Topics: Applied Physics, Astrobiology, Astrophysics, Civilization, Climate Change, Existentialism, Exoplanets, SETI, Thermodynamics Well, this firmly puts a kink in the “Fermi Paradox.” The Industrial Revolution started in Britain around 1760 – 1840, and there was a colloquial saying that “the sun did not set on the British Empire.” The former colony, America, cranked up itsContinue reading “Wages of the Thermal Budget…”
Category Archives: Astrobiology
The Secret Life of the Universe…
Topics: Astrobiology, Biology, Instrumentation, James Webb Space Telescope, Research, SETI “The Secret Life of the Universe” by Dr. Nathalie Cabrol, the SETI Institute’s chief scientist and Director of the Carl Sagan Center at the SETI Institute, is coming out this week, both in the US (August 13, 2024) and in the UK (August 15, 2024).Continue reading “The Secret Life of the Universe…”
Canceling V.I.P.E.R…
The completed VIPER rover awaits one of two fates: be sent to the Moon by an organization other than NASA or be cannibalized for its parts and instruments. Credit: NASA Topics: Astrobiology, Astronautics, Astrophysics, Chemistry, COVID-19, NASA, Space Exploration, Spectrographic Analysis “Boldly going” has budget constraints, but all is not lost. “Plan B” is atContinue reading “Canceling V.I.P.E.R…”
AI and the Great Filter…
Two researchers have revised the Drake equation, a mathematical formula for the probability of finding life or advanced civilizations in the universe. University of Rochester. Are We Alone in the Universe? Revisiting the Drake Equation, NASA Topics: Astrobiology, Astrophysics, Artificial Intelligence, Civilization, SETI See: Britannica.com/The-Fermi-Paradox/Where-Are-All-The-Aliens AbstractThis study examines the hypothesis that the rapid development ofContinue reading “AI and the Great Filter…”
Oxymoron…
The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists shifted the Doomsday Clock to 90 seconds to midnight at a news conference in January 2023. From left, Siegfried Hecker, Daniel Holz, Sharon Squassoni, Mary Robinson and Elbegdorj Tsakhia (Photo credit: Patrick Semansky). Topics: Astrobiology, Civilization, Existentialism, Science Fiction, SETI, Space Exploration A few weeks ago, I posted “Wine of Consciousness”Continue reading “Oxymoron…”
OSIRIS-REx…
The sample return capsule from NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission is seen shortly after touching down in the desert at the Department of Defense’s Utah Test and Training Range. Keegan Barber/NASA Topics: Asteroids, Astrobiology, Astrophysics, NASA, Space Exploration Scientists are exulting over the safe arrival of a canister containing about a cup’s worth of asteroid rocks, collectedContinue reading “OSIRIS-REx…”
Distant Cousins…
The galaxy observed by Webb shows an Einstein ring caused by a phenomenon known as gravitational lensing. Credit: S. Doyle / J. Spilker Topics: Astrobiology, Biology, James Webb Space Telescope, Space Exploration Researchers have detected complex organic molecules in a galaxy more than 12 billion light-years away from Earth—the most distant galaxy in which theseContinue reading “Distant Cousins…”
Reimagining ET…
Life on other planets might not look like any beings we’re used to on Earth. It may even be unrecognizable at first to scientists searching for it. Credit: William Hand Topics: Astrobiology, Astronomy, Astrophysics, Planetary Science, SETI, Space Exploration Sarah Stewart Johnson was a college sophomore when she first stood atop Hawaii’s Mauna Kea volcano. ItsContinue reading “Reimagining ET…”
Life Detector…
An Orbitrap cell. Credit: Ricardo Arevalo Topics: Astrobiology, Astronautics, Biology, Laser, NASA, Planetary Science, Space Exploration As space missions delve deeper into the outer solar system, the need for more compact, resource-conserving, and accurate analytical tools have become increasingly critical—especially as the hunt for extraterrestrial life and habitable planets or moons continues. A University ofContinue reading “Life Detector…”
Martians and Vulcans…
Topics: Astrobiology, Astrophysics, Civilization, Existentialism, Philosophy, Special Relativity The Cold War was a genesis of angst about the future due to the detonation of the atomic bomb by the Soviet Union in Kazakstan in 1949. After WWII (WWI was originally called, “the war to END all wars,” until the sequel), the existential nervousness is understandable.Continue reading “Martians and Vulcans…”
Physics and Nano 