Two potentially life-friendly planets found orbiting a nearby star

Post by timClicks » Tue, Jun 18, 2019, 10:04 PM UTC

yongjik wrote: post #254

CWuestefeld wrote: post #192

I saw a study recently, unfortunately I can't locate it now. It discussed the possibility of there having been past civilizations on Earth, hundreds of millions or even billions of years ago. The conclusion was that this can't be entirely ruled out. It noted how few actual fossil remains we have for what we know of dinosaurs, and that there's a lot of space left in those gaps for all the evidence to have been destroy…

I am not a geologist, but it seems improbable for a technical civilization (like our current one) to not leave a global geological mark. For example, our use of fossil fuels changed global carbon isotope composition: our atmosphere now has less portion of C13, because photosynthesis favors the lighter C12 atoms, and all our fossil fuels ultimately derives from photosynthesis.[1] The changed isotope ratio will be dete…

Post by the8472 » Tue, Jun 18, 2019, 10:14 PM UTC

gambiting wrote: post #148

airstrike wrote: post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> And if we are going to build an underground colony....then why not start with one here on Earth? Because if an asteroid hits Earth or if the world superpowers decide to go full nuclear, the underground colony in Mars will survive (unless superpowers decide to nuke that from here as well...)

I'd argue that a colony at the bottom of our own ocean would survive literally any event of any magnitude, maybe except for a direct asteroid strike. In terms of survivability of the human race, that's a better project to start with - and of course then move on to other planets, but underwater/underground colonies would give us lots of insights into living in such environments permanently.

Post by coupdejarnac » Tue, Jun 18, 2019, 10:22 PM UTC

rainygold wrote: post #172

psychometry wrote: post #162

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I had high hopes, but TBP is a terrible novel. It certainly has some fascinating ideas, but just as many ludicrous ones that are equally central to the plot. Not to mention Liu is absolutely terrible at anything relating to characters: dialogue, character development, etc.

Reading that someone else had this opinion of TBP is so valididating. The book receives much hype but the characters are weak and forgettable.

Post by Nition » Tue, Jun 18, 2019, 10:38 PM UTC

CWuestefeld wrote: post #192

I saw a study recently, unfortunately I can't locate it now. It discussed the possibility of there having been past civilizations on Earth, hundreds of millions or even billions of years ago. The conclusion was that this can't be entirely ruled out. It noted how few actual fossil remains we have for what we know of dinosaurs, and that there's a lot of space left in those gaps for all the evidence to have been destroy…

Post by abtinf » Tue, Jun 18, 2019, 11:02 PM UTC

codesushi42 wrote: post #272

abtinf wrote: post #270

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or perhaps that’s ultra-hard mode. Multiple fantastically different independent intelligent species evolving on planets within shooting range of each other with basic industrial technology. If you’ve ever played civilization, it is a helluva lot harder to get started in Europe than in North America.

You consider 12 light years to be within shooting range? Good luck with that.