space anomalies. Gradual increase in the length of the astronomical unit

deep space is inexhaustible source information. Astronomical observations helped to navigate the ancient navigators, and they also served as an impetus for the creation of the greatest scientific theories XX century. Some odd behavior celestial bodies found in recent decades, force scientists to think about the development of new theories. Below are four cosmic anomalies that have not yet found an explanation from the point of view of modern physics.

Science was born from the need of people to find answers to questions. A reasonable man tried to explain why the seasons change, it rains, the Moon and the Sun rise, volcanoes erupt. Initially, all these processes were controlled by wayward gods, but gradually they were replaced by strict physical laws. A little later, it turned out that some phenomena do not fit into the picture of the world created by people (or for their description it was necessary to come up with extremely complex explanations). People were forced to come up with new laws that clarified or even refuted the old ones. The heliocentric scheme of the structure of the solar system replaced the geocentric, and classical physics was supplemented by a relativistic one.

Sometimes the discrepancies between theory and experimental data were quite significant. At times, inconsistencies were on the verge of detection, but nevertheless, they were stubbornly traced in all observations. One of the most famous examples such "inconsistencies" - a small deviation of the orbit of Mercury from that predicted on the basis of the laws of Newtonian mechanics. It was discovered at the very beginning of the 20th century. This oddity could only be explained with the help of Albert Einstein's general theory relativity.

To beginning of XXI centuries in astronomy, a certain number of facts have accumulated that require new theoretical constructions for their explanation. All these facts, at first glance, seem insignificant, but, given the experience of the past, scientists are in no hurry to dismiss them. In mid-July, an article appeared in the Cornell University Electronic Preprint Archive naming the four most important cosmic anomalies observed in solar system. Lenta.Ru presents short description each of them.

Anomalous acceleration of spacecraft during flights near the Earth

In 1989, the space shuttle Atlantis launched a spacecraft to explore Jupiter called Galileo. To gain the speed necessary to complete the mission, Galileo flew once near Venus and twice near the Earth. The gravitational influence of the planets accelerated the craft incomparably more than its own engines would allow.

Analyzing data from the first gravitational maneuver around the Earth, astronomers found that Galileo's speed increased somewhat more than calculations predicted. The difference was not very large and could well be due to a calculation error or some random glitch. Astronomers could not check whether Galileo accelerated above normal during the second flyby near the Earth. The orbit of the device ran at an altitude of only 303 kilometers, and earth atmosphere smeared the results of observations.

A few years later, another spacecraft, NEAR (Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous - "meeting with a near-Earth asteroid"), showed an unusual "quickness", which went to study the asteroid Eros. A year later, the Rosetta, flying towards the comet 67P / Churyumov - Gerasimenko, gained extra speed. Oddities in the movement of all devices were noticed when performing gravitational maneuvers near the Earth.

One theory suggests that spaceships. The mysterious substance responsible for most the mass of the Universe (it is also called the hidden mass), participates in the gravitational interaction, but does not participate in the electromagnetic one. Dark matter has not yet been experimentally detected, but many astronomers have reported indirect evidence of its existence. However, in the case of anomalous acceleration of ships, not only the presence of dark matter, but also the execution of the series difficult conditions. Some of them contradict modern views on the nature of dark matter.

Gradual increase in the length of the astronomical unit

An astronomical unit (AU) is one of the length units for cosmic distances. A.e. corresponds to the average distance between the centers of mass of the Earth and the Sun, which is approximately equal to the semi-major axis earth orbit. In kilometers a.u. is 149597870. Modern methods allowed to establish this value with an accuracy of three meters, or up to 2x10 -9 percent.

The authors of the work analyzed the measurement data of the a.u. and concluded that annually this parameter increases by approximately 15 centimeters. The observed effect could be explained by an increase in the mass of the Sun (the AU value is related to the solar mass). However, such an explanation contradicts all our knowledge about the stars. Over time, the luminaries can only lose mass by burning out their hydrogen "fuel". This means that every year the Sun must absorb about 1x10 18 kilograms, which is equivalent to one Moon or 40 thousand average comets. It is unlikely that scientists do not notice such a large meal right under their noses.

