Rosetta comet 'may be home to alien life'

No, not little green or grey men with large bulb heads. The title is...what it is. Not my creation.

Apparently...there is some indications of a microbial life on the comet in question.

The Rosetta spacecraft's Philae lander has sent back information that could point to the existence of microbial alien life on Comet 67P, astronomers from the University of Cardiff have said.

A short snippet...just to get the ball rolling.

There is plenty of links on this...just google it. I havent really red into it since I'm kinda working.

According to astronomer and astrobiologist Professor Chandra Wickramasinghe, the comet's black hydrocarbon crust could be home to microbes not dissimilar to the "extremophiles" found in some of the most inhospitable places on Earth, such as those that live deep in Antarctic ice or in the Mariana Trench.

ex squeeze me for post and run...

Link

Wickramasinghe claims evidence of life all over the place. If he says it, it's a fairly safe bet that there's no truth to it whatsoever.

I have never heard of this man.

Do you have any links or info on his other claims to extraterrestrial life and the reasons he is incorrect in these claims please?

originally posted by: admirethedistance
Wickramasinghe claims evidence of life all over the place. If he says it, it's a fairly safe bet that there's no truth to it whatsoever.

Might be...as I said...I haven't really researched this.

Also..I never heard of him...so...

Here are some interesting snippets from his wiki...

Wickramasinghe and his mentor Fred Hoyle have also used their data to argue in favor of cosmic ancestry,[77][78][79][80][81][82] and against the idea of life emerging from inanimate objects by evolution.[83]

During the 1981 scientific creationist trial in Arkansas, Wickramasinghe was the only scientist testifying for the defense, which in turn was supporting creationism.[83][85] In addition, he wrote that the Archaeopteryx fossil finding is a forgery, a charge that the expert scientific community considers an "absurd" and "ignorant" statement.[86][87]

puts things a little bit more in perspective

a reply to: marioonthefly

So, to be absolutely clear, there are no indications of the presence of microbiological life on the comet.

There are the compounds necessary for certain life to evolve/exist, however there has been no suggestion that there is any evidence which points to the presence of life there, beyond the potential for its existence, given the chemical building blocks which are present.

Although I agree with the scientists quoted in the article, that the possibilities where extremophile lifeforms are concerned, open up the field of possible life bearing locations and planets to those previously thought anathema to all life, and also agree that this should be taken into account when deciding what equipment is placed on a spacecraft, I also believe that it is wise to be absolutely, RIGIDLY clear when reporting on the subject.

Personally, I am of the opinion that it is not appropriate for the journalists who wrote and edited the article you linked to, to use a headline such as they have, because for the laypersons, i.e. nine tenths of the readership of that article, it will seem as if much more probative data has been acquired, than the body of the article would suggest.

a reply to: TrueBrit

There are the compounds necessary for certain life to evolve/exist, however there has been no suggestion that there is any evidence which points to the presence of life there, beyond the potential for its existence, given the chemical building blocks which are present.

is exactly what I understood from the article.

Personally, I am of the opinion that it is not appropriate for the journalists who wrote and edited the article you linked to, to use a headline such as they have, because for the laypersons, i.e. nine tenths of the readership of that article, it will seem as if much more probative data has been acquired, than the body of the article would suggest.

Absolutely. The title is the hit batter....as usual.

originally posted by: nonspecific
I have never heard of this man.

Do you have any links or info on his other claims to extraterrestrial life and the reasons he is incorrect in these claims please?

I'm on my mobile at the moment, and don't have any links handy, but I can post some in a bit. As for Wickramasinghe, in 2013 he claimed to have found evidence of fossilized life in a meteorite. Before that, he claimed to have found evidence of life in the upper atmosphere, raining down from space. Before that, he claimed that SARS had come from space.

Nobody in the scientific community takes him seriously, because his methods are dodgy, at best, and his conclusions don't fit his data. He also refuses to submit his work for peer review (I wonder why), and instead, publishes his papers in The Journal Of Cosmology, a predatory, faux scientific journal, that will publish just about anything for $185, no review necessary.

Amazing claim considering…

Neither the Rosetta spacecraft nor its probe, the Philae lander, which touched down on 67P seven months ago, are equipped to search for life directly.

originally posted by: admirethedistance

originally posted by: nonspecific
I have never heard of this man.

Do you have any links or info on his other claims to extraterrestrial life and the reasons he is incorrect in these claims please?

I'm on my mobile at the moment, and don't have any links handy, but I can post some in a bit. As for Wickramasinghe, in 2013 he claimed to have found evidence of fossilized life in a meteorite. Before that, he claimed to have found evidence of life in the upper atmosphere, raining down from space. Before that, he claimed that SARS had come from space.

