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June 08, 2005
So would real aliens be anything like what are depicted in “Extraterrestrial”?
Some might be. The two fictional worlds chosen as habitats in this television special, Aurelia and Blue Moon, are possibly cousins to billions of real worlds in our galaxy. The conditions that led to the strange flora and fauna shown in the program – the stinger fans, pagoda trees, and even the flying whales – are reasonable adaptations to the physical and climatic conditions on these worlds. Put another way, if the earliest Earthly life had somehow been instantly transplanted to Aurelia or Blue Moon, it might very well have eventually evolved plants and animals like those shown in “Extraterrestrial.” Oh sure, the details would be different – they wouldn’t be exact likenesses to the computer-generated life forms of the show – but the functionality of these alien inhabitants are both reasonable and, some biologists would say, likely.
Of course, despite our best efforts, we may never know how accurate our guesses are. Yes, there’s hope that instruments to be built in the coming two decades, including the Terrestrial Planet Finder, will show that other worlds have life. But these telescopes won’t be able to take us down onto those worlds to give us detailed pictures of what’s on the ground. For that we either have to travel to the stars, or hope for an alien bestiary that might be transmitted by intelligent beings for our edification. Neither eventuality is a sure thing.
But even though we might never know the details, this much seems probable. While you go about today’s business, strutting and fretting through all the things that seem important in your life, it’s worth pausing to consider the likelihood that right now – on many billions of worlds – there are other creatures doing the same, unknown to you and to each other. Life may not be just a bit of fluff, decorating the occasional, odd cosmic habitat, but a widespread and commonplace occurrence. Life may be plentiful beyond what is easy to imagine.
Posted by Seth Shostak on June 8, 2005 06:52 PM
Visit the Planetary Investigation Lab to see the creatures and worlds explored in the show. Go »
Comments
Aliens are not real. I believe that it is possible for aliens to exist, but I do not believe that they do. However, this was an interesting program. For fun.
Posted by: Michael Moore on June 12, 2005 03:50 PM
I'm thinking no, they will look different in such a way that we never could have fathomed, mainly because of all the different ways life could start
There could be an animal that is nitrogen based and breaths gasses that wouldn't exist on this planet, or a Uranium based organism that breaths carbon monoxide, ok that last one was a joke, but keeping an open mind helps imagine what kinds of life we'll meet.
Posted by: Joshua Walker on June 11, 2005 03:21 PM
Hi how are U this evening?
I have seen two ufo's in my life and want to track Alien Beings on Earth and have a few tech ideas that may crack some Aliens.
I would like to start a television show that catches Alien beings and talk to them and ask why they have yet to contact humans on the surface of the Earth.
cheers and good night,
B rad Sutton-Alien Hunter/Tracker
Posted by: Brad Sutton on June 10, 2005 11:15 PM
In eighth grade, each student created a "BioBottle." We cut the tops off of one-liter soda bottles and filled them with rocks, dirt, plants, and some animals (i.e. insects), creating our own miniature worlds and sealed them. Observing them over the semester, we watched the changes that took place, noting which BioBottles could last the longest and support life. The successful ones were either filled with water, basically fish tanks, or could reuse their water supply through evaporation. In my case, the spider ate the other insects, having spun webs between the "trees," and unfortunately life came to an end about two months into the project.
I wonder, would it be possible to simulate the same conditions in a similar manner, using components that make up the planets of Aurelia and the Blue Moon to create these worlds on a miniature scale? While perhaps unable to initiate an evolutionary process, the simulations could be used for testing scientist's hypotheses. How fortunate that these worlds would be composed of the same elements as we have here on Earth!
-BB
Posted by: Benjamin Boden on June 10, 2005 05:33 PM
