Astronomy Roundup is a regular summary of major events in Astronomy.
Study Says Alien Contact Potentially 400,000 Years Away
According to an estimate based on the Drake Equation, scientists say the most likely number of contactable alien civilizations is 36. Formulated by Frank Drake, the Drake Equation is used to estimate the number of extraterrestrial civilizations in the Milky Way Galaxy that have the potential to communicate with us. According to Carl Sagan, this number could be anywhere between “a pitiful few” and millions. He said, “If civilizations do not always destroy themselves shortly after discovering radio astronomy, then the sky may be softly humming with messages from the stars.” Physicist Enrico Fermi wondered why we haven’t heard any of these messages. Fermi’s Paradox is the conflict between the lack of evidence for extraterrestrial life and the probability of their existence. If the Universe Is Teeming with Aliens ... WHERE IS EVERYBODY? is a book that details seventy-five potential solutions to the Fermi Paradox.
According to an estimate based on the Drake Equation, scientists say the most likely number of contactable alien civilizations is 36. Formulated by Frank Drake, the Drake Equation is used to estimate the number of extraterrestrial civilizations in the Milky Way Galaxy that have the potential to communicate with us. According to Carl Sagan, this number could be anywhere between “a pitiful few” and millions. He said, “If civilizations do not always destroy themselves shortly after discovering radio astronomy, then the sky may be softly humming with messages from the stars.” Physicist Enrico Fermi wondered why we haven’t heard any of these messages. Fermi’s Paradox is the conflict between the lack of evidence for extraterrestrial life and the probability of their existence. If the Universe Is Teeming with Aliens ... WHERE IS EVERYBODY? is a book that details seventy-five potential solutions to the Fermi Paradox.
Recently, Chinese astronomers claimed that since we haven’t detected any evidence of advanced alien life so far, we may have to wait for new habitats to develop before we can engage in interstellar communication. And that could take anywhere from 2,000 to 400,000 years for these Communicating Extraterrestrial Intelligent Civilizations (CETI) to form.
“The most optimistic scenario had CETI beginning just 25 percent into a star’s lifetime. With each planet holding a generous 0.1 percent chance of forming life, it may only take 2,000 years to communicate with our friendly (they are always friendly, right?) aliens on any one of the potential 42,000 CETIs that form in the Milky Way in that timeframe.”
In the News: Alien Dreams Dashed: Study Says Alien Contact Potentially 400,000 Years Away
In the News: Alien Dreams Dashed: Study Says Alien Contact Potentially 400,000 Years Away
Slithering Formations Found at the Bottom of Impact Crater on Mars
A recent NASA discovery on Mars “resembles horrific sand worms that were scorched to death while emerging from an ancient crater.” The twisted structures are located in the Gale Crater, created 3.7 billion years ago by a meteor strike. According to the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence, “The spikes are most likely the cemented fillings of ancient fractures in a sedimentary rock. The rest of the rock was made of softer material and was eroded away.”
A recent NASA discovery on Mars “resembles horrific sand worms that were scorched to death while emerging from an ancient crater.” The twisted structures are located in the Gale Crater, created 3.7 billion years ago by a meteor strike. According to the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence, “The spikes are most likely the cemented fillings of ancient fractures in a sedimentary rock. The rest of the rock was made of softer material and was eroded away.”
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| Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS |
The Hidden Secret Uranus And Neptune Might Be Holding
If you need an engagement ring, head to Uranus or Neptune where it rains diamonds around the planets’ cores. “Deep below their opaque blue atmospheres, giant diamonds sink through the planets' dense mud-like oceans.” Be prepared to go 5,000 miles below the atmosphere's surface, where there is enough heat and pressure to create diamonds. Once they form, they move down through the mantle toward the core. You will have to act fast to grab some though because as it gets hotter and hotter, the diamonds vaporize.
In the News: The Hidden Secret Uranus And Neptune Might Be Holding
Researchers Say Black Holes Destroy Thousands of Stars as they Grow
Growing black holes violently devour thousands of stars as they pack on mass. This is based on a survey of over 100 galaxies. Astronomers refer to this as “runaway growth.” When they experience this runaway growth, they become “intermediate-mass black holes” or IMBHs. These IMBHs are smaller than the supermassive black holes that typically live at the center of galaxies, including our Milky Way galaxy.
Researchers Say Black Holes Destroy Thousands of Stars as they Grow
Growing black holes violently devour thousands of stars as they pack on mass. This is based on a survey of over 100 galaxies. Astronomers refer to this as “runaway growth.” When they experience this runaway growth, they become “intermediate-mass black holes” or IMBHs. These IMBHs are smaller than the supermassive black holes that typically live at the center of galaxies, including our Milky Way galaxy.
In the News: Researchers say black holes destroy thousands of stars as they grow
Scientists Find DNA's Code for Life in Meteorites
The researchers didn't find DNA or RNA. What scientists at NASA and in Japan say they have found are all five key building blocks of DNA and RNA. They used a mild extraction technique, 100 times more sensitive than what was tried before to find these building blocks in space rocks that fell to Earth over the last century. According to one of the scientists involved in the study, "The presence of the five primary nucleobases in meteorites may have a contribution to the emergence of genetic functions before the onset of life on the early earth.”
Scientists Find DNA's Code for Life in Meteorites
The researchers didn't find DNA or RNA. What scientists at NASA and in Japan say they have found are all five key building blocks of DNA and RNA. They used a mild extraction technique, 100 times more sensitive than what was tried before to find these building blocks in space rocks that fell to Earth over the last century. According to one of the scientists involved in the study, "The presence of the five primary nucleobases in meteorites may have a contribution to the emergence of genetic functions before the onset of life on the early earth.”
In the News: Scientists find DNA's code for life in meteorites
That's it for this Astronomy Roundup. Check back soon for more exciting news in the field of astronomy.
