Posted on

Is the Universe Dying?

Is our 13.8 billion year old universe actually in its death throes? Poor Universe, its demise announced right in it’s prime. At only 13.8 billion years old, when you peer across the multiverse it’s barely middle age. And yet, it sadly dwindles here in hospice. Is it a Galactus infestation? The Unicronabetes? Time to let …

Continue reading “Is the Universe Dying?”

Podcast (audio): Download (Duration: 4:52 — 4.5MB)

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

Podcast (video): Download (Duration: 5:15 — 62.4MB)

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

Posted on

100,000 Galaxies, and No Obvious Signs of Life

Beam us up, Scotty. There’s no signs of intelligent life out there. At least, no obvious signs, according to a recent survey performed by researchers at Penn State University. After reviewing data taken by the NASA Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) space telescope of over 100,000 galaxies, there appears to be little evidence that advanced, …

Continue reading “100,000 Galaxies, and No Obvious Signs of Life”

Posted on

We Really Hope ET is Out There, But There’s Not Enough Scientific Evidence, Researchers Say

[/caption] For many of us who grew up listening to Carl Sagan, watching robotic spacecraft travel to other worlds, and indulging in science fiction books and movies, it’s a given: one day we’ll find life somewhere else in the solar system or Universe. But are we being too optimistic? Two researchers say that our hopes …

Continue reading “We Really Hope ET is Out There, But There’s Not Enough Scientific Evidence, Researchers Say”

Posted on

Antineutrino

[/caption] The antineutrino (or anti-neutrino) is a lepton, an antimatter particle, the counterpart to the neutrino. Actually, there are three distinct antineutrinos, called types, or flavors: electron antineutrino (symbol ̅νe), muon antineutrino (symbol ̅νμ), and tau antineutrino (symbol ̅ντ). Beta Decay which produces electrons also produces (electron) antineutrinos. Wolfgang Pauli proposed the existence of these …

Continue reading “Antineutrino”

Posted on

Life on Earth — and Other Worlds — Could Last Longer Than Expected

[/caption] Most scientists predict that in about a billion years, the sun’s ever-increasing radiation will have scorched the Earth beyond habitability. The breathable air will be toast, the carbon dioxide that serves as food for plant life will disappear, the oceans will evaporate; and all living things will disappear. Or maybe not. A group of …

Continue reading “Life on Earth — and Other Worlds — Could Last Longer Than Expected”

Posted on

Russia Proposes Mission to Search for Evidence of Astroengineering

[/caption]It is probably the most seductive urge for mankind: search for extraterrestrial life. There are many ways to look for life; from digging into the Martian dirt with robotic landers looking for pre-biotic compounds, to building vast radio antennae to “listen” out for distant communications either leaked or transmitted deliberately from a distant star system …

Continue reading “Russia Proposes Mission to Search for Evidence of Astroengineering”

Posted on

Are We Alone?

The chances are very high that you will encounter another intelligent life-form in the course of your life and when you do it may come as a big surprise. When, for instance, did you last visit the zoo? Remember those chimpanzees – very smart. And how about those dolphins at the marine aquarium? Brilliant! And that cat of yours is probably smarter than you think – but your dog will never admit it. Finally that grey parrot your Uncle Ned has may actually know what its talking about! Ultimately by paying attention to signs of intelligence on Earth, we may also come to recognize signs of intelligence amongst the stars.