Expert: Jayendra Upadhye - 9/21/2004

Question
Hi,

I'm new to astronomy (though I've always been fascinated by the idea of it) so this may seem like a dumb question. Why is it that our search for life is restricted to other planets? Is life capable of forming in space? Why or why not? Well, thanks for your consideration of my question and your time.

sincerely,
amanda

Answer
Hi,
Amanda, i must admire your courage in asking what you think others might consider as dumb. (People often shy away from doing so and thus prevent themselves from knowing more).

You are right, just as sampling one grain of rice in a bin tells us all about all the grains in that bin, so knowing from our experience of life one earth, by simple induction priciple, we must conclude that life seems to be "everywhere", in the air, below the soil, in the deepest ocean trenches.

What is true of a simple planet like earh must be true for trilions of others.

But the litmus test for life has to be radio transmission if we are to look for it over lightyears of distance.
No other means exist.

Ofcourse, astronomers use photometric techniques and by studying absorption / emission spectra of interstellar gas can find out their composition.
Complex molecules like formic acid have been discovered in these clouds. see this site:-
http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/?id=FORMIC.UIL

Like wise, methyl formate, acetic acid, and glycolaldehyde
have been discovered too.
refer site:-
http://216.239.41.104/search?q=cache:lR5kg5fhfwUJ:cdsaas.u-strasbg.fr:2001/ApJ/j...

Amanda i do not know how old you are, but so if you have difficulty with what i will say next, consult someone who will explain it further, or ask me again.

You see, it all stars with elementary hydrogen. the stars cook up higher elements of the periodic table, in their cores using nuclear fusion, and elements beyond iron when they go supernova.

as the expanding supernova cools, the elements aggressively recombine when the recombination temperatures of each compound are crossed.
forming water, salts, and organic compounds of carbon mentioned above.

who knows? (viruses do not transmit radio signals!)perhaps in the dense collapsing cores of proto-stellar globules where the star has not yet ignited, in that dark and warm and dense and wet - yes water and lightning will be there - (as seen in the orion nebula), the conditions are just ripe to form even the first viruses!

After all the viruses ruled supreme on the earth even before cellular life started.
Jayen