(December 17, 2014 at 4:21 pm)polar bear Wrote: If we are all just "star dust" does that mean the universe is carbon based?
Not necessarily. I was referring to the fact that Earth and Mars are thought to have formed from the same protoplanetary disc under similar forces, so we can expect them to be similar. Earth and Mars are made from approximately the same "star stuff" (ejecta from supernovae).
Is "star stuff" the same everywhere? It's probably similar, but a protoplanetary nebula with differing proportions of elements could produce different results. I am no expert on the subject.
(December 17, 2014 at 4:21 pm)polar bear Wrote: Where, best guess, should we be looking for silicone or other life forms?
Beats me. How would we recognize them from afar? By their metabolic byproducts. What are those? I don't know, but I bet there's theoretical research going on in exoplanetary biochemistry that has some predictions. I'm not privy to them.
