Best Ever Skeptic Comment Against Alien Life

This is a real zinger...

In 2000, a group based in the Cardiff Centre for Astrobiology in Wales declared they had found alien microbes in a Leonid fireball based on an infrared spectra of the organic material. Skeptic Matt Genge had this to say:

The infrared spectra of the Leonid meteors are not evidence for bacteria, nor
are the infrared spectra of comets," Genge said. He added that the data show a
feature that is common in all organic material.

"If you took me, put me in an oven, dried me at 300 degrees and then took my
infrared spectra, I'd have [this feature] too. This would certainly not be
evidence that you'll find Matt Genges on comets.

SOURCE: Space.com

Alien Life On Mars?

Alien life on Mars is a very real possibility. It's not green men, martians, or anything like that, but the organic basis of life, in my opinion, and the opinions of some others, is that there's a big possiblity that life exists on Mars in a very primitive form.

Many conditions on Mars prohibit life from evolving, but not from existing. Many phenomenon that occur on Mars are, if we observe them on this planet, of an organic nature. And there are plenty of inorganic ways that these can be achieved, but my hypthesis is that if their are multiple processes occuring that appear to be of an organic nature, and you can explain each one individually in an inorganic way, doesn't the likelihood of life increase with each seemingly organic process?

For a more detailed post definitely check out my previous post about why I think theres life on Mars.

Is this Ice?

Does this look like ice to you? It's the new scoop of dirt from the Phoenix lander. This very well could be the first color ice picture from the Red Planet. Check out the white substance to the right; definitely looks like ice chips to me, but there is a possibility it is salt.

Exciting times for Mars enthusiasts indeed! I am glued to my computer and NASA TV non-stop around 2-3pm, waiting for the latest news updates.

Come on... let's find a Martian microbe... now THAT would make the 11 o'clock news!

Deep Sky Blog on Google

Just for those who would like to know, we have progressed to Google PageRank of 4. Awesome!

Has Anyone Else Noticed The Similarity?

VS.

I think the likeness is uncanny. What do you think?

Space Shuttle Launches Largest ISS Lab Yet

At 5:02pm, the shuttle launched into space carrying with it the $1 billion Kibo laboratory. The laboratory will be the largest room in the ISS yet, and is approximately the size of a tour bus.

Kibo, Japanese for "Hope", is culmination of 20 years of research and development by the Japanese. This section marks the unofficial start of a collaboration that is turning out to be very international indeed. It is a great symbol of Japanese pride, and should be.

I personally am very excited for the Kibo, and that the Japanese are coming aboard the ISS in a very big way. As an American citizen, I recognize that we sometimes have a severe superiority complex about our nation being the "best", but I'm excited for the Japanese, because to make true progress in the realm of space travel we need to work globally and not nationally.

Congratulations Japan!

We've Struck Ice (we think)!!!

What you are looking at researchers are fairly certain is a layer of ice excavated by the blast of Phoenix's retrorockets.

The possibility still exists that it's just rock, however, I doubt geologists would make that mistake, even with a black and white photograph. I was really hoping for a full color photograph letting us know once and for all if this is what we came to find, or if it's just a layer of rock. Based on the smoothness and the behavior of the soil around it, NASA's putting their money on ice.

The way we look at Mars just changed. Forever.