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How do you feel about the subject of UFO's and Aliens??
Earth is the only planet in the universe that supports life. 3%  3%  [ 2 ]
I believe that there is probably life out in the universe, but UFO's and alien abductions are false. 53%  53%  [ 37 ]
I believe that there is life out in the universe and that UFO's and alien sightings are real. 33%  33%  [ 23 ]
I'm not sure. 11%  11%  [ 8 ]
Total votes : 70

Fnord
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18 Jul 2008, 12:00 pm

slowmutant wrote:
@Fnord: the word "spearchucker" is a racial slur, and a pretty bad one. Remember it's the year 2008 now.

Remember that in the year 2008 enlightened people are not afraid of words, especially those words that mean nothing more than "One Who Throws A Spear". If you inferred something else, then that is your issue, not mine.

Doc_Daneeka wrote:
I was all set to be skeptical, and to argue my point. Then came fnord. He said pretty much what I intended to say. Good to meet you, mate.


Good to meet you, as well. You know what they say, right? "Great minds think alike."

Paperplate wrote:
Does anyone here know more about the three "Venusians", Valiant Thor, Ronn and ... who allegedly lived in the pantagon for three years during the late 50's? Is it just a story?

It's just a story, based on rumor, innuendo, wishful thinking, and forged documents. End of story.

As for the conditions on Venus, they are hostile to life. The atmosphere of Venus is mostly carbon dioxide, 96.5% by volume. Most of the remaining 3.5% is nitrogen, and the rest is sulfuric acid. The pressure at the surface is about 900 Newtons per square centimeter or about 1300 pounds per square inch. This is equivalent to about 90 Earth atmospheres. The surface temperature is about 750°K (~480°C or ~900°F).

Such environmental extremes (high temperature and corrosive atmosphere) would preclude any Venerian life being organic (based on carbon) from forming, as the necessary amino-acid chains could never be made, much less become a single-celled organism.

As hostile as the Venerian environment is to life, if there was even the smallest possibility that life exists on Venus, it could not survive in the relative near-vacuum and relative cryogenic temperatures on Earth, much less survive the trip through space.

Silicon-based life that formed in the Venerian environment would be extremely volatile ("burn-and-go-boom") on Earth.


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twoshots
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18 Jul 2008, 2:41 pm

^ While Venus has an inhospitable surface, there are other always possibilities (at least for microbes).
http://www.astrobio.net/news/article311.html


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SIXLUCY
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18 Jul 2008, 2:45 pm

yes me seen too

but mostly spirits or ghosts of some kind :twisted:



Fnord
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18 Jul 2008, 3:10 pm

twoshots wrote:
^ While Venus has an inhospitable surface, there are other always possibilities (at least for microbes).

Quote:
"The high temperatures, along with a crushing surface pressure of 90 atmospheres (equivalent to the pressure of being 3,000 feet below the sea), are due to Venus's thick cloud layers of sulfuric acid and the carbon dioxide "greenhouse" atmosphere. But 50 kilometers up from the surface, the temperature ranges between 30 and 80 C (86 to 176 F), and the pressure is only one atmosphere - the same as sea level on Earth. Sagan suggested that organisms with hydrogen gas bladders could float amid these more hospitable cloud layers."


Well now, that's interesting ... airborne microbial life ... it might be worth skimming the Venerian atmosphere just to see if Prof. Sagan was right.

SIXLUCY wrote:
yes me seen too
but mostly spirits or ghosts of some kind :twisted:

Are you sure that you're in the right thread? This one is entitled "How do you feel about the subject of UFO's and Aliens??" and not "How do you feel about the subject of spirits and ghosts??"


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Doc_Daneeka
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19 Jul 2008, 12:59 am

The Venusians story always makes me chuckle. It's so very 1950s. Back then, it wasn't known that Venus was actually less friendly to life than the inside of an autoclave, so those who claimed to encounter aliens often said that they were from Venus. The descriptions given of these visitors often appears rather humorous and dated to modern eyes, and is reminiscent of what you'd see in 50's science fiction movies and comics.

What's the difference between then and now? We live far enough away from the 1950s that we can recognise these aliens as cultural products. I would imagine much the same will be obvious to those who study close encounters of the 1990s and 2000s 50 years from now.


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19 Jul 2008, 6:27 pm

To me, the fact that we are here IS the proof that life exists elsewhere (well, virtually).

However, I do not think they would be the slightest bit interested in visiting us. The chances are that any observing Alien civilisation would be unimaginably advanced, and would not be needing anything we could offer them; resources, technology, or even the benefit of our culture. I doubt they would even find value in studying us biologically. A civilisation 10,000 (or a million, or a billion?) years in advance of our own would have seen it all before, maybe even literally.

Futurists like Ray Kurzweil have proffered the theory of the Technological Singularity, which could well explain why there is no evidence of other civilisations, as when they reach this state they become 100% efficient, so emmtting no evidence of their existence, and becoming perfectly undetectable. Just a thought.



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19 Jul 2008, 6:29 pm

Even if any given galaxy has only a 1% chance of possessing a single planet that develops intelligent life, the probability of a second intelligent species existing somewhere in the universe (assuming there are 100 billion galaxies in existence, which may be a low estimate) is a near certainty.

Of course an intelligent race has to do more then just exist to be of concern to us. They also have to either develop in close enough proximity that their technology can overcome the distance, and they have to have a reason to come to Earth. While it's safe to assume our large planetary system would spark their interest if they were nearby, if they were on the other side of the universe they might never get the time, even if they can reach us.


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20 Jul 2008, 1:12 am

If if believe the stories about Jesus and his miracles, if I believe in angels and 3-day resurrections, how can I not believe in UFOs? It would be silly and hypocritical to disbelieve this but believe that given a corresponding lack of hard evidence in both cases.

One definition of the word "miracle" is simply "unexplainable event."

The mysteries of this world make life worth living. 8)



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20 Jul 2008, 11:29 am

I am trying very hard not to start babbling uncontrollably on this topic..Because if I do, you all will surely think I am a lunatic.
((This subject happens to be my main obsession right now, so I have all sorts of strange ideas about it))


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slowmutant
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20 Jul 2008, 12:03 pm

How about a taste? You can PM me.



greenblue
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20 Jul 2008, 12:16 pm

slowmutant wrote:
If if believe the stories about Jesus and his miracles, if I believe in angels and 3-day resurrections, how can I not believe in UFOs? It would be silly and hypocritical to disbelieve this but believe that given a corresponding lack of hard evidence in both cases.

One definition of the word "miracle" is simply "unexplainable event."

The mysteries of this world make life worth living. 8)

I think that the existence of intelligent aliens (alien civilizations) may conflict with Christian Fundamentalism (evangelicals), but it seems that it doesn't with Catholics.


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Fnord
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20 Jul 2008, 2:02 pm

greenblue wrote:
slowmutant wrote:
If if believe the stories about Jesus and his miracles, if I believe in angels and 3-day resurrections, how can I not believe in UFOs? It would be silly and hypocritical to disbelieve this but believe that given a corresponding lack of hard evidence in both cases.

One definition of the word "miracle" is simply "unexplainable event."

The mysteries of this world make life worth living. 8)

I think that the existence of intelligent aliens (alien civilizations) may conflict with Christian Fundamentalism (evangelicals), but it seems that it doesn't with Catholics.

Actually ... no.

While there are some "Fundies" that still believe that Earth is the center of the universe (really!), the rest are either (1) indifferent to the idea, or (2) accept the idea and understand that the existance of extra-terrestrial life is irrelevant to their salvation.

Just as all Christians can not be lumped together as Fundamentalists, so too all Fundamentalists can not be lumped ogether. Christianity is not as homogenous as you might think ... or as the Fundies would wish.


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ericksonlk
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20 Jul 2008, 2:13 pm

yes... I´m alien myself


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Fnord
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20 Jul 2008, 3:00 pm

ericksonlk wrote:
yes... I´m alien myself

Evidence, please?


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slowmutant
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20 Jul 2008, 9:09 pm

Fnord, we're all aliens here. The human race was clearly seeded on this world. :wink:



Fnord
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21 Jul 2008, 10:15 am

slowmutant wrote:
Fnord, we're all aliens here. The human race was clearly seeded on this world. :wink:

Evidence, please?


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