Nobody in the scientific community takes him seriously, because his methods are dodgy, at best, and his conclusions don't fit his data. He also refuses to submit his work for peer review (I wonder why), and instead, publishes his papers in The Journal Of Cosmology, a predatory, faux scientific journal, that will publish just about anything for $185, no review necessary.

No need my friend, I did a quick google and it seems he is something of a fanatic.

I could not find much but google has removed pages due to european laws and that raises a few flags for sure.

theres an interesting opinion of him here with some good links.

"However, Wickramasinghe is fervent proponent of it. Like, really fervent. So much so that he attributes everything to life in space. He’s said that the flu comes from space. He’s said SARS comes from space. He’s claimed living cells found in the stratosphere come from space. (There is no evidence at all they do, and it’s far more likely they are terrestrial.) He’s said a weird red rain in India was from space (when it’s been shown conclusively that it isn’t). The list goes on and on. Wickramasinghe jumps on everything, with little or no evidence, and says it’s from outer space, so I think there's a case to be made for a bias on his part"

Full article

a reply to: nonspecific

Lol yeah, that quote pretty much sums it up.

in retrospect....I wish I had the time to look this guy up before creating the thread.

As it stands now...it looks as an unsubstantiated claim mixed "loose" media reporting.

a reply to: marioonthefly


snip from your source in OP:

He (Prof. C. Wickramasinghe) and colleague Dr Max Wallis from the University of Cardiff argue that comets could have helped bring life to Earth, and to other planets in our solar system, including Mars.

Wallis will present his ideas to the Royal Astronomical Society's National Astronomy Meeting in Llandudno today, at which he will argue that Rosetta's discovery of "abundant complex organic molecules on the surface of the comet", are further evidence for possible life on the comet, The Independent reports.

it seems both men support a form of the theory 'pan-spermia'
I, a lay person have always considered the theory possible or likely, ever since I learned of the theory-hypothesis

comets may not have full blown microbes growing on them but comets might have snippets of acids or microbial DNA strands which need a water world environment in which to combine in experimental happenstance... but it took something special for any successful molecular chain to develop an outer membrane and become a cell or independent organism, something that could not happen in deep space

a reply to: marioonthefly

Don't worry about it lol. To someone who doesn't know who Wickramasinghe is, or his history, it seems like a fairly legitimate article. Besides, if you hadn't made this thread, then you wouldn't have had reason to look him up. Now the next time you see him claiming evidence of life (I'm sure it won't be long), you'll have a better perspective on it.

a reply to: St Udio

Nothing wrong with the theory...it is plausible from my corner.

The bottom line, concerning this article, is that there were no microbes discovered...only a possibility that there might be. As everything in this universe...is possible I guess.

originally posted by: admirethedistance
a reply to: marioonthefly

Don't worry about it lol. To someone who doesn't know who Wickramasinghe is, or his history, it seems like a fairly legitimate article. Besides, if you hadn't made this thread, then you wouldn't have had reason to look him up. Now the next time you see him claiming evidence of life (I'm sure it won't be long), you'll have a better perspective on it.

I fully agree, had the OP not put the article up and you had not questioned Wickramasinghe's scientific standing I and many others would have taken his age, qualifications and post as credible.

That was why I asked you for more info on him.

Wickramasinghe, the comet's black hydrocarbon crust could be home to microbes not dissimilar to the "extremophiles" found in some of the most inhospitable places on Earth, such as those that live deep in Antarctic ice or in the Mariana Trench.

Let me unravel this context. .. ehh so there could be alien life created on this comet, because we see the signs ,BUT it doesn't look like Extremophiles as on Earth??

So therefore we didn't find any clues that there was any indication of life..right?

But that's just as good guess as if I say that life on every planet, rock , moon in the entire galaxy that could have this probability..


I can't figure it out any more .. it's like I've got wood to make a fire but I forgot the matches. ..oh well

a reply to: 0bserver1

when they say not dissimilar...they mean it might be similar

originally posted by: admirethedistance
a reply to: marioonthefly

Don't worry about it lol. To someone who doesn't know who Wickramasinghe is, or his history, it seems like a fairly legitimate article. Besides, if you hadn't made this thread, then you wouldn't have had reason to look him up. Now the next time you see him claiming evidence of life (I'm sure it won't be long), you'll have a better perspective on it.

Whatever this guy's reputation-we already have proof that at least two of our earth lifeforms have been documented to survive in space.
Lichen:
www.sciencedaily.com...
Tardigrades:
www.bbc.co.uk...

That at least proves certain organisms have the ability to survive out there,even though they are from the earthly realm.
The question remains as to whether live exists elsewhere,but I would bet we will find out that it does in our lifetime.

a reply to: marioonthefly

No it's Alien as I see it , it can't be similar then IMo