Comments on: The Biology of Astronomy http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2007/01/15/the-biology-of-astronomy/ I am an astronomer, writer, and skeptic. I likes reality the way it is, and I aims to keep it that way. My real name is Phil Plait, and I run the Bad Astronomy blog. Tue, 24 Nov 2009 18:53:47 -0600 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Antonio http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2007/01/15/the-biology-of-astronomy/comment-page-1/#comment-27672 Antonio Wed, 31 Jan 2007 21:13:50 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2007/01/15/the-biology-of-astronomy/#comment-27672 I have just read the primer and found it very interesting since it can be seen as a kind of science divulgation. Best regards I have just read the primer and found it very interesting since it can be seen as a kind of science divulgation.

Best regards

]]> By: Moose http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2007/01/15/the-biology-of-astronomy/comment-page-1/#comment-27671 Moose Sun, 21 Jan 2007 14:17:54 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2007/01/15/the-biology-of-astronomy/#comment-27671 PeteM beat me to it, but yeah, even your ordinary lakes and streams are chock full of those pesky "air-breathing" trout out there. Really, it may be enough to have "complex chemistry". PeteM beat me to it, but yeah, even your ordinary lakes and streams are chock full of those pesky “air-breathing” trout out there.

Really, it may be enough to have “complex chemistry”.

]]> By: PeteM http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2007/01/15/the-biology-of-astronomy/comment-page-1/#comment-27670 PeteM Tue, 16 Jan 2007 20:17:44 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2007/01/15/the-biology-of-astronomy/#comment-27670 "“life needs air…”etc. I’d change that to “life as we know it needs air, ” etc. I would not rule out the Cheela of Robert Forward yet. " Actually even that is wrong, there are life forms at the bottom of the ocean that do not use Oxygen or Energy from the sun as the basis of thier life cycle instead taking energy from geothermal heat, methane and sulphides. Do a search for "Black Smoker" for more details ““life needs air…”etc. I’d change that to “life as we know it needs air, ” etc. I would not rule out the Cheela of Robert Forward yet. ”

Actually even that is wrong, there are life forms at the bottom of the ocean that do not use Oxygen or Energy from the sun as the basis of thier life cycle instead taking energy from geothermal heat, methane and sulphides. Do a search for “Black Smoker” for more details

]]> By: Todd http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2007/01/15/the-biology-of-astronomy/comment-page-1/#comment-27669 Todd Tue, 16 Jan 2007 19:41:34 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2007/01/15/the-biology-of-astronomy/#comment-27669 "life needs air..."etc. I'd change that to "life as we know it needs air, " etc. I would not rule out the Cheela of Robert Forward yet. “life needs air…”etc. I’d change that to “life as we know it needs air, ” etc. I would not rule out the Cheela of Robert Forward yet.

]]> By: DCB http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2007/01/15/the-biology-of-astronomy/comment-page-1/#comment-27668 DCB Tue, 16 Jan 2007 18:42:26 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2007/01/15/the-biology-of-astronomy/#comment-27668 Because I became a great-grandmother yesterday and because I love our wondrous universe and the amazing things we learn about it every day, I stole your picture on this blog entry! I hope I have not committed some felonious intellectual theft but I sent it to the new mom and baby because it described my fascination with learning so well! Since it went by e-mail it will probably go everywhere because it seems that anything committed to the electronic airwaves proliferates exponentially. Sorry about that but thank you!! Regards!! Because I became a great-grandmother yesterday and because I love our wondrous universe and the amazing things we learn about it every day, I stole your picture on this blog entry! I hope I have not committed some felonious intellectual theft but I sent it to the new mom and baby because it described my fascination with learning so well! Since it went by e-mail it will probably go everywhere because it seems that anything committed to the electronic airwaves proliferates exponentially. Sorry about that but thank you!! Regards!!

]]> By: Halcyon http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2007/01/15/the-biology-of-astronomy/comment-page-1/#comment-27667 Halcyon Tue, 16 Jan 2007 15:24:31 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2007/01/15/the-biology-of-astronomy/#comment-27667 Given that we know there's a shrinking cake, wouldn't it make sense to give the resources to the fields of study that will be useful in going out and acquiring another cake? Because, if astronomy and astrobiology are going to bring us a cake-planet, I don't think any expense should be spared. Given that we know there’s a shrinking cake, wouldn’t it make sense to give the resources to the fields of study that will be useful in going out and acquiring another cake? Because, if astronomy and astrobiology are going to bring us a cake-planet, I don’t think any expense should be spared.

]]> By: Sticks http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2007/01/15/the-biology-of-astronomy/comment-page-1/#comment-27666 Sticks Tue, 16 Jan 2007 15:14:31 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2007/01/15/the-biology-of-astronomy/#comment-27666 But what if Earth is the only place that life is? Look at the probability figures given for life starting, even from Carl Sagen. I will have to hunt for them if you really want them, but they are very very small, plus there is also a small matter of Fred Hoyle's Boeing That given, how can tax dollars / pounds / euros be justified here, when there is a shrinking cake and we need to pick winners? But what if Earth is the only place that life is?

Look at the probability figures given for life starting, even from Carl Sagen. I will have to hunt for them if you really want them, but they are very very small, plus there is also a small matter of Fred Hoyle’s Boeing

That given, how can tax dollars / pounds / euros be justified here, when there is a shrinking cake and we need to pick winners?

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