Stumblebum

Interesting. This suggests that the likelihood of finding gas giants close to a star are remote at best. Do you think the sun had rings like Saturn at one time? Are there any stars known to have rings?

Just in case there are those who have never heard, Mr Denke believes the Ark of the Covenant is buried beneath Stonehenge.

Not many tuna in the lakes of Ontario, Canada. I'm more of a 'you catch it, put it in a can, and I'll eat it" type of guy.

Why do we still hunt? What's the big thrill about shooting a wild animal? I'm not against it, I know plenty of people who do hunt, its just that I never quite understood it. If I was ever in an extreme condition where I had to hunt to survive I'm sure I could. But when I really don't have to, why would I? Is fishing any different? I like fishing. I am a catch and release guy. Why do I like it? I find it relaxing but I also find reading a book has the same effect. Maybe it has to do with outwitting wild creatures and getting some kind of pleasurable rush from it. If you watch those guys shoot a deer on TV you'd swear they're having an orgasm. Its almost primeval. Go out hunting for days, away from the little woman and substitute sex with a kill. Whatever the reason for hunting, it must be good. Even the dinosaurs wouldn't have stood a chance, a challenge maybe, but I'm sure if someone ever invents a time machine to take us back, hunters would be lining up.

Excuse my ignorance also but if we were to create matter from energy would we not have to start with the smallest? How many parts make up a sub-atomic particle, and so on and so on? what is the smallest sized particle known to science? If we are not sure, then how do we know if we haven't already done it?

Question: That picture scientists show us of the cosmic microwave background, it covers an area many light years across from one edge to the other. Does the entire image show as being 15 billion years ago. Would not the outer edges be farther away then the middle of the image? How can this be or am I looking at it the wrong way. If so how should this image be viewed? Hope someone can understand my reasoning, I'm no scientist.

Very rare indeed. I didn't even know intelligent life was found in government. This is exciting news. I think the odds are slightly greater that intelligent life will be found out there in space than inside any government.

Sarcasm? Hmmmm maybe, but the point is not beating someone to death with a club but having a brain capable of thinking about beating someone to death with a club for gain. Did Neanderthal possess this wisdom or grasp the concept of warfare? Like the Dodo, Neanderthal never saw it coming.

"I'd rather have a German division in front of me han a French division behind me"...General Patton. Anyway those poor Neanderthals, brainy or brawny, a mere blip on the radar screen of life. I don't know if some of you remember this particular scene from 2001: Space Odyssey. A group of early homo sapiens chased off their territory by a rival gang of stronger hominids. Homo Sapien sits around when one of them picks up a wooden stick and starts hammering away at a bunch of old bones, bashing in a few dry skulls when the proverbial light bulb goes off in one's mind and the next thing you know, mankind has invented weaponry. Did Neanderthal possess the ability to wage war? Because if he didn't then Homo Sapiens, who we all know has made war an art form, win the planet.

Tricorder... by george I think you've got it. Should be part of every first aid kit. The phobia list continues to grow longer I see. Good one.

Trekkies live for moments like this. Live long and prosper. ps...McCoy's little flashing analyzer that he waved over a body, human or alien, was there a name for it? Think we'll ever see something like that?

Just out of curiousity. Is there a name or word for when aliens study us? There are those who claim to have been poked, prodded and probed by ET.

I like the idea of life as a force but not as a particle. Life affects particles. Life can get particles moving or slow them down. Its liker a 5th force but it lays in wait for the right moment and conditions to assert itself.

Well one things for sure....if you're going to use light as an instrument of travel then you won't be going any faster than it.

It sounded like an attempt to link everything to life here, sort of like coming up with a grand theory for life. At least thats how I saw it

At least it seems as if these groups are going in with the attitude that they expect to find something. I like that, very positive. I hope it pans out. I looked at the definition of exobiology and it included life here on Earth such as origin of. I think they couls still come up with something more extraterrestrial.

