these criteria are compatible with living processes, each one of them can be explained by nonliving chemical processes. By undergoing amorphous-to-crystalline transformations and binding to multiple substrates, including other ions and simple organic compounds, minerals—especially those containing carbonate—have been shown to display biomimetic properties, producing forms that resemble bacteria. This simple and down-to-earth explanation can account fully for the existence of mineral entities resembling putative nano- and microorganisms that have been described not only in the ALH84001 meteorite but also in the human body.

Injustice and disabilities: the case against the extradition of Gary McKinnon to the USA

Gary McKinnon is wanted in the United States of America for alleged computer fraud, and his extradition case has been going through the media and legal arenas for a number of years. While previous cases he has brought in England have failed to have extradition proceedings halted and the European Court of Human Rights rejected his appeal, he has been diagnosed recently with Asperger’s Syndrome (BBC News, 2009). His legal team gained a judicial review of the decision to allow the extradition to proceed, likely to be held during April or May 2010 (BBC News, 2010). In this article we argue that Asperger’s syndrome is a learning disability which should affect current criteria for assessing fitness to stand trial. We explore how people with Asperger’s syndrome are impaired by the condition, and how this affects criminal responsibility, fitness to plead and the consequence of imprisonment. We will argue that Gary McKinnon is likely to be so disabled by his condition that he should not be extradited to the US. Background to the case [2008] UKHL 59 Gary McKinnon (GM) is accused of accessing nearly 100 US government computers in 2001 and 2002, stealing passwords and deleting information. He is alleged to have removed data and caused significant disruption to army networks, and to have left messages including ‘I am SOLO. I will continue to disrupt at the highest levels ...’. GM has admitted accessing computer systems without authorisation, but claimed that it was to investigate the evidence for the existence of extra-terrestrial life. Since 2004 the USA has requested his extradition to face charges in New Jersey and Virginia. The extradition request was first heard in a magistrate’s court, which referred the decision to the Home Secretary, who agreed to the request. The Court of Appeal also considered the issues, but refused to overturn the previous decision. In 2008, GM went to the House of Lords, but again the ruling was not overturned. An appeal to the European Court of Human Rights was rejected. More recently, a judicial review of the decision has been agreed, and will take place later this Robin Mackenzie Law School, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK

On the plurality of inhabited worlds: a brief history of extraterrestrialism

This paper delineates the cultural evolution of the ancient idea of a plurality of inhabited worlds, and traces its development through to contemporary extraterrestrialism, with its foundation in the physical determinism of cosmology, and its attendant myths of alien contact drawn from examples of British film and fiction. We shall see that, in the evolving debate of the existence of extraterrestrial life and intelligence, science and science fiction have benefited from an increasingly symbiotic relationship. Modern extraterrestrialism has influenced both the scientific searches for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI), and become one of the most pervasive cultural myths of the 20th century. Not only has pluralism found a voice in fiction through the alien, but fiction has also inspired science to broach questions in the real world.

Animals, Extraterrestrial Life and Anthropocentrism in the Seventeenth Century

Both the issue of early modern attitudes toward animals and the early modern debate on the possibility of the existence of extraterrestrial life have received ample attention in early modern scholarship. However, almost no attention has been given to possible connections between these two issues. Such a connection nevertheless exists, since the early modern debates of both these issues were closely linked to the development of an anthropocentric outlook in western culture, according to which man had a God-given right to make use of nature. While the specific term 'anthropocentrism' was not in common use at the time, early modern thought, as discussed below, presents distinct phenomena which answer to the definition of this concept in its modern sense, i.e. a world-view placing man and human interests above those of the rest of the natural world. In the present article we shall therefore not be concerned with a separate discussion of the debate on the possibility of existence of other worlds and creatures on the one hand, and the debate on the status of animals and the possibility of moral duties toward them on the other. Rather, we shall centre on various cases where they were discussed in the same context, or on cases when the same person expressed distinct views on both these issues. As we shall see, there were many such cases, and their study has a profound influence on the understanding of early modern anthropocentrism. In the following discussion the connection between these two issues will be considered as a distinct phenomenon, sui generis in the history of ideas. Suffice it to say here, by way of introduction, that the rise of empirical science, particularly modern astronomy, gave an added impetus to speculations and debates on the possibility of the existence of other worlds and creatures, perhaps even rational creatures. As for the debate regarding animals, it fell broadly into two camps: on the one hand the theriophiles, who apportioned various degrees of feeling and rationality to animals (although usually less than human beings), and occasionally inferred from this a need for consideration toward them; and on the other hand the antitheriophiles, who denied or belittled the capacity for feeling and rationality in animals, and consequently also their right to moral consideration. Of particular importance in this context was the Cartesian theory of the 'beastmachine', which regarded animals as senseless automata. While Descartes himself remained rather agnostic toward this issue, certain of his followers developed more extreme variations of it, and the theory in general also bore the brunt of many theriophilic attacks.1IBefore discussing the literature on extraterrestrial life, one should mention some examples of a somewhat related type of literature, the Utopian genre. Indeed, the supposition of 'another place' always contained a potential for anti-anthropocentric argumentation, and of discussions of animals, albeit this potential did not always materialize. In Thomas More's Utopia (1516) most people eat animals, but the slaughtering of livestock is done by slaves, and ordinary people are not allowed to become accustomed to the cutting up of animals, since it tends to destroy the natural feelings of humanity. Hunting and hawking are also left to the slave-butchers. Hunting is regarded as the vilest department of butchery, since a butcher kills animals to satisfy a need, whereas a hunter does so for pleasure, exemplifying a blood-lust not found in any but the most savage animals. Hunting is a cruel sport and a stupid pleasure which should arouse pity rather than amusement. The Utopians also refrain from religious sacrifice of animals, believing that God would not enjoy slaughter and bloodshed. Some of the Utopians believe that animals have an immortal soul, although inferior to man's, and they generally believe that man's reason and intelligence is superior to that of the animals. As a child More himself did not seem to exemplify kindness toward animals, and even excelled in the cruel custom of cock-throwing. …

