Way back on 20 August 1977 Voyager One was launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, two weeks after its sister Voyager Two. It is now, unlike many of us alive then, still going strong.
What is really astounding is that its processing power is a fraction of that in a smart phone.
It is travelling at 10 miles/sec, it has now reached the outer limits of our solar system. and is about to start sending information that has until now only been seen by telescopes.
Dr Edward Stone from California Institute of Technology has been central to the project from the outset, and who is now in his 70s, said “Many of us on the team dreamed of reaching interstellar space, but we had no way of knowing how long a journey it would be – or if these two vehicles we invested so much time in would operate long enough to reach it. ”
Last night I watched the recent remake of The Day the Earth Stood Still, which though I am still a fan of Keanu Reeves, is not a patch on the original.
It reminds me of how many people think there is life out there, including popstar physicist Brian Cox.
The main argument is that why should we be alone?
My response is that the odds on us being here are so slim I don’t expect it can happen elsewhere, at least not in our time and in a way that we can interact with them.
Here’s the Carpenters, with ‘Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft’, just in case I’m wrong.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BrSVOOK610
My take on that (life in space etc) is that the universe is (perhaps)infinite, or if not, unimaginably vast, so there’s bound to be other beings out there. I don’t expect them all to be carbon-based, though, or even necessarily material. Given the vastness, there’s no particular reason we should ever meet them though.
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I agree. the notion that we could coincide in time space and physical contactability is just not credible.
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