Aliens?

Warning: I have my geeky head on....

I don't go in for conspiracy theories as a rule, just because anyone can make anything seem plausible if they're good at taking half the facts and rearranging the dots before connecting them so to speak, but...

About 20 years ago, one of my mates who was knocking about with 'alternative thinking' sorts suggested that governments knew about alien life, but figured they couldn't just announce it out of the blue because it would be too big of a shock for too many people, so they were going to spend the next few years slowly getting people used to the possibility first. Rubbish of course.

In recent years, we've seen the discovery of the first 'exo-planet'. Then like buses, once one came along, loads started appearing. Separate to that, we've had confirmation of water on several celestial objects in our own solar system, a rethink on the requirements for life having discovered thriving eco-systems in the harshest places on earth, including places that would normally be considered highly toxic to all life. And gradually the science of the possibility of life in unexpected places has become increasingly mainstream.

Today on the BBC news site, there is a pretty cool article.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/earth/earth_timeline

To me, its extra interesting for one particular reason. Not just the geological history of the earth and the moon, but for one particular part of it.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/earth/earth_timeline/first_life

I was taught at school that an absolute requirement for life was an atmosphere containing oxygen. Science has changed since then of course, as new stuff has been discovered that contradicts previous theories, but this bit is quite profound in my opinion. The idea that not only is an oxygen rich atmosphere not necessary for life, but that here on earth it was early life forms that actually produced our oxygen rich atmosphere.

So now we know that stuff can live everywhere, there is water and organic compounds on objects outside of our solar system, and we are finding an ever increasing number of possible places for stuff to live. Are we going to have the existence of little green men confirmed in our lifetimes?

 

Aah, just when I thought it was getting quiet on here

Without looking at the links Dave, the first life to evolve here was anerobic, the red bacteria that still inhabits stagnant pools (probably some blue ones too, but the red is the one you still see)

They were the dominant life form here till another evolved to excrete a gas toxic to them, oxygen.