Anomaly "Pioneers"

The Pioneer-10 and Pioneer-11 spacecraft were launched in 1972. Their goal was to study Jupiter and Saturn. "Pioneers" were not designed to enter orbit
giant planets. Their path ran beyond the solar system, into deep space. When the devices reached Uranus, astronomers noticed that the radio signals they sent out began to shift to the short-wave region of the spectrum. A similar effect, called the violet shift, is observed relatively rarely (in contrast to the opposite redshift effect). In the case of the Pioneers, the purple shift means that they have begun to slow down. One of the explanations for the fall in the speed of vehicles can be the presence of a certain force that "pulls" them back.

Researchers do not exclude the existence of other possible causes anomalies "Pioneers". Among others, braking due to friction about space dust and gas, the gravitational influence of objects from the Kuiper belt (a region beyond the orbit of Neptune, filled with small objects like asteroids and comet nuclei), errors in calculations, and even leakage of fuel from the vehicles' tanks.

Increasing the eccentricity of the lunar orbit

The moon revolves around the earth in an elliptical orbit. The degree of elongation of this ellipse is characterized by a parameter called eccentricity. Due to the tidal forces acting between the Earth and its satellite, the eccentricity lunar orbit gradually increases. The discrepancy between perigee and apogee (the closest and farthest points of the lunar orbit in relation to the Earth) is about 3.5 millimeters per year. The authors of the work claim that the "stretching" of the Moon's orbit is slightly higher than theoretically expected. Acceptable hypotheses that would explain this phenomenon do not yet exist.

On a note

The authors of the "strange" list work in very respectable scientific institutions- Laboratories jet propulsion(JPL) NASA and Los Alamos National Laboratory. Everyone can make mistakes, but it is difficult to suspect these people of intentionally falsifying data. Perhaps the listed anomalies indicate a lack of theoretical developments within the existing physical laws. But it is possible that they are "protruding ears" of the new laws of physics. In any case, cosmic oddities deserve closer attention.

Ecology of knowledge. Planet: Over the past four years, thanks to the Kepler space telescope, we have learned that there are a lot of planets in our galaxy. But the most interesting fact that Kepler got us is that among all these planets there is nothing like our solar system.

Over the past four years, thanks to the Kepler space telescope, we have learned that there are a lot of planets in our galaxy. But the most interesting fact that Kepler got us is that among all these planets there is nothing like our solar system.

This fact is perfectly visible in the example of the animation "Kepler Planetarium IV", created by Ethan Kruse, a graduate student in the Department of Astronomy at the University of Washington. In it, Kruse compares the orbits of hundreds of exoplanets from the Kepler database with our own solar system, which is shown on the right in the animation, and immediately catches the eye. The animation shows the relative size of the Keplerian planets (although, of course, not on a scale comparable to their stars), as well as surface temperatures.

And further …

It is very easy to see in the animation how strange the solar system seems compared to other systems. Until the start of the Kepler mission in 2009, astronomers assumed that most exoplanetary systems would be arranged like ours: small stone planets closer to the center, huge gas giants in the middle, and icy pieces of stone on the periphery. But it turned out that everything is arranged much more bizarre.

Kepler has found "hot Jupiters," huge gas giants that practically touch the system's stars. As Kruse himself explains, “Kepler's design dictates that it detects planets with more compact orbits much better. In smaller systems, the planets orbit faster, so it's much easier for a telescope to spot them."

Of course, the anomalousness of the solar system against the general background may be due to the fact that our knowledge of other systems is still insufficient, or because, as explained above, we mainly notice smaller systems with a fast periodicity of movement. However, Kepler has already found 685 star systems, and none of them are similar to ours.

Let's think about what extraterrestrial life could be?

Given the size of the universe, there are good reasons to assume the existence of life beyond Earth. And some scientists firmly believe that it will be discovered by 2040. But what do intelligent extraterrestrial life forms actually look like (if they really exist)? For decades, science fiction has described aliens to us as short gray humanoids with large heads and, in general, not much different from human species. However, there are at least ten good reasons consider that intelligent extraterrestrial life is not at all like us.

Planets have different gravity

Gravity is a key factor influencing the development of all organisms. In addition to limiting the size of terrestrial animals, gravity is also the reason why organisms can adapt to various changes. environment. You don't have to look far for examples. All the evidence is in front of us on Earth. According to evolutionary history, organisms that once decided to move out of the water onto land had to develop limbs and a complex skeleton, since their bodies were no longer supported by the fluidity of the water, which compensated for the effects of gravity. And although there is specific range how strong gravity can be in order to simultaneously maintain the atmosphere of the planet and at the same time not crush everything else on its surface, this range can vary, and, therefore, can vary appearance organisms that have adapted to it (gravity).

Let's assume that the Earth's gravity will be twice as strong as it is today. This, of course, does not mean that all complex living organisms will look like dwarf turtle-like creatures, but the likelihood of the appearance of bipedal upright people will be drastically reduced. Even if we can keep the mechanics of our movement, we will become much shorter and at the same time have denser and thicker bones of the skeleton, which will allow us to compensate for the increased force of gravity.

If the force of gravity is half the current level, then, most likely, the opposite effect will occur. Terrestrial animals no longer require powerful muscles and a strong skeleton. In general, everyone will become taller and larger.

We can theorize endlessly about the general characteristics and consequences of the presence of high and low gravity, but we are not yet able to predict the finer details of the organism's adaptation to certain conditions. However, this fitness will definitely be traced to extraterrestrial life (if, of course, we find it).

Planets have different atmospheres

Like gravity, the atmosphere also plays a key role in the development of life and its characteristics. For example, arthropods that lived during the Carboniferous period of the Paleozoic era (about 300 million years ago) were much larger than modern representatives. And it's all thanks to more high concentration oxygen in the air, which was up to 35 percent, against 21 percent, which is now available. One of the types of living organisms of that time, for example, are meganeurs (ancestors of dragonflies), whose wingspan reached 75 centimeters, or the extinct species of giant scorpions brontoscorpio, whose length reached 70 centimeters, not to mention arthropleurs, giant relatives of modern centipedes, whose body length reached 2.6 meters.

If a 14 percent difference in atmospheric composition has such a high impact on the size of arthropods, imagine what unique creatures could result if these differences in oxygen volume were much greater.

But we have not even touched on the question of the possibility of the existence of life, which does not require the presence of oxygen at all. All this gives us limitless possibilities of what this life might look like. Interestingly, scientists have already discovered some types of multicellular organisms on Earth that do not require oxygen to exist, so the possibility of extraterrestrial life on planets without oxygen no longer seems as crazy as it seemed before. The life that exists on such planets will definitely be different from us.

Other chemical elements may serve as the basis for extraterrestrial life

All life on Earth has three identical biochemical characteristics: one of its main sources is carbon, it needs water, and it has DNA that allows it to transmit genetic information future descendants. However, it would be misleading to think that everything else possible life in the universe will follow the same rules. On the contrary, it can exist according to completely different principles.

The importance of carbon to all living organisms on Earth can be explained. First, carbon easily forms bonds with other atoms, it is relatively stable, available in large volumes, and complex structures can appear on its basis. biological molecules required for the development of complex organisms.

However, the most likely alternative to the main element of life is silicon. Scientists, including the famous Stephen Hawking and Carl Sagan, discussed this possibility at one time. Sagan even coined the term "carbon chauvinism" to describe our prejudice that carbon is an integral part of life anywhere in the universe. If silicon-based life really exists somewhere, then it will look very different from what life looks like on Earth. If only because silicon requires much more high temperatures to reach the reactive state.

Extraterrestrial life does not require water

As stated above, water is another important requirement for life on earth. Water is needed because it can be in liquid state even with a large temperature difference, it is an effective solvent, serves as a transport mechanism and is a trigger for various chemical reactions. But this does not mean that other liquids cannot replace it anywhere in the Universe. The most likely substitute for water as a source of life is liquid ammonia, as it shares many qualities with it.

