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Herschel Space Observatory Finds Precursors of Life In Orion
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."
It's the only way to be sure!
Deleted
Can pigs be far behind
"The spectrum [...] clearly demonstrates that the instrument is working well."
Yep, we got a result that's good for some headlines, so clearly the system is working well! Otherwise, we'd have had to conclude it's still not working.
God isn't dead, he just moved to Orion!
M.
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.
Everyone knows there isn't a galaxy on Orion's belt!
"The average reporter we talk to is 27 years old......They literally know nothing." - Ben Rhodes
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.
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.
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?
I like the idea of space herring for a couple of reasons. It would lend credence to the poem 'Wynken, Blynken and Nod' which mom read to me as a child and it would give the Discovery Channel something to look forward to other than another case of crabs.
The Dogon already knew of the existance of life in Orion centuries ago... http://www.unmuseum.org/siriusb.htm
Are they green, and if so - are they female?
#DeleteChrome
Beware the revenge of Antares, make sure you have stellar convertors.
I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Precursors of life off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser gate. All those moments will be lost in time... like tears in rain... Time to die.
- Herschel Space Observatory's last transmission before deorbiting, November 2019
Prisencolinensinainciusol. Ol Rait!
It's, "..can't see the forest for the trees".
Over-the-top Response Guy! Giving "Over-the-Top Responses" since 1970.
"But it wouldn't be life as we know it, Jim."
A story about possible life in Orion and not a single comment about green slave women? What is wrong with you people?
Now, get off my lawn.
God invented whiskey so the Irish would not rule the world.
I was thinking maybe
Why is astronomy layman reporting (and global warming, and meteor science) all about the extreme case? Only so many characters in the headline field? Too much character in the headline writer? Thing is you're wearing out the reader - in a few more generations the only way for this story to get noticed will be "Aliens From Orion On Their Way To Eat You".
Not news, we all know that Ford came from a small planet somewhere in the vicinity of Betelgeuse, and not Guildford after all.
I hope they find Life soon
It would be a bummer if Planet earth was on a list for demolition and since planet earth hasn't so far found life we haven't found out that our planet was scheduled for demolition.
and they say your planet has been scheaduled for demoliton you (planet earth) have not replyed there for your planet will be destroyed for an interglatic teleportation byway
But God is by definition "life elsewhere."
If you want to really shake a religionist to the core, find an extraterrestrial that doesn't age or die, lives in a paradise/heaven, and knows nothing of the LORD God or ole sweet Jesus. That will break their faith if anything will.
"The moment life is detected else where will once and for end the silly notion of god or religion."
Because?
---
Radio Astronomy Feed @ Feed Distiller
"Herschel Space Observatory Finds Precursors of Life In Orion"
I called Orion and let him know about this. He said he was well aware he had precursors of life inside, but failed to see how a telescope could be used in place of a microscope and an, um, sample to make this determination. When he asked where I got this from I told him. My son thanks you all for your concern, and promises to take due care when handling his precursors and resulting cursors, as long as you'll promise to point your telescope at someone else.
"I may be synthetic, but I'm not stupid." -- Bishop 341-B
1. Researcher claims "possibility of life on X".
2. Publicity
3. President writes a letter. Bill Clinton (1997): “It speaks of the possibility of life. If this discovery is confirmed, it will surely be one of the most stunning insights into our Universe that science has ever uncovered. Its implications are as far-reaching and awe-inspiring as can be imagined.”
4. Profit.
5. Loop 1-4
http://science.slashdot.org/story/10/03/06/0252237/California-Lakes-Arsenic-Hints-At-a-Shadow-Biosphere
http://science.slashdot.org/index2.pl?fhfilter=life+on+mars
Cheers to a boring old age then. They didn't even find anything more complex than your run of the mill elements and a few ordinary molecules. Calling them "organics" is borderline dishonest, all of them can be created inorganically.
Supporter of the +1 Over Dramatic mod option. In memory of apk.
My guess is the death rays.
"The moment life is detected else where will once and for end the silly notion of god or religion."
Because?
BEECAAAUUSE we will eventually find a Space Jesus in another civilization!
..nuh-uh
The aliens that we discover will be worshiping their own Jesus, one who is older than ours - this will cause a schism between Earth Jesus followers, but many remain faithful to our Lord Jesus Christ. Another several thousands of years pass by when encounter YET ANOTHER civilization, one who worships, what we quickly came to call him as, Space Jesus #3, who bares an uncanny resemblance to the Space Jesus' 1 and 2.. also with Krishna, Mithra and Horus (thanks Bill Maher!) but we're talking about Jesus, here.
Some time later, we've come to discover over 200 Space Jesus' in our own Milky Way. After millennia of toil, the most recent Space Jesus lived within the SAME EXACT time period that Earth Jesus was being engorged for sins. This debunked the claim by the New Space Jesus Order that all Space Jesus, including Earth Jesus, were in fact the same Jesus, wiping out sin from the galaxy like an inverted Santa Claus. The remaining true believers of Earth Jesus, a blip compared to their former breadth of influence, are flabbergasted and are mocked by the majority.
However, the remaining followers, berated and on the cusp, regularly resort to violence to prove everyone else wrong. IN THE NAME OF EARTH JESUS!
Wait, did I say religion was gonna end?
When they confirm the spectrum of Plutonium Nyborg, then we'll have some serious interest.
Fascism: An authoritarian and nationalistic right-wing system of government and social organization. See also: NAZI's
welcome the precursors to our new overlords.
The problem is what if they're not advanced enough (at the caveman stage or earlier) or too advanced (past using fossil fuels (if they ever needed/had them) and have re-stabilized their climate) or some planet just heated up relatively quickly for some other reason (maybe an asteroid impact or large volcanic eruption that wasn't detected)?
Your test only works for a pretty narrow set of conditions and could give a lot of false positives, plus you'd be looking for temperature changes over hundreds or thousands of years so it isn't fast either.
"When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel