For a century and more, people are wondering whether there is life elsewhere than on Earth. Logically, allow that it should exist, that we can’t be the only beings in all the universe, which is believed to be infinite. Astrophysicists have tried more: issued theories to prove that aliens are somewhere near us. Some theories have been covered with ridicule, at others we just smile.
Life on the Red Planet. The research madness of Mars, until Curiosity robot today, began in the ’70s, when NASA sent the Viking probe on the martian soil to search for unexpected life on the Red Planet.
How Viking did not find anything of what was looking, ie microorganisms or traces of carbon dioxide, was limited to collect soil samples. With these samples “in hand”, some researchers have concluded that there must be something living organisms on the planet. For decades discussed around this topic.
Recently, US researchers have concluded that iron particles in the martian soil would be oxidized the carbon compounds that existed there. Even if he the Viking didn’t find Mars, it is recognized that the presence of soil carbon could indicate that there was once life on Mars. Why is not there today is another story.
Now, researchers are focusing less on the discovery of living organisms on Mars, because there is no evidence that it exists, and more on the Martian atmosphere, which is thought (?) that might keep some traces of life even after they have disappeared long ago!
Martian vegetation. Authentic scientist, and loved sf stories author, Arthur C. Clarke is the author of downright fanciful theories: From Space Odyssey 2001, to flying saucers that were to take the place over 2000 cars! In 2001, he downloaded more photos of the NASA website made by the probe Mars Global Surveyor and appeared delighted to discover what no one else had managed: trees on Mars! In another interview, he admitted, more joke more seriously:
“Now I am convinced that Mars is inhabited by a race of gardeners.” Today it is known that Clarke’s gardeners “vegetation” were, in fact, sand dunes covered with frozen carbon dioxide. Over time, the dunes were furrowed sand waterfalls, black traces leaving the impression that were trees! To an inexperienced or fancy eye .
High-level contacts. In 1820, the german mathematician Carl Friedrich Gauss wanted to clean a large area of land in Siberia on which to plant acres of rye in a form which illustrate geometric the Pythagorean Theorem.
With the coming of harvest season, the rye straw yellow light should have contrasting with the dark forest color. Gauss believed that this way, martians observers could see the huge triangle of Siberia using a simple telescope.
A fanciful idea, but not only. In the nineteenth century, the astronomer Joseph Littrow suggest to dig trenches in the Sahara of 30 kilometers long in various geometric shapes to be filled with kerosene whom to burn. Light produced could be observed by martians and the way for communication to be open. Frenchman Charles Cros did not want to be outdone. He suggested building a huge mirror with to burn posts directly on martian soil.
The messages idea was rekindled in 1970 by a group of american astrophysicists who convinced NASA to send in space the probes Pioneer 10 and Pioneer 11, who wore a message of earthlings for galactic civilizations, printed on some gold discs. So far, probes detected no sign of aliens, not mention noticed disks or to decipher the sophisticated and abstract message printed in gold!
Aliens and Tesla. Without discussion, Nikola Tesla is the most fabulous scientist that mankind had. Meanwhile, his confession is mentioned and how he would’ve received artificial signals of extraterrestrial origin, which he said that originate on Mars or Venus.
Tesla suggest some ways to improve the means of communication with Mars, one being the relocation of observers for sending clear signals through the atmosphere. In 1937, Tesla was convinced that he could win the prize Pierre Guzman, 100,000 francs, for “the first person to be able to communicate with a star and get an answer”. Prize rules were excluding the contact with Mars, because it was deemed “too easy”. The public has never had a chance to analyze Tesla’s observations, but it seems likely that he was able to detect the pulsations of a distant stars.
Other amazing theories. Not only Mars and Venus, but Jupiter has been considered in the past, a possible candidate for the existence of extraterrestrial life. Some researchers believed that life could exist somewhere between its gas surface and frozen atmosphere. Life as jellyfish floating bodies (!).
Two studies appeared after Cassini probe found that Titan, one of many months of Saturn, has a dense atmosphere, states that ahis month might harbor life too. Aliens would exist on Pluto too, believe other researchers.
In 2011, two american astrophysicists, Ed Turner and Avi Loeb, had the idea that the Wide Synoptic Surveillance Telescope to photograph the entire sky for a longer period, to be observed changes in light emitted by massive celestial bodies.
The two think that this way, in the next decades will be able to see if the light that comes from Pluto is reflected sunlight or if generated artificially. Confirmation is expected in November next year when NASA Horizons probe will take the first high-resolution images of Pluto and Charon months.
Other experts look below, not so up in our solar system. In other words, aliens might hit Earth’s stratosphere! During meteor showers of 12 August 2013 astrobiologists of Sheffield University have launched a balloon into the stratosphere at 27 km altitude.
Milton Wainwright researcher was amazed by the capture remarkably made by the balloon, being convinced that it is evidence of alien life! The conclusion stemmed from the finding that the collected particles are too heavy to be lifted there from Earth! His theory is rejected by other researchers on the ground that Wainwright revives the panspermis theory, of life coming from other planets via meteorites.
Finally, in 1830, Thomas Dick, scottish clergyman and amateur astronomer, calculated the precise number of population in our solar system. He was convinced that all the planets are inhabited, estimating that 50 billion population are only on Venus!
Mars was 15 billion, and Jupiter and Saturn, about 8 trillion inhabitants each! Dick’s conclusion was that in our solar system there are about 28 trillion inhabitants, not counting the Sun, where lived, according to the calculations of Thomas Dick, about 31 times more.
And other people, before Dick, were convinced that the Sun is inhabited. In 1440, theologian and mathematician Nicholas of Cusa wrote about a place where living solar sun beings! Solarians differed from the “lunatics”, the inhabitants of the moon. And although could be burned at the stake or excommunicated for heresy with the aliens, he became cardinal, which is why he continued to believe in his theory with greater zeal!