Liquid methane is another possible alternative to water. Some scientific articles written on the basis of information collected spacecraft NASA's Cassini suggests that methane-based life could exist even inside our solar system. Namely, on one of the satellites of Saturn - Titan. Apart from the fact that ammonia and methane are perfectly different substances, which nevertheless may be present in water, scientists have proven that two substances can be in a liquid state even at more low temperatures than water. With this in mind, one might imagine that non-water-based life would look very different.

Alternative DNA

The third key puzzle of life on Earth is how genetic information is stored. For a very long time, scientists believed that only DNA could do this. However, it turned out that there are alternative methods of storage. Moreover, it is a proven fact. Scientists have recently created an artificial alternative to DNA - XNA (xenonucleic acid). Like DNA, XNA is capable of storing and transmitting genetic information during evolution.

In addition to having an alternative to DNA, extraterrestrial life is also likely to produce another type of protein. All life on Earth uses a combination of just 22 amino acids from which proteins are made, but there are hundreds of other naturally occurring amino acids in nature, in addition to those that we can create in laboratories. Therefore, extraterrestrial life can not only have "its own version of DNA", but also other amino acids for the production of other proteins.

Extraterrestrial life evolved in a different habitat

While the environment on a planet may be constant and universal, it can also vary greatly depending on the features of the planet's surface. This, in turn, can lead to the formation of completely different habitats with specific unique characteristics. Such variations can lead to different ways development of life on the planet. Based on this, there are five main biomes (ecosystems, if you will) on Earth. These are: tundra (and its variation), steppes (and their variation), deserts (and their variations), water and forest-steppes (and their variation). Each of these ecosystems is home to living organisms that have had to adapt to certain environmental conditions in order to survive. However, these organisms are very different from the living organisms of other biomes.

The creatures of the ocean depths, for example, have several adaptive features that allow them to survive in cold water, without any source of light and at the same time under the influence of high pressure. Not only are these organisms far from human-like, they are incapable of surviving in our terrestrial environments habitat.

Based on all this, it is logical to assume that extraterrestrial life will not only be fundamentally different from Earth according to general characteristics of the planet's environment, but will also differ according to each biome that exists on the planet. Even on Earth, some of the most intelligent living organisms - dolphins and octopuses - do not live in the same habitat as humans.

They may be older than us

If we believe the view that intelligent extraterrestrial life forms may be more technologically advanced than the human race, then it would be safe to assume that these intelligent extraterrestrial life forms appeared before us. This assumption becomes even more probable if we take into account that life as such in the entire Universe did not appear and develop at the same time. Even a difference of 100,000 years is nothing compared to billions of years.

In other words, all this means that extraterrestrial civilizations there was not only more time for development, but also more time for controlled evolution - a process that allows technologically to change their own bodies depending on the needs, instead of waiting for the natural course of evolution.

For example, such forms of extraterrestrial intelligent life could adapt their bodies for long space travel, by increasing their lifespan and eliminating other biological constraints and needs, such as breathing and the need for food. This kind of bioengineering could definitely lead to a very peculiar state of the organism's body and may even have led extraterrestrial life to replace their natural body parts with artificial ones.

If you think that all of this sounds a little crazy, then know that humanity is moving towards the same thing. One a prime example this may be due to the fact that we are on the verge of creating " ideal people". Through bioengineering, we will be able to genetically modify embryos to obtain certain skills and characteristics of the future person, such as intelligence and height.

Life on rogue planets

The sun is very an important factor existence of life on Earth. Without it, plants will not have the ability to photosynthesis, which will eventually lead to complete destruction. food chain. Most life forms will die out within a few weeks. But we're not talking about one yet. simple fact- without solar heat The earth will be covered with ice.

Fortunately, the Sun is not going to leave us anytime soon. However, in only one of our galaxy Milky Way there are about 200 billion "rogue planets". These planets do not revolve around the stars, but only float senselessly through the impenetrable darkness of space.

