"Promising hints of life on distant planet"

[Ryujin]

Generational ship.

And solar sail powered by Earthbound lasers, to accelerate as much as possible.

 

[The Firebird]

The most recent darling of the astrobiology community was assembly theory, which basically says that life creates complex molecules, to a much greater extent than abiotic systems, and therefore if you find a lot of complex molecules it may be a signature of life.

It's hard to measure complex molecules from such a distance. But it's worth noting that the discovery is basically two simple molecules, and they exist on a body whose geology and chemistry we know little about. It's very plausible that there is an abiotic mechanism to create these things.

Also worth noting--these kinds of findings get disputed and walked back all the time. Recently there were reports of phosphine on Venus; the majority of other groups which looked into it did not corroborate their findings. I think members of the original group are still pushing it though.

Even if the science is not particularly well validated, these discoveries can have a substantial impact on funding choices. The DaVinci probe, for example, got a boost to selection because of phosphine.

 

[Ryujin]

The most recent darling of the astrobiology community was assembly theory, which basically says that life creates complex molecules, to a much greater extent than abiotic systems, and therefore if you find a lot of complex molecules it may be a signature of life.

It's hard to measure complex molecules from such a distance. But it's worth noting that the discovery is basically two simple molecules, and they exist on a body whose geology and chemistry we know little about. It's very plausible that there is an abiotic mechanism to create these things.

Also worth noting--these kinds of findings get disputed and walked back all the time. Recently there were reports of phosphine on Venus; the majority of other groups which looked into it did not corroborate their findings. I think members of the original group are still pushing it though.

Even if the science is not particularly well validated, these discoveries can have a substantial impact on funding choices. The DaVinci probe, for example, got a boost to selection because of phosphine.

Every time I see a story like this I think back to the Carl Sagan quote, "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." That, and all the fuss about someone claiming they had achieved cold fusion a couple of decades back.

 

[RangerWickett]

If there's a civilization anywhere able to detect our planet's complex molecules or whatever, odds are they'd already have noticed us any time over the past billion years. So since they haven't come knocking, that suggests to me they don't exist, or else planets with complex molecules aren't actually rare enough to be interesting.

Like, I'm on vacation in Rome. The first few days we hit up the Colosseum, the Pantheon, the Vatican, the Galleria Borghese.

Now? If I see a church or a roman ruin I'm like, ok, neat I guess. Maybe if I had a lot more time to spare I might take a trek out to the old aqueduct ruins or the Via Appia, but there's plenty of cannoli and pasta within walking distance. What's the appeal of taking a farther out trip?

 

[Dioltach]

If there's a civilization anywhere able to detect our planet's complex molecules or whatever, odds are they'd already have noticed us any time over the past billion years. So since they haven't come knocking, that suggests to me they don't exist, or else planets with complex molecules aren't actually rare enough to be interesting.

Like, I'm on vacation in Rome. The first few days we hit up the Colosseum, the Pantheon, the Vatican, the Galleria Borghese.

Now? If I see a church or a roman ruin I'm like, ok, neat I guess. Maybe if I had a lot more time to spare I might take a trek out to the old aqueduct ruins or the Via Appia, but there's plenty of cannoli and pasta within walking distance. What's the appeal of taking a farther out trip?

Or we're not advanced enough to be interesting to anyone with the capacity to contact us. For a civilisation that advanced, we're essentially in the the primordial ooze stage of evolution.

 

[Reynard]

Or we're not advanced enough to be interesting to anyone with the capacity to contact us. For a civilisation that advanced, we're essentially in the the primordial ooze stage of evolution.

Or interstellar travel is ultimately essentially impossible.

 

[Morrus]

Or interstellar travel is ultimately essentially impossible.

Basically this. I think that's where it's at. Or, if not impossible, so difficult and expensive and lengthy that no civilisation can afford to do it.

 

[Reynard]

Basically this. I think that's where it's at. Or, if not impossible, so difficult and expensive and lengthy that no civilisation can afford to do it.

Billions of probes could have passed through our solar system or still be in our solar system. How would we know?

 

[Morrus]

Billions of probes could have passed through our solar system or still be in our solar system. How would we know?

We don’t.

 

[Umbran]

Not now, of course, but physics doesn't prevent it.

To be more precise, physics doesn't outright forbid it.

However, physics may still prevent it, by, say, making the cost of doing so too high for a civilization to achieve it.