Comments on: Hubble smelt who dealt it

By: Tom Marking

Tom Marking — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 18:00:55 +0000

Here is an article written 28 years ago concerning the detection of an alien biosphere remotely. Even though this is almost three decades ago I’m sure the basic idea hasn’t changed that much in the intervening years - namely, that life causes a chemical disequilibrium in the planetary atmosphere which may be detected remotely.

http://www.bigear.org/CSMO/HTML/CS08/cs08p02.htm

By: Michael Lonergan

Michael Lonergan — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 18:26:19 +0000

dWhisper:
Not necessarily. I do believe it supports my theory stated above, that there must be an extraordinary population of bovines on most planets. What really gives my theory credibility is the fact that cows are frequently mutilated or abducted by aliens, which are probably a highly evolved species of intelligent bovine. How else could they build and pilot their UFO’s across the vast reaches of space to earth?

By: dWhisper

dWhisper — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 21:40:20 +0000

Do does the presence of methane support theories that these planets started farther out and came up close to hug their stars? Otherwise I thought it was rarer the closer you got in (being rather abundant in our outer systems, and on earth created through different processes).

By: Michael Lonergan

Michael Lonergan — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 18:09:34 +0000

Lugosi:
You’re “milking” this for all it’s worth.

By: KC

KC — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 12:41:50 +0000

When the first exoplanet was discovered by a star’s “wobble,” I thought that was truly amazing. Now astronomers are able to pick out molecules in the atmospheres of exoplanets when it happens to pass between us and it’s star. In my lifetime we’ve gone from speculating about exoplanets to detecting them to picking out details about their atmospheres. What was once the stuff of Science Fiction is now in the realm of Science Fact. Truly amazing.

Now, if we can just detect a planet around Alpha Centauri . . .

By: Jayson

Jayson — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 10:34:38 +0000

Sounds like we found planet Terserus, from the Rowan Adkinson Doctor Who spoof. “Planet of the Bottom Burpers.”

Doctor: “They could communicate only through precicely modulated gastric emissions.”

Companion: “What happened to them?”

Doctor: “They discovered fire.”

Seriously, though, every time I learn about new planet discoveries, I just can’t stop reading. It’s so cool!

By: Jonas

Jonas — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 09:30:12 +0000

“the tops of the clouds are at about 1700 degrees Fahrenheit”

Since when does astronomers use Fahrenheit?