Could life exist on such planets? Scientists put forward theories that under certain conditions this is possible. The most important thing in this question is what will be the source of energy for these planets? The most obvious and logical answer to this question may be the heat of its internal "engine", that is, the core. On the ground internal heat responsible for movement tectonic plates and volcanic activity. And although this, most likely, will not be enough for the development complex shapes life, other factors must also be taken into account.

One theory has been proposed by planetary scientist David Stevenson that rogue planets with very dense and thick atmospheres could trap heat, which would allow the planet to keep its oceans in a liquid state. On such a planet, life could develop to a fairly advanced level, similar to our ocean life, and perhaps even begin the transition from water to land.

Non-biological life forms

Another possibility that should also be considered is that extraterrestrial life may represent non-biological forms. These can be both robots that were created to replace biological bodies with artificial ones, and species created artificially by other species.

Seth Szostak, head of the Search for Extraterrestrial Civilizations (SETI) program, even believes that such artificial life more than likely, and humanity itself, thanks to the development of robotics, cybernetics and nanotechnologies, will sooner or later come to this too.

Moreover, we got as close as possible to the creation artificial intelligence and advanced robotics. Who can say with certainty that humanity at some point in its history will not be replaced by durable robotic bodies? This transition is likely to be very painful. And such famous figures as Stephen Hawking and Elon Musk are already aware of this and believe that in the end, the created AI can simply rise up and take our place.

Robots may just be the tip of the iceberg. What if extraterrestrial life exists in the form of energy entities? After all, this assumption also has some basis. Such forms of life will not be constrained by any restrictions. physical bodies and eventually, theoretically, they will also be able to come to the aforementioned physical robotic shells. Energy entities, of course, without a doubt, will not be at all like people, since they will lack physical form and, as a result, a completely different form of communication.

The random factor

Even after discussing all the possible factors described above, chances in evolution should not be ruled out. As far as we (mankind) know, there are no prerequisites to believe that any intelligent life must necessarily develop in the form of humanoid forms. What would happen if dinosaurs didn't become extinct? Would human-like intelligence develop in them in the process of further evolution? What would happen if, instead of us, a completely different species developed into the most intelligent form of life on Earth?

In fairness, it might be worth limiting the sample of potential candidates for the possibility of development among all animal species to birds and mammals. However, even in this case, there are myriads possible types that could develop to a level of intelligence comparable to that of a human.

Such representatives of their species as dolphins and crows are indeed very intelligent creatures, and if evolution at some point turned to face them, then it is quite possible that they were the rulers of the Earth instead of us. Most important aspect is that life can evolve in a variety of (virtually infinite) ways, so the chances that there is intelligent life elsewhere in the universe that are very similar to us humans in astronomical terms are very low. published

Every year, scientists encounter phenomena on Earth and in space that they are unable to explain. In America, not far from the city of Santa Cruz in the state of California, there is one of the most mysterious places on our planet - the Praser zone.

It is located only a few hundred square meters, but scientists believe that this is -. After all, the laws of physics do not apply here. So, for example, people of the same height, standing on a completely flat surface one will appear higher and the other lower. Blame the anomalous zone. It was opened back in 1940. But in seventy years of studying this place, researchers have not been able to understand why this is happening.

George Prazer built a house in the early 40s of the XX century in the center of the anomalous zone. But, a few years after the construction, the house tilted, although the house was built in compliance with all the rules. It stands on a solid foundation, all angles inside the house are 90 degrees, and the two sides of its roof are perfectly symmetrical to each other. Repeatedly this house tried to level. They changed the foundation, put iron supports, even rebuilt the walls. But the house always returned to its former position. The researchers explained this by the fact that in the place where the house was built, the earth's magnetic field was disturbed. After all, even the compass here shows completely opposite information. Instead of north, it indicates south, and instead of west, it indicates east.

