It's time to find Alien Civilizations

[zebonaut]

[Just reading posts]

1. Everywhere we look, we see no evidence of intelligent alien life. I'm not saying we should stop

looking...far from it....but there is the possibility that we're alone in the universe.

Some civilization has to be the first one to arise. Perhaps we're it.

[longship]

2. Well, first, the distances between stars are mind numbing.

From our perspective, and likely from any intelligent lifeform's perspective anywhere in the galaxy one might choose.

Interstellar space travel might be nigh impossible, but at least so costly to be prohibitive (thus, an answer to the Fermi Paradox).

That is why SETI is an appropriate alternative. It's cheap.

And no! There are very likely no warp drives to help us. The physics, about which we know a rather a lot, seems to erect a rather forbidding wall against such propositions. Sorry, Scottie.

And then there's that damned rocket equation. Just to get off the Earth, most of your fuel is to just get that fuel off the Earth!!! The payload is comparatively nothing.

Interstellar travel is fun in science fiction, whether it is Forbidden Planet with the monsters from the ID, or Aliens with implacable xenomorphs, or Commander Scott manning the warp drive core and the Heisenberg compensator going from one humanoid inhabited alien planet to another.

But that's all fiction. The real universe is a very tough place. Very tough indeed. And we're likely the only humanoid planet anywhere.

Enjoy!

[Just reading posts]

4. Stephen Baxter has written a series of books addressing the Fermi Paradox in various way.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manifold_Trilogy

Each one of the main novels deals with a possible resolution to the Fermi paradox. The first, Time, is set in a universe that is completely devoid of intelligent life beyond that of mankind and its creations (i.e. A.I. and uplifted animals).

The second in the series, Space, proposes the opposite: that life is endemic to the universe, and there is intelligence in nearly all possible places of the cosmos. The solution to the Fermi Paradox in this novel is that intelligent life is continually wiped out by cosmic disasters before it has time to spread too far.

The third novel, Origin, is set in a multiverse that is a compromise between the ideals in the first two novels: that life is only on Earth, but at the same time is everywhere. This novel solves the Fermi Paradox by suggesting that intelligent life is segregated into separate parallel universes.

And no! There are very likely no warp drives to help us. The physics, about which we know a rather a lot, seems to erect a rather forbidding wall against such propositions. Sorry, Scottie.

Spot on, sadly. I can imagine technologies that will enable us to send very small payloads to nearby star systems at a significant fraction of lightspeed.

But this?



No way. No how.

[SkyDaddy7]

8. To be honest...

We've not even started looking.

[zebonaut]

3. As for the Fermi Paradox:

[Binkie The Clown]

5. High-tech civilizations are high-energy civilizations.

And they burn out quickly, just like human civilization is doing right now. 500 years from now human technology will be a fable told to children around the campfire, and we will also be effectively invisible to anyone searching in our neighborhood for signs of high-tech.

[Tikki]

6. Maybe just the opposite...

For many the thought that we are the only intelligent life anywhere is more important
than knowing.




Tikki

[Spitfire of ATJ]

7. As this zooms out watch for the limit of our own civilization's radio signals....

[PJMcK]

10. Wow!

That was a wonderful video! Thanks for posting it, Spitfire!

I particularly liked the imagery of the orbits of earth's artificial satellites, which is the still photograph in your post. We've really crowded the orbital paths around our planet, haven't we?

[zebonaut]

12. I want to see the rest of the Unknown Universe; the Multiverse...

[yuiyoshida]

9. I AGREE! LETS GO!!

[PJMcK]

11. I always liked "Enterprise"

I know that among Trekkers there was a great disappointment about this series but I enjoyed the concept and the cast of the show. The first three seasons were better than the final one but it was an interesting set of stories and mostly stayed within the Star Trek canon.

Of all the starships named Enterprise, I like this one the most. It had a roughness and developmental look to it and the dark lighting gave it the coolness I liked. It was amusing that the captain's ready-room was so cramped and small that Captain Archer had to stoop to avoid hitting his head on the hull's reinforcements along the ceiling. I will admit that the dog was a dumb idea and let's not talk about the Temporal Cold War.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

13. The show deteriorated after 9/11....

It started out strong with the concept of adventure and discovery and then they tried to follow the narrative the media was spoon feeding the public at the time.

A sudden, unexpected attack by people who had been told a bunch of lies about us but once they got to know us they'd like us.

[yuiyoshida]

14. Porthos

Archer in the beginning was not too fond of Vulcans, and since they seemed to be sensitive about Human smells, Archer probably thought it was a great joke to bring his doggie along just to offend them further, but the guy I most enjoyed in the series was Commander Thy'lek Shran played by Jeffery Combs. His frequent use of the term "Pink skins" was always funny and a bit cringe worthy.



He often pulled Archer's butt out of the fire at the most opportune moments!

[PJMcK]

15. Shran was an interesting character

I love the scene where he says to Archer, "Come and have a drink with me!" as he produces a bottle of Andorian ale. It was amusing when Archer loped off part of Shran's antenna during a fight. Similarly, when Shran helped Enterprise and the image of him on the view screen was behind Archer's head making it look like Archer had antennae. It's interesting that the Andorians were seen in the original series and in "Enterprise" (and maybe the cartoon version) but not, to my knowledge at least, in any of the other series or films.