Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Herschel Space Observatory Finds Precursors of Life In Orion

Posted by kdawson on from the but-not-as-we-know-it dept.

ogre7299 recommends an announcement out of Caltech on a milestone for HIFI, the Herschel Space Observatory's Heterodyne Instrument for the Far Infrared. "The Herschel Space Observatory has revealed the chemical fingerprints of potential life-enabling organic molecules in the Orion Nebula, a nearby stellar nursery in our Milky Way galaxy. ... This detailed-spectrum, obtained with the Heterodyne Instrument for the Far Infrared (HIFI) — one of Herschel's three innovative instruments — demonstrates the gold mine of information that Herschel-HIFI will provide on how organic molecules form in space. The spectrum, one of the first to be obtained with HIFI since it returned to full health in January 2010 following technical difficulties, clearly demonstrates that the instrument is working well. ... [The HIFI instrument had previously been offline since] August 2009 when HIFI experienced an unexpected voltage spike in the electronic system, probably caused by a high-energy cosmic particle, resulting in the instrument shutting down. On 14 January 2010, HIFI was successfully switched back on using its spare electronics, with science observations commencing on 28 February."

16 of 142 comments (clear)

  1. So, what next? by Darkness404 · · Score: 1, Insightful

    Ok, so lets say we do find life even as advanced as, say, rats. What do we do with that information? Especially if its so far out that we can't possibly make it to that planet?

    --
    Taxation is legalized theft, no more, no less.
    1. Re:So, what next? by TheKidWho · · Score: 4, Insightful

      We send a probe? We rejoice in the fact that there is life outside of Earth, that there is strong possibility we are not the only intelligent life in this Universe?

      Also prepare for our new overlords.

    2. Re:So, what next? by TheKidWho · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Who ever said the probe had to land on the planet?

    3. Re:So, what next? by johno.ie · · Score: 4, Insightful

      If you want to rank life forms according to some arbitrary scale from most to least advanced, you'll find that rats are just as advanced as humans. Their body chemistry is almost identical to ours, they exhibit high intelligence and ability to solve problems. They outnumber humans worldwide, and their high reproductive rate allows them to evolve much faster than us, they probably go through 100 generations for each human generation.

      --
      872835240
    4. Re:So, what next? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Ok, so lets say we do find life even as advanced as, say, rats. What do we do with that information? Especially if its so far out that we can't possibly make it to that planet?

      We reduce our ignorance as a species. You see, science is about discovering the truths of the universe, regardless of whether or not certain truths are applicable to profitable business plans.

  2. Celebrate! by bsharma · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Why rats? we should celebrate it as among the greatest discoveries if we can even confirm something as primitive as a worm. Evolutionarily, the jump from inorganic to a worm is far bigger jump than from a worm to (even an intelligent) man.

    1. Re:Celebrate! by bsharma · · Score: 1, Insightful

      Can evidence of even primitive life in galaxies so far away that they may not even exist now disprove all geocentric religions? (e.g. the Abrahamic faiths)

    2. Re:Celebrate! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      Can evidence of even primitive life in galaxies so far away that they may not even exist now disprove all geocentric religions? (e.g. the Abrahamic faiths)

      I frequently see people raise concerns like this. What I don't understand about it is simple: nowhere does the Bible (including the Pentateuch) say "Earth is the one and only place where God created life and there are no aliens of any sort". Or if it says that, I certainly cannot find it and have never received a reference for where it may be found. If it did say that, then I would understand the concerns about extraterrestrial life and the damage it might cause for various religions. So far as I can tell, the entire concern is either the doctrine of a particular church, making it intellectually dishonest to imply that this affects all Abrahamic faiths, or it's complete bullshit.

      It's possible the Quran might have such teachings as I am much less familiar with it, but again if it were only Islam then that would not be "the Abrahamic faiths" it would be "one particular Abrahamic faith".

    3. Re:Celebrate! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      nowhere does the Bible (including the Pentateuch) say "Earth is the one and only place where God created life and there are no aliens of any sort". Or if it says that, I certainly cannot find it and have never received a reference for where it may be found. If it did say that, then I would understand the concerns about extraterrestrial life and the damage it might cause for various religions.

      http://www.roseavenue.org/Who%20we%20are/what%20we%20believe/Bible/complete%20and%20perfect.htm

      The Bible is "perfect and complete". If the Bible didn't mention it, it didn't happen.

      The way I have always understood that, is that for a Christian, the Bible is "everything you need to know" and it is not "everything that could possibly be known." This is obvious, as the Bible does not mention the transistor, the internal combustion engine, integrated circuits, rock music, rap music, or many other things we now know of. In the sense that it's "everything you need to know" (i.e. to be a Christian) it is indeed perfect and complete. This neither affirms nor denies the existence of extraterrestrial life, however.

      So I still consider my question unanswered. I haven't found a Biblical basis for the concern that ETs would destroy the Abrahamic religions as we know them. The way a group or a church chooses to interpret the Bible is not the same thing as the Bible making a positive statement to that effect. I mean, for that matter, some passages in the Bible were once used to justify American slavery of black people, something that all serious Christians would universally recognize as wrong. That does not mean you can find any passage in the Bible that says "thou shalt enslave a group of people based on race and treat them in an inhuman fashion" because it doesn't say that. So I think it's important to separate what the Bible actually says from what certain people decide to read into it.

    4. Re:Celebrate! by MichaelSmith · · Score: 2, Insightful

      But isn't that because the US was originally founded by European Christians who believed that they were more serious about their religion than their peers?

      --
      http://michaelsmith.id.au
    5. Re:Celebrate! by MartinSchou · · Score: 2, Insightful

      And what's with tele-evangelism? It's like they turned religion into some sort of pay-for entertainment.

      You answered the question yourself, I've just emphasized the relevant bit.

  3. Reverse optical psychology by moteyalpha · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I don't know if they have thought of this, but it seems that what is not seen has more meaning than what is seen. If I had the data, I would look to see if the absorption spectrum was different at the primary frequency of the solar emissions and would indicate to me that life was present. I would assume that inorganic materials would have an absorption spectrum which was different from organic life as it uses this energy to manufacture itself. It would seem that this would be generally true in the overall spectrum of the universe and like the cosmic background measurements there should be a signature of the universe without life and one that indicates life. Just a thought.

  4. Re:Why did they wait 5 months? by laing · · Score: 2, Insightful
    OK, maybe you are involved in the mission and know more than I. What I do know is that all spacecraft have an expected mission life (anywhere from a few months to 15 years depending upon the mission). Generally when an anomaly occurs there is a balancing act between understanding what went wrong and getting things going again quickly.

    Five months is an awfully long time to spend scratching your head if you've got a redundant string ready to be switched on.

  5. Re:Why did they wait 5 months? by ogre7299 · · Score: 2, Insightful

    OK so their instrument had an upset. That sort of thing happens in space. Why did it take them 5 months to switch over to the redundant string?

    It took them 5 months to switch over to the redundant system because they wanted to be sure that they fully understood what happened with the first failure. The problem was that there wasn't software protection for the critical systems.
    They then had to put preventative measures in place to ensure that it didn't happen to the redundant system; otherwise they would be screwed. The HIFI instrument has some of the most discovery potential and its capabilities cannot be duplicated from earth or and only partly with the SOFIA airborne mission.

  6. What we REALLY want to know by 93+Escort+Wagon · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Are they green, and if so - are they female?

    --
    #DeleteChrome
  7. Re:Hurry already by turbidostato · · Score: 3, Insightful

    "The moment life is detected else where will once and for end the silly notion of god or religion."

    Because?