Another interesting property of these places is that a person cannot stay here for a long time. Already after forty minutes of being in the Prazer zone, people begin to experience an inexplicable feeling of heaviness, their legs become cottony, their head is spinning, their pulse quickens. Prolonged stay can cause an unexpected heart attack. Scientists cannot give an explanation for this anomaly, one thing is known that such an area can both have a beneficial effect on a person, endowing him with strength and life energy and destroy him.

Explorers of the mysterious places of the Earth, in last years came to a paradoxical conclusion. Anomalous zones exist not only on our planet, but also in space. And it is possible that they are related. Moreover, some scientists believe that our entire solar system is a kind of anomaly in the universe.

After studying 146 star systems similar to our solar system, scientists found that the larger the planet, the closer it is to its star. Closer to the luminary is the most big planet, then smaller ones, and so on.
But in our solar system, everything is just the opposite: the most major planets- Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptupe are located on the outskirts, and the smallest are closest to the Sun. Some researchers even explain this kind of anomaly by the fact that supposedly our system was artificially created by someone. And this someone specially arranged the planets in such an order to make sure that nothing happens to the Earth and its inhabitants.

For example, the fifth planet from the Sun - Jupiter - is a real shield of the planet Earth. The gas giant is in an atypical orbit for such a planet. So, as if specially located so as to serve as a kind of space umbrella for the Earth. Jupiter plays the role of a kind of "trap", intercepting objects that would otherwise fall on Earth. Suffice it to recall July 1994, when fragments of comet Shoemaker-Levy great speed crashed into Jupiter, the area of the explosions was then comparable to the diameter of our planet.

In any case, science now takes the issue of finding and studying anomalies, as well as trying to meet other intelligent beings, already seriously. And this is bearing fruit. So, unexpectedly, scientists made an incredible discovery - there are two more planets in the solar system.

An international group of astronomers recently published even more sensational research results. As it turned out, in ancient times, our planet was illuminated by two suns at once. This happened about 70,000 years ago. A star appeared on the outskirts of the solar system. And our distant ancestors, who lived in the Stone Age, had the opportunity to observe the radiance of two heavenly bodies at once: the Sun and a foreign guest. This star, which tours alien planetary systems, is called the Scholz star by astronomers. By the name of the discoverers of Ralph - Dieter Scholz. In 2013, he first identified it as a star closest to the Sun.

The size of a star is equal to one tenth of our Sun. For how long the celestial body has been visiting the solar system, it is not known exactly. But in this moment Scholz's star, according to astronomers, is located at a distance of 20 light years from Earth, and continues to move away from us.

The researchers are absolutely convinced that the radiation cloud, which is not unexpected for environmentalists, and contrary to weather forecasts, has dissipated only due to the activity of these strange objects in the sky. And there were many such amazing situations.

2010 - scientists experienced a real shock. They considered that the long-awaited answer was received from the brothers in mind. Contact with aliens could become American apparatus Voyager. It was launched to Neptune on September 5, 1977. On board were both research equipment and a message for an extraterrestrial civilization. Scientists hoped that the probe would pass near the planet, and then leave the solar system.

This carrier plate contained general information about human civilization in the form of simple drawings and audio recordings: greetings in 55 languages of the world, children's laughter, sounds of wildlife, classical music. At the same time, the current American president, Jimmy Carter, personally participated in the recording: he turned to extraterrestrial intelligence with a call for peace.

For more than 30 years, the device broadcast simple signals: evidence of the normal functioning of all systems. However, in 2010, the Voyager signals changed, and now decrypt information from space traveler it was not the aliens who needed it, but the creators of the probe themselves. At first, communication with the probe was suddenly interrupted. Scientists decided that, after 33 years of continuous operation, the device simply failed. But just a few hours later, Voyager came to life and began to broadcast very strange signals to Earth, much more complex than they were before. To date, the signals have not been deciphered.

Many scientists are convinced that the anomalies lurking in every corner of the universe are, in fact, just a sign that humanity is just beginning its long journey to understanding the world.

