Search for ET in Tau Ceti strikes out

Article - Search for ET in Tau Ceti strikes out - Nearest star system
a barren bombsite, but search goes on for more Earth-like planets. By
Ian Brown

http://www.sundayherald.com/43325

The article talks about how scientists have inferred that because Tau
Ceti has 10 times as many comets and dust debris, that it is
improbable that life evolved there because of the constant impacts.

(Either that or perhaps life evolved 10 times faster because of the
many cometary experiments in evolution?)

Keep searching, Jason H.

"Jason H." wrote in message
om...
Article - Search for ET in Tau Ceti strikes out - Nearest star system
a barren bombsite, but search goes on for more Earth-like planets. By
Ian Brown

http://www.sundayherald.com/43325

The article talks about how scientists have inferred that because Tau
Ceti has 10 times as many comets and dust debris, that it is
improbable that life evolved there because of the constant impacts.

(Either that or perhaps life evolved 10 times faster because of the
many cometary experiments in evolution?)

Yes, I wonder about that too ... the thing to think about is that life
started very early on Earth ... it happened quickly and it happened under
the worst conditions! So, I don't really buy those doomsday end of life
scenarios ...


Keep searching, Jason H.

"Jason H." wrote in message
om...
Article - Search for ET in Tau Ceti strikes out - Nearest star system
a barren bombsite, but search goes on for more Earth-like planets. By
Ian Brown

http://www.sundayherald.com/43325

The article talks about how scientists have inferred that because Tau
Ceti has 10 times as many comets and dust debris, that it is
improbable that life evolved there because of the constant impacts.

(Either that or perhaps life evolved 10 times faster because of the
many cometary experiments in evolution?)

Yes, I wonder about that too ... the thing to think about is that life
started very early on Earth ... it happened quickly and it happened under
the worst conditions! So, I don't really buy those doomsday end of life
scenarios ...


Keep searching, Jason H.

(Either that or perhaps life evolved 10 times faster because of the
many cometary experiments in evolution?)

Yes, I wonder about that too ... the thing to think about is that life
started very early on Earth ... it happened quickly and it happened under
the worst conditions! So, I don't really buy those doomsday end of life
scenarios ...


Agreed. Although it takes a lot of imagination to see intelligent
species evolving in such a hell. You need to evolve some pretty
hard heads to withstand constant meteor impacts. They would
surely cause great disturbances in temperature, atmospheric conditions etc.
Might be OK for fast evolving bacteria, but more complex species
might die out very quickly.

(Either that or perhaps life evolved 10 times faster because of the
many cometary experiments in evolution?)

Yes, I wonder about that too ... the thing to think about is that life
started very early on Earth ... it happened quickly and it happened under
the worst conditions! So, I don't really buy those doomsday end of life
scenarios ...


Agreed. Although it takes a lot of imagination to see intelligent
species evolving in such a hell. You need to evolve some pretty
hard heads to withstand constant meteor impacts. They would
surely cause great disturbances in temperature, atmospheric conditions etc.
Might be OK for fast evolving bacteria, but more complex species
might die out very quickly.

"Rob Dekker" wrote in message
. com...
(Either that or perhaps life evolved 10 times faster because of the
many cometary experiments in evolution?)

Yes, I wonder about that too ... the thing to think about is that life
started very early on Earth ... it happened quickly and it happened
under
the worst conditions! So, I don't really buy those doomsday end of life
scenarios ...


Agreed. Although it takes a lot of imagination to see intelligent
species evolving in such a hell. You need to evolve some pretty
hard heads to withstand constant meteor impacts. They would
surely cause great disturbances in temperature, atmospheric conditions
etc.
Might be OK for fast evolving bacteria, but more complex species
might die out very quickly.

I don't know about that ... nearly 4 billion years later, life is still here
.... life has faced incredible challenges during those 4 billion years ...
Earth, nature, has not been calm and tranquil ... evolution found a way ...
complex species evolve ... complex species would learn to survive ...

I mean, it takes hell to build a good survivor doesn't it? If nature didn't
give great challenges, then we'd probably still be bacteria ...

Sure, there are limits of course, but who knows exactly where they are ...
There might be bacteria on Mars, or somewhat "higher" lifeforms, but that
would be it ...
Europa? Perhaps there is life there too ...
Venus? Perhaps there was life there ...

I wouldn't write off Tau Ceti just yet though, on any level ...

"Rob Dekker" wrote in message
. com...
(Either that or perhaps life evolved 10 times faster because of the
many cometary experiments in evolution?)

