Freethought & Rationalism Archive

Jeremy Pallant · 09-26-2002, 12:14 PM

According to the <a href="http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99992843" target="_blank">New Scientist</a>, there might be.

Corwin · 09-26-2002, 12:27 PM

** reads over the article **

Eh... maybe. What they're saying makes sense... it's an interesting thought anyway.

Tom Sawyer · 09-26-2002, 12:28 PM

That would be an amazing discovery, if true.

If two planets have life on them, there's a much greater chance that others do as well. Or anything that's there may have come from Earth as microrobes in rocks knocked into space by a massive asteroid hit, like some people thought those Mars rocks they found in the Antarctic a few years back were.

Abacus · 09-26-2002, 12:45 PM

It's probably not true, but just imagine if it was. If hellish Venus can harbor life ...

Corwin · 09-26-2002, 01:06 PM

Well in theory just about anywhere can harbor life. You just have to acknowledge that life as WE currently understand it isn't the only possibility.

ohwilleke · 09-26-2002, 03:31 PM

I agree with your Corwin (I think many of the critics of the finding miss that point). They have a solid basis for the hypothesis, and I hope they are right, although I have my doubts.

B. H. Manners · 09-26-2002, 03:57 PM

The link no longer works. Could anyone tell me what they found?

Liquidrage · 09-26-2002, 04:45 PM

Which makes me wonder...

What is the current status of THE Mars rock?

It seems that rock could be the biggest find in the history of mankind right after fire and electricity.

We should be doing more trying to find out if the story that rock seems to tell is truthfull.

Kevin Dorner · 09-26-2002, 05:36 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by peteyh:
<strong>Or anything that's there may have come from Earth as microrobes in rocks knocked into space by a massive asteroid hit, like some people thought those Mars rocks they found in the Antarctic a few years back were.</strong>

There have been <a href="http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/solar/venera.html" target="_blank">about twenty spacecraft</a> (the Venera and Mariner probes) that the U.S. and U.S.S.R. have sent to Venus since the early 1970's.

I wager that they all weren't decontaminated before launch, because... hey, Venus, no chance of anything living there already or ever living there, right? Maybe on the surface...

Already Sweden(?) is discussing on bringing back Venusian atmospheric samples. We might find that if there is any life there, it has a rather down-to-earth origin.

Late_Cretaceous · 09-26-2002, 05:43 PM

In "Venus Revealed" David Grinspoon postulates the presence of life or at least highly complex chemistry going on in the upper clouds of venus. The pressure and temperature there is similar to Earth's surface, only that it is bombarded with horrendous amounts of UV and is over 90% carbon dioxide. In fact, the whole atmosphere of venus is out of equalibria- having too much SO2 if I recall correctly. It appears that Venus has a dynamic and chemically complex atmosphere. I would bet that it will make a great place to study prebiotic chemistry.

09-26-2002, 12:14 PM	#1
Jeremy Pallant Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Tucson, Arizona, USA Posts: 1,242	Is There Life on Venus? According to the <a href="http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99992843" target="_blank">New Scientist</a>, there might be.

Thread Tools	Search this Thread
Show Printable Version	Search this Thread: Advanced Search

09-26-2002, 12:27 PM	#2
Corwin Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2002 Posts: 4,369	reads over the article Eh... maybe. What they're saying makes sense... it's an interesting thought anyway.

09-26-2002, 12:28 PM	#3
Tom Sawyer Talk Freethought Staff Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Toronto, eh Posts: 42,293	That would be an amazing discovery, if true. If two planets have life on them, there's a much greater chance that others do as well. Or anything that's there may have come from Earth as microrobes in rocks knocked into space by a massive asteroid hit, like some people thought those Mars rocks they found in the Antarctic a few years back were.

09-26-2002, 12:45 PM	#4
Abacus Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: South Dakota Posts: 2,214	It's probably not true, but just imagine if it was. If hellish Venus can harbor life ...

09-26-2002, 01:06 PM	#5
Corwin Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2002 Posts: 4,369	Well in theory just about anywhere can harbor life. You just have to acknowledge that life as WE currently understand it isn't the only possibility.

09-26-2002, 03:31 PM	#6
ohwilleke Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2000 Location: Denver, Colorado, USA Posts: 4,834	I agree with your Corwin (I think many of the critics of the finding miss that point). They have a solid basis for the hypothesis, and I hope they are right, although I have my doubts.

09-26-2002, 03:57 PM	#7
B. H. Manners Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Texas Posts: 1,213	The link no longer works. Could anyone tell me what they found?

09-26-2002, 04:45 PM	#8
Liquidrage Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Tallahassee Posts: 1,301	Which makes me wonder... What is the current status of THE Mars rock? It seems that rock could be the biggest find in the history of mankind right after fire and electricity. We should be doing more trying to find out if the story that rock seems to tell is truthfull.

09-26-2002, 05:43 PM	#10
Late_Cretaceous Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Alberta Posts: 1,049	In "Venus Revealed" David Grinspoon postulates the presence of life or at least highly complex chemistry going on in the upper clouds of venus. The pressure and temperature there is similar to Earth's surface, only that it is bombarded with horrendous amounts of UV and is over 90% carbon dioxide. In fact, the whole atmosphere of venus is out of equalibria- having too much SO2 if I recall correctly. It appears that Venus has a dynamic and chemically complex atmosphere. I would bet that it will make a great place to study prebiotic chemistry.

Freethought & Rationalism Archive

The archives are read only.