It is very easy to see in the animation how strange the solar system seems compared to other systems. Until the start of the Kepler mission in 2009, astronomers assumed that most exoplanetary systems would be like ours: small rocky planets closer to the center, huge gas giants in the middle, and icy chunks of rock at the periphery. But it turned out that everything is arranged much more bizarre.

Let's think about what extraterrestrial life could be?

Given the size of the universe, there are good reasons to assume the existence of life beyond Earth. And some scientists firmly believe that it will be discovered by 2040. But what do intelligent extraterrestrial life forms actually look like (if they really exist)? For decades, science fiction has described aliens to us as short gray humanoids with large heads and generally not much different from the human species. However, there are at least ten good reasons to believe that intelligent extraterrestrial life is nothing like us.

Planets have different gravity

Gravity is a key factor influencing the development of all organisms. In addition to limiting the size of terrestrial animals, gravity is also the reason why organisms can adapt to various environmental changes. You don't have to look far for examples. All the evidence is in front of us on Earth. According to evolutionary history, organisms that once decided to move out of the water onto land had to develop limbs and a complex skeleton, since their bodies were no longer supported by the fluidity of the water, which compensated for the effects of gravity. And although there is a certain range of how strong gravity can be in order to simultaneously maintain the atmosphere of the planet and at the same time not crush everything else on its surface, this range can vary, and, therefore, the appearance of organisms that have adapted to her (gravity).

Planets have different atmospheres

Like gravity, the atmosphere also plays a key role in the development of life and its characteristics. For example, arthropods that lived during the Carboniferous period of the Paleozoic era (about 300 million years ago) were much larger than modern representatives. And all this is due to a higher concentration of oxygen in the air, which was up to 35 percent, compared to 21 percent, which is now available. One of the types of living organisms of that time, for example, are meganeurs (ancestors of dragonflies), whose wingspan reached 75 centimeters, or the extinct species of giant scorpions brontoscorpio, whose length reached 70 centimeters, not to mention arthropleurs, giant relatives of modern centipedes, whose body length reached 2.6 meters.

Other chemical elements may serve as the basis for extraterrestrial life

All life on Earth has three identical biochemical characteristics: one of its main sources is carbon, it needs water, and it has DNA that allows genetic information to be passed on to future descendants. However, it would be misleading to assume that all other possible life in the universe would follow the same rules. On the contrary, it can exist according to completely different principles.

The importance of carbon to all living organisms on Earth can be explained. First, carbon easily forms bonds with other atoms, it is relatively stable, available in large quantities, and can form complex biological molecules that are required for the development of complex organisms.

Extraterrestrial life does not require water

As stated above, water is another essential requirement for life on Earth. Water is necessary because it can be in a liquid state even at large temperature differences, it is an effective solvent, serves as a transport mechanism and is a trigger for various chemical reactions. But this does not mean that other liquids cannot replace it anywhere in the Universe. The most likely substitute for water as a source of life is liquid ammonia, as it shares many qualities with it.

Liquid methane is another possible alternative to water. Several scientific papers based on information collected by NASA's Cassini spacecraft suggest that methane-based life could exist even inside our solar system. Namely, on one of the satellites of Saturn - Titan. In addition to the fact that ammonia and methane are completely different substances that can nonetheless be present in water, scientists have proven that the two substances can exist in a liquid state even at lower temperatures than water. With this in mind, one might imagine that non-water-based life would look very different.

Alternative DNA

Extraterrestrial life evolved in a different habitat

While the environment on a planet may be constant and universal, it can also vary greatly depending on the features of the planet's surface. This, in turn, can lead to the formation of completely different habitats with specific unique characteristics. Such variations can cause the emergence of different paths for the development of life on the planet. Based on this, there are five main biomes (ecosystems, if you will) on Earth. These are: tundra (and its variation), steppes (and their variation), deserts (and their variations), water and forest-steppes (and their variation). Each of these ecosystems is home to living organisms that have had to adapt to certain environmental conditions in order to survive. However, these organisms are very different from the living organisms of other biomes.

Creatures from the deep oceans, for example, have several adaptive features that allow them to survive in cold water, without any source of light, and still under high pressure. Not only are these organisms far from human-like, they are incapable of surviving in our terrestrial habitats.