As mankind gets set to venture to future worlds in the next century or so I was wondering if biologists are preparing for what life, if any they may find. First, is there a name already coined for alien biology or should there be a contest to come up with one? Are there plans already in place or is there ongoing discussion about what to expect? What type of precautionary measures have been discussed if any? Where will possible alien life be studied? Seems to me that some kind of strategy is definitely necessary.

Glider: I have made many errors myself when typing and I know my grammar is not the best. I try to proofread but sometimes the focus isn't there. You're a good sport by not taking offense to having those tiny errors pointed out. You are absolutely 100% correct, we should learn from our mistakes. Now if we could convince a few politicians of those words of wisdom then maybe the world would be a better place

Probably typos, but I do believe proofread is one word (no hyphen) and there are 2 p's in opponent (unless Nietzsche couldn't spell). Spellcheck is like a cash register that informs the user of how much change is required after a sale. Spelling mistakes are not just a North American phenomenon but global, or so it appears after viewing some of the posts published here in this forum and others. I wonder about our educators. Is spelling not that important anymore? Is everyone 'hooked on phonics?" Very difficult to read some posts and when someone responds to an illegible post I am amazed. Do those people understand gibberish or are they armed with a translating device? Could be that fatigue and hurrying cause a majority of the mistakes. If I've screwed up somewhere in this post then please let me know.

Maybe so, it's the logic in Darrow's questioning I think he should read.

Willowtree, you might be interested in reading the transcripts of the Scopes Monkey Trial(just google). A 1920's sensation caused when a Tennesee teacher tried to teach Darwin to his students. An excellent tilt between evolutionists and creationists. Pay particular attention to Clarence Darrow, attorney for Scopes, as he questions William Jennings Bryan, self professed Bible expert representing the creationists as well as the state.

I'll try this analogy. These #'s are just arbitrary. Three guys are watching a football game. One from the sidelines, one from the end zone, and one from a blimp above the field. Punter kicks ball 30 yds above field at its highest point, from his 30 to the opponents 30 or 40 yds downfield, the ball is in the air(or in motion) for 6 secs(3 secs up/3 secs down). The guy on the sidelines sees ball travel in an arc for say a total of 50 yds, the guy directly in front of the punter in the end zone sees ball go up 30 yds then down 30 yds for a distance of 60 yds, the guy directly above sees a straight line of travel for 40 yds. Each of them agree it took 6 secs. but each will say the ball travelled a different distance. Let's say we had asked each of them how long it took the ball to travel 30 yds. In this case they will agree on the distance ... that being 30 yds. But the guy on the sidelines will say it took 3.6 secs approx, the guy in the endzone will say 30 yds in 3 secs, the guy in the blimp will say exactly 4.5 secs. Although they agree on the distance they do not agree on the time. Different observers will agree on the time but not the distance, or when they agree on the distance but not the time.

Never say never. Let's make the inside of the balloon another dimension. Wouldn't it be hilarious if everything in our universe is actually concentrated in a lot smaller area with only a dimension we don't know about preventing us from crossing over.

Myself and others may think reverse time travel is impossible....doesn't mean it might not be achieved one day. Hey, I wish you all the best in your endeavors. You may discover other useful knowledge along the way even if you don't get there. I think we have to figure out what model of the universe is in fact the correct one. Think of a finite-no boundary as the best chance of seeing reverse time-travel. Tqke the surface of a balloon and press 2 fingers into it. Now the distance between the two fingers on the surface represents the distance light travels or the actual measured distance. In reality your fingertips could almost be touching. How do we get through the membrane to actually physically touch tips without tearing the membrane? Is there another dimension we could travel through to get to the past? or some kind of tunnel? I hope this analogy makes sense.

What if the light barrier is just that, a physical wall that cannot be penetrated? An unbreakable membrane stretched to its farthest limit. To go any faster requires puncturing it. Or maybe this is just a stupid analogy.