SIGNING OFF

Widget Jones's Highgate science week diarySaturday 17 March Alcohol units 20 (but all went up in flames—what a waste!), smoke—lots (but none from cigarettes!) (g. though possible concern about passive inhaling)Who needs a hangover when you've got crazy Highgate School chemist 'Zbig' Szydlo launching Science Week with exploding potato crisp cartons! Looks like that liquid nitrogen stuff might be good for chilling the Chardonnay though. Memo to self: buy earplugs next year and go with Shazzer so don't suffer embarrassment of grabbing hold of complete stranger during scary bits! Must take sunglasses too for big flash at the end—must admit Hydro Gin is a brand I've not come across, but sounds v.g.Monday 19 March Alcohol units 2 (fizzy wine at opening ceremony for refurbished Physics Department!), smoke—lots again (but all from Trevor's pipe!)Big coup as Trevor Baylis turned up to speak about inventing the clockwork radio. Not sure I'd have strength or coordination to wind one up before breakfast—would need to find environmentally aware boyfriend with healthy liver and strong wrist. We all proved weakest links when it came to the 'name a woman inventor' quiz—Trev was so right when he said that men don't realize that girls with great legs can have good ideas as well! But then went on to say that even the blokes often end up penniless and destined —like me the way things are going—to be discovered half eaten by Alsatians a couple of weeks after snuffing it in a lonely bedsit.Thursday 22 March Alcohol units 0 (but the first event was at 9 o'clock in the morning!), smoke—none (couldn't persuade any of the pupils to give me one!), endangered species saved: 1 (v.v.g. indeed)Lured by promise of 'live astrology in the classroom' I staggered out of bed at an ungodly hour hoping to find that my Venus was ascendant and Mark Darcy and I would be aligned soon. Initially disappointed to discover that it was in fact astronomy on the breakfast menu via a remotely controlled telescope near Los Angeles (where it was still dark for some reason), but gloom quickly replaced by encouraging notion that with 200 billion other stars in our galaxy you could put money on the existence of extraterrestrial life and thus of potential Mr Right out there somewhere.Then really fascinating lunchtime lecture by dishy New Scientist editor Jeremy Webb about how racy covers can even sell 'serious' magazines. Made copious notes in order to impress Daniel (my boss) and might even consider buying it to improve image.Wasn't sure I'd have the stamina for an afternoon talk by chemist John Emsley (from Cambridge so must be really brainy), but it was surprisingly interesting—about things called 'mollycules' which are everywhere. Apparently finger-nails have same ones as rhino horn, so can get aphrodisiac kick with a quick chew and do my bit for conservation all in one go. Brilliant! Trev was so right when he said that men don't realize that girls with great legs can have good ideas as well! David Smith and friends Highgate School, London

The SERENDIP SETI project: new instrumentation for SETI and results of recent observations

Over the past 30 years research into the existence of extraterrestrial life has focused on attempts to detect stable narrowband radio signals emitted in the microwave portion of the radio frequency (RF) spectrum. The SERENDIP SETI group is currently conducting search operations on the world’s largest radio telescope at the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico. The third generation SERENDIP system, SERENDIP III, is a 4 million channel FFT-based spectrum analyzer with 0.6 Hz frequency resolution. In this paper, we will discuss the results of our recent 3.5 year sky survey. SERENDIP looked at 95% of the sky visible from Arecibo in the 424–436 MHz range, analyzed 10 14 spectral bins, and logged information on over 2.5×10 8 signals. The fourth generation SERENDIP system expands on the SERENDIP III design. SERENDIP IV computes 2×10 11 operations each second, providing spectral analysis on 160 million channels in 1.7 s. We will discuss the design and use of the SERENDIP IV system and future observing plans.

Planetary systems and extraterrestrial life

The paper revies the present status of the problem of the existence of other planetary systems in the Galaxy. Observational data and theoretical results are presented to show that the occurrence of planetary systems is, most probably, not a universal phenomenon. Study of the stability of planetary orbits in the vicinity of double stars indicates that, in general, planetary systems can not survive around them over long periods. Therefore, we should rule out the possibility of the existence of planetary systems similar to our own in the neighborhood of double stars. In the solar neighborhood, at least 60% of the stars are known to be members of double systems. The nature of the ‘dark’ companions is discussed and it is concluded that they are stellar objects and not planets. Recent work on the absence of a perturbation in the motion of Barnard's star is discussed. Comments are made on the existence of extraterrestrial life in the solar system and around other stars in the Galaxy.