Based on all this, it is logical to assume that extraterrestrial life will not only be fundamentally different from Earth life according to the general characteristics of the planet's environment, but will also differ according to each biome that exists on the planet. Even on Earth, some of the most intelligent living organisms - dolphins and octopuses - do not live in the same habitat as humans.

They may be older than us

If we believe the opinion that intelligent extraterrestrial life forms can be more technologically advanced than the human race, then it would be safe to assume that these intelligent extraterrestrial life forms appeared before us. This assumption becomes even more probable if we take into account that life as such in the entire Universe did not appear and develop at the same time. Even a difference of 100,000 years is nothing compared to billions of years.

In other words, all of this means that extraterrestrial civilizations not only had more time to develop, but also more time for controlled evolution, a process that allows them to technologically change their own bodies depending on the needs, instead of waiting for the natural course of evolution. For example, such forms of extraterrestrial intelligent life could adapt their bodies for long-term space travel by increasing their lifespan and eliminating other biological constraints and needs, such as breathing and the need for food. This kind of bioengineering could definitely lead to a very peculiar state of the organism's body and may even have led extraterrestrial life to replace their natural body parts with artificial ones.

If you think that all of this sounds a little crazy, then know that humanity is moving towards the same thing. One clear example of this is that we are on the cusp of creating "ideal people." Through bioengineering, we will be able to genetically modify embryos to obtain certain skills and characteristics of the future person, such as intelligence and height.

Life on rogue planets

The sun is a very important factor in the existence of life on Earth. Without it, plants will not be able to photosynthesize, which will eventually lead to the complete destruction of the food chain. Most life forms will die out within a few weeks. But we are not yet talking about one simple fact - without solar heat, the Earth will be covered with ice.

Fortunately, the Sun is not going to leave us anytime soon. However, there are about 200 billion "rogue planets" in our galaxy alone, the Milky Way. These planets do not revolve around the stars, but only float senselessly through the impenetrable darkness of space.

Could life exist on such planets? Scientists put forward theories that under certain conditions this is possible. The most important thing in this question is what will be the source of energy for these planets? The most obvious and logical answer to this question may be the heat of its internal "engine", that is, the core. On Earth, internal heat is responsible for the movement of tectonic plates and volcanic activity. And although this is likely to be far from sufficient for the development of complex life forms, other factors must also be taken into account.

Non-biological life forms

Seth Szostak, head of the Search for Extraterrestrial Civilizations (SETI) program, even believes that such artificial life is more than likely, and humanity itself, thanks to the development of robotics, cybernetics and nanotechnology, will sooner or later come to this too.

Moreover, we are as close as possible to the creation of artificial intelligence and advanced robotics. Who can say with certainty that humanity at some point in its history will not be replaced by durable robotic bodies? This transition is likely to be very painful. And such famous figures as Stephen Hawking and Elon Musk are already aware of this and believe that in the end, the created AI can simply rise up and take our place.

Robots may just be the tip of the iceberg. What if extraterrestrial life exists in the form of energy entities? After all, this assumption also has some basis. Such life forms will not be constrained by any restrictions of physical bodies and eventually, theoretically, they will also be able to come to the aforementioned physical robotic shells. Energy entities, of course, without a doubt, will not look like people at all, since they will lack a physical form and, as a result, a completely different form of communication.

The random factor

In fairness, it might be worth limiting the sample of potential candidates for the possibility of development among all animal species to birds and mammals. Even so, however, there remain myriads of possible species that could evolve to a level of intelligence comparable to that of humans. Such representatives of their species as dolphins and crows are indeed very intelligent creatures, and if evolution at some point turned to face them, then it is quite possible that they were the rulers of the Earth instead of us. The most important aspect is that life can evolve in a wide variety of (virtually infinite) ways, so the chances that there is intelligent life elsewhere in the universe that are very similar to us humans in astronomical terms are very low.

The original article is on the website InfoGlaz.rf Link to the article from which this copy is made -