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http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-38985425
A newly unearthed essay by Winston Churchill reveals he was open to the possibility of life on other planets.
In 1939, the year World War Two broke out, Churchill penned a popular science article in which he mused about the likelihood of extra-terrestrial life.
The 11-page typed draft, probably intended for a newspaper, was updated in the 1950s but never published.
[...] More than 50 years before the discovery of exoplanets, he considered the likelihood that other stars would host planets, concluding that a large fraction of these distant worlds "will be the right size to keep on their surface water and possibly an atmosphere of some sort". He also surmised that some would be "at the proper distance from their parent sun to maintain a suitable temperature".
Churchill also outlined what scientists now describe as the "habitable" or "Goldilocks" zone - the narrow region around a star where it is neither too hot nor too cold for life.
[...] In an apparent reference to the troubling events unfolding in Europe, Churchill wrote: "I for one, am not so immensely impressed by the success we are making of our civilisation here that I am prepared to think we are the only spot in this immense universe which contains living, thinking creatures, or that we are the highest type of mental and physical development which has ever appeared in the vast compass of space and time."
Also at Nature: http://www.nature.com/news/winston-churchill-s-essay-on-alien-life-found-1.21467
(Score: 5, Insightful) by looorg on Thursday February 16 2017, @10:00PM
The biggest proof of intelligent life out there is that they haven't contacted us.
I would disagree with the idea that the absence of contact is evidence of intelligent life in the universe beyond ourselves.
While we have some interesting theories on how to travel outside our solar system ...
IMHO, we need to have significant changes to society before we can truly tackle the challenges of space travel outside our solar system. ...
Are you in a hurry to get there? I'm fairly sure we'll get there eventually. We are closer today then we have ever been in the history of human kind. Tomorrow we'll be another step closer and so forth.
But in your mind it seems space exploration, and conquest, is only possible as a total planetary effort? I somehow doubt that to be true. IMHO we'll have people permanently on other planets long before we eventually stop killing each other, if that ever happens -- which is highly doubtful. Instead of going for some space-hippie-dream we could just go all military. Everyone that doesn't agree could just be killed off, everyone left will be in agreement and working together towards a common goal then.
I don't really see what earth climate science improvements have to do with colonizing other planets. Unless they are just like earth it probably won't be that useful. We have non of those planets within easy reach as far as I know. We already know enough in that regard in how to build structures and equipment that protects us from the harshness of space, and the harshness of our own planet. We probably have a fair understanding on the basics of how our planet works and what we need to survive. We just don't know how to fix all the problems yet. But we'll get there. We know more today then we did 100 years ago, in another 100 years we'll know even more.
Humanity essentially needs to learn how to better handle itself ...
We are living in an age that has most likely never been better. Less people are starving today then ever before in history. Less people today are dying of common illnesses then ever before in history. We probably won't eradicate starvation or disease anytime soon. Man won't stop being shitty towards man anytime soon either. As I said I believe we'll be permanently in space and on other planets long before your "Star Trek":esq fantasy of a one world planet hugging government and population ever comes true -- unless one super power just conquers the entire planet.
How come in these ideas we are always the backwards planet and race? Perhaps we are the supreme being in the universe? Perhaps all the others, if there are any, are living in some kind of stone age utopia (or hell) and just don't give a shit about us. Perhaps they seen us and think we are awesome and they are now in the process of implementing our way of life on their own planets. Perhaps they didn't answer because they are so alien we don't even register on each others radar as life. Perhaps they learned all they wanted to learn from anal-probing and abducting cows. That or they just don't give a shit about us cause they have their own problems ... or their space fleet of Doom is already heading towards us to annihilate us in a first strike attack.
When society evolves to the point of solving the issues on our current planet will we have the capability to research ways on getting to the next planet.
I'm certain we'll get there long before we solve all our issues.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday February 16 2017, @10:53PM
They are already here, waiting for the ice caps to melt so they can be freed.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 17 2017, @01:02AM
We killed most of the hungry bastards, the rest we are dealing with it now.