Questions tagged [origin-of-life]
The origin-of-life tag has no usage guidance.
16
questions
2
votes
1
answer
85
views
Conditions on Earth when Mars was warmer, wetter & had a thicker atmosphere
To the question, What part of a star's habitable zone has the best chance of developing life?, I made the following comment:
It's always intrigued me as to why some people have thought that life in ...
- 2,169
1
vote
0
answers
43
views
Would gravitational stratification deter carbon-based life on large rocky planets?
Most of Earth's heavy elements are concentrated in its deepest layers, as they're denser than the surrounding silicates and sink to the core. If its overall gravitational pull were substantially ...
- 171
4
votes
0
answers
49
views
Are magnetic vortices capable of providing magnetic lensing when observed away from the poles
Magnetic vortices-(ESA cluster mission from observations November 2018)(article, ESA, science & exploration: 'Magnetic Vortices explain mysterious auroral beads'. An observer during Saturn's ...
- 49
2
votes
1
answer
247
views
Have there been any searches for extraterrestrial life which doesn't require water, oxygen and carbon?
This is question is similar to this, but that question has already been voted to be closed. I will add though that I joined this website today, so I am still learning how to write a good question here....
- 317
2
votes
1
answer
132
views
Life forms on planets not requiring water and oxygen as basic building blocks [closed]
When scientists explore other planets such as Mars, they look for life derived from water and oxygen (correct me if I am wrong) with a purpose to see whether that planet is habitable for humans or not....
- 317
2
votes
1
answer
68
views
Chances of life on other planets, how watertight is the idea that 'As soon as life could occur, it did occur’?
I’ve heard it reasoned that ‘Almost as soon as life could occur on Earth, it did. Therefore it seems likely that life develops easily, and thus that there’s probably lots of life out there’.
Is this ...
- 555
19
votes
1
answer
5k
views
Serious alternate form of the Drake Equation, or graffiti?
Where I live it is very common to see jackets and T-shirts with familiar yet casually garbled or modified content (example)
I recently spotted what looked a lot like the Drake equation on the back of ...
- 31.7k
2
votes
4
answers
288
views
Why haven't detected life in the universe?
It would seem that if life were relatively common in the universe that there would be a cacophony of noise somewhere in the electromagnetic spectrum. Is life so rare and distant that the waves haven't ...
- 59
5
votes
2
answers
495
views
What if we are looking for the wrong signs of life on other planets?
I am by no means an astronomy expert, having only taken 2 semesters in college. But I am an avid follower of news reports that look for signs of life on other planets. Today it was announced that 20 ...
- 151
18
votes
4
answers
5k
views
Did the earth form outside the solar system?
Why isn't it possible that the earth formed outside the solar system and got attracted later by the Sun?
I just need arguments to defeat this hypothesis.
- 181
2
votes
2
answers
312
views
What planets and moons have we seeded with life (if any)?
Which planets and moons have we accidentally (or purposely) seeded with life? I would expect this to be any planet or moon we have sent an unsterilized (or not fully sterilized) lander to, or crashed ...
- 4,247
14
votes
4
answers
2k
views
If we found evidence of life on Mars, how would we know that it originated on Mars rather than Earth?
Consider this scenario. One of the probes sent to Mars either very soon, or within the next century, finds conclusive micro-fossil evidence that life once existed on Mars.
One theory today that is ...
- 375
2
votes
1
answer
111
views
Is liquid water on Mars such a big leap compared with ice?
I thought we have found bacteria or other kinds of life on Mars.
Now it is liquid water. Is there such a big difference between liquid water and iced water?
- 3,053
0
votes
2
answers
194
views
Accidental or deliberate? [duplicate]
We know that the visual size of the Sun and Moon from the Earth in our lifetime (!) is nearly equivalent.
Now my question: Is this event is random? Or have a scientific reason?
For example, maybe ...
- 183
4
votes
1
answer
266
views
Why did Earth need material from comets to assemble the raw materials for life?
It's often speculated that matter from comets played a crucial role in the development of life on Earth. For example, Maps of Time says,
Many of the ingredients of the early atmosphere (including ...
- 359
8
votes
3
answers
423
views
How should one rationally deal with the issue of space travelling alien civilizations?
What kind of reasoning is appropriate to understand the as of today unanswered question of whether there are (other) interstellar space travelling civilizations in the Milky Way?
We have already sent ...
- 11.3k