Yes, I wonder about that too ... the thing to think about is that life
started very early on Earth ... it happened quickly and it happened
under
the worst conditions! So, I don't really buy those doomsday end of life
scenarios ...


Agreed. Although it takes a lot of imagination to see intelligent
species evolving in such a hell. You need to evolve some pretty
hard heads to withstand constant meteor impacts. They would
surely cause great disturbances in temperature, atmospheric conditions
etc.
Might be OK for fast evolving bacteria, but more complex species
might die out very quickly.

I don't know about that ... nearly 4 billion years later, life is still here
.... life has faced incredible challenges during those 4 billion years ...
Earth, nature, has not been calm and tranquil ... evolution found a way ...
complex species evolve ... complex species would learn to survive ...

I mean, it takes hell to build a good survivor doesn't it? If nature didn't
give great challenges, then we'd probably still be bacteria ...

Sure, there are limits of course, but who knows exactly where they are ...
There might be bacteria on Mars, or somewhat "higher" lifeforms, but that
would be it ...
Europa? Perhaps there is life there too ...
Venus? Perhaps there was life there ...

I wouldn't write off Tau Ceti just yet though, on any level ...

10 times the comet strikes does not mean 1/10 as likely to have life.

If the earth's experience is a judge then they maybe more advanced.

Remember that after most mass extensions, we get an evolution flourish.



"Jason H." wrote in message
om...
Article - Search for ET in Tau Ceti strikes out - Nearest star system
a barren bombsite, but search goes on for more Earth-like planets. By
Ian Brown

http://www.sundayherald.com/43325

The article talks about how scientists have inferred that because Tau
Ceti has 10 times as many comets and dust debris, that it is
improbable that life evolved there because of the constant impacts.

(Either that or perhaps life evolved 10 times faster because of the
many cometary experiments in evolution?)

Keep searching, Jason H.

10 times the comet strikes does not mean 1/10 as likely to have life.

If the earth's experience is a judge then they maybe more advanced.

Remember that after most mass extensions, we get an evolution flourish.



"Jason H." wrote in message
om...
Article - Search for ET in Tau Ceti strikes out - Nearest star system
a barren bombsite, but search goes on for more Earth-like planets. By
Ian Brown

http://www.sundayherald.com/43325

The article talks about how scientists have inferred that because Tau
Ceti has 10 times as many comets and dust debris, that it is
improbable that life evolved there because of the constant impacts.

(Either that or perhaps life evolved 10 times faster because of the
many cometary experiments in evolution?)

Keep searching, Jason H.

Jason H. wrote:
Article - Search for ET in Tau Ceti strikes out - Nearest star system
a barren bombsite, but search goes on for more Earth-like planets. By
Ian Brown

http://www.sundayherald.com/43325

The article talks about how scientists have inferred that because Tau
Ceti has 10 times as many comets and dust debris, that it is
improbable that life evolved there because of the constant impacts.

(Either that or perhaps life evolved 10 times faster because of the
many cometary experiments in evolution?)

One reasonably assumes there were more comets way back when than
there are now. Presumably at some point falling off to essentially
Oort Cloud perturbations. The way back when time was likely relatively
short Jovian planets sweeping them up, dropping them into the sun or
throwing them out of the solar system.

Unless someone has discovered a reason why Jovians have to form, the
greater quantity would as likely indicate the lack of them.

Now we have a requirement for duration of "way back when" to be less
than or equal to the time for life to establish else life got along
quite well with the higher impact rate. So we cut to the chase and
consider it to refer only multicelluar, nervous system based,
intelligent life.

Small mammals, lizards, amphibians, birds and maybe even some dinos
survived the last one. Should the unlikely sequence that got from
lemurs to comet shield makers occurs it needs no more than 30 million
years to complete. It took maybe half that time from small enough to
survive to us.

That still keeps the odds down but not at the 1/10th level.

One assumes those that survived did so for a reason. If by some
change good body temperature regulation is an important part of
intelligence them the last hit made mammals dominant on land. If the
last one had hit earlier mammals rule earlier. And the more frequent
the hits the better selection for characteristics that survive hits.

The net result would be more chances at intelligent life and only
needing be intelligent enough to survive one hit to have a million or
so years to technology as compared to your pitiful thousands without
counting stone tools.

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If we had the wisdom to better the world with our military
power, the world would be begging us to do it.
-- The Iron Webmaster, 3199