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/sci/ - Science & Math

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7547176 No.7547176 [Reply] [Original]

If aliens out are out on "Earth-like" planets then how come we don't see their space debris with our telescopes?

>> No.7547180

>>7547176
we can't even see our own space debris with our telescopes.

>> No.7547181

>>7547176
space debri from light years away reflects too little light to even see it. Also we dont have telescope picture of the super earths yet because our telescopes are shit.

>> No.7547202

Those are artists' renderings of the planets, because we can only determine their mass and chemical makeup from here using current technology (I think, which doesn't say much, as I am not an astronomer).

>> No.7547205
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7547205

We don't even see planets light years away, we see the shadows they cast as they pass by their star.

The light we see from those stars is from a past long gone.

Our radio signals have only traveled a tiny distance compared to our galaxy, being distorted beyond recognition along the way.

Statistically there is life out there, but it's such a vast scale we have yet absolutely no methods of detecting it. The most we can do is take educated guesses about how other stellar bodies look based on the incomplete knowledge we possess.

>> No.7547206

>>7547181
>Also we dont have telescope picture of the super earths yet because our telescopes are shit.
In a few (or many) years we could easily be able to, which is cool.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methods_of_detecting_exoplanets#Direct_imaging

>> No.7547209

The most hilarious part is that the entire universe aside from our solar system could have seized to exist, and we would still be seeing it for countless years to come, slowly witnessing darkness appear in the night sky.

>> No.7547543

>>7547209

First time hearing about the speed of light?

>> No.7547582

>>7547209
If the universe did cease to exist, how would the sky look like?

>> No.7547711

>>7547176
>If aliens out are out on "Earth-like" planets
but they're not tho

>> No.7547736

>>7547543
The cynical mind mistaking itself for wit.

>>7547582
You would see stars disappearing over the next 4000 years.

>> No.7548394

>>7547176
this isnt targeted at you but to the scientists that say "no water=no alien life" why the hell do aliens need water
maybe they drink rocks and pee dirt

>> No.7548409

>>7548394
I pee dirt ._.

>> No.7548441

>>7548394
>scientists that say "no water=no alien life" why the hell do aliens need water
Water has several unique properties that allow for life on earth. It's not unlikely that it can serve the same functions in other places in the universe.

It's a universal solvent, can serve as both an electron donor and acceptor, has a huge liquid temperature range and a high specific heat compared to other molecules. Water can engage in hydrogen bonding. The chemical character of protein domains define how they fold in water.

Other solvents *might* be able to support life, but at the temperature ranges they exist at, DNA and amino acids don't really form proper structure.

>> No.7548455

We've never "seen" any of those planets.

It's hard to determine the surface composition because the way that we detect them is by analyzing the shadows that they cast when the star that they are orbitting is behind them.

Normally determining the chemical composition of a planet's surface is by analyzing the light that is reflected off of it. You can't do that with a shadow.

The only real way to determine what makes up the atmosphere and/or surface of such planets is to look at the category of the star, the age of the star, the mass of the planet, the proximity of the planet to the star, and the speed of the orbit.

Examining a piece of space debris; hell even examining a hypothetical moon-like satellite; is impossible with our current technology.

>> No.7548482

>>7548394
It's possible but earth has plenty of rocks and dirt and yet we didn't get any of those life forms. The only real data point we have with life is the life that lives with water.

The only known alternate type of life is some kind of life based on silicon that literally exhale sand and that's purely theoretical.

>> No.7548489

>>7548441
>>7548394
the other potential solvent besides water would be ammonia. this would imply a very nitrogen rich planet and would be significant;y colder than earth. but a few speculate that it would be possible to have ammonia as the foundation rather than water.

>> No.7548493

>>7547176
CHACKMOOTEZ, REPTILIANS ! BASMATI !

>> No.7548523
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7548523

Tangentially-related question: How dense does our own debris field have to get to be classified as a planetary ring?

>> No.7548527

>>7547209
>>7547543
>>7547582
>>7547736
If the entire universe outside our solar system ceased to exist, then all the photons flying around would cease to exist as well, and the last photons we would see from any extraterrestrial object would be the ones at the edge of our solar system. So the entire starry sky would go black in a few hours to days depending on where the edge of the solar system is.