Alien Life On Philae Comet, Scientists Say

[Napoléon]

http://news.sky.com/story/1514080/alien-...ntists-say

Evidence of alien life is "unequivocal" on the comet carrying the Philae probe through space, two leading astronomers have said.

The experts say the most likely explanation for certain features of the 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko comet, such as its organic-rich black crust, is the presence of living organisms beneath an icy surface.

Rosetta, the European spacecraft orbiting the comet, is also said to have picked up strange "clusters" of organic material that resemble viral particles.

But neither Rosetta nor its lander probe, Philae, are equipped to search for direct evidence of life after a proposal to include this in the mission was allegedly dismissed.

...

Prof Wickramasinghe said: "What we're saying is that data coming from the comet seems to unequivocally, in my opinion, point to micro-organisms being involved in the formation of the icy structures, the preponderance of aromatic hydrocarbons, and the very dark surface.

These are not easily explained in terms of pre-biotic chemistry.

The dark material is being constantly replenished as it is boiled off by heat from the Sun. Something must be doing that at a fairly prolific rate."

Not sure what to make of this one. Seems like pure conjecture.

[Minimalist]

No, conjecture would be "I have this old book of happy horseshit that says my god came back from the dead."  This is scientists looking at data and formulating a hypothesis.  Not two sides of the same coin at all.

[Napoléon]

It's still conjecture though. It's an opinion/hypothesis based on incomplete data.

[Iroscato]

*Must resist urge to hyperventilate, it's only a theory*
*Must resist urge to hyperventilate, it's only a theory*
*Must resist urge to hyperventilate, it's only a theory*
*Must resist urge to hyperventilate, it's only a theory*
*Must resist urge to hyperventilate, it's only a theory*
*Must resist urge to hyperventilate, it's only a theory*
*Must resist urge to hyperventilate, it's only a theory*

[Napoléon]

SO'S GRAVITY HURRR DURRRPERPPAPAPRPARPP

[Longhorn]

*Must resist urge to hyperventilate, it's only a theory*
*Must resist urge to hyperventilate, it's only a theory*
*Must resist urge to hyperventilate, it's only a theory*
*Must resist urge to hyperventilate, it's only a theory*
*Must resist urge to hyperventilate, it's only a theory*
*Must resist urge to hyperventilate, it's only a theory*
*Must resist urge to hyperventilate, it's only a theory*

Now calm down, inhale....and now exhale....

[Minimalist]

It's still conjecture though. It's an opinion/hypothesis based on incomplete data.

The steps of the scientific method are to:

• Ask a Question
  
• Do Background Research
  
• Construct a Hypothesis
  
• Test Your Hypothesis by Doing an Experiment
  
• Analyze Your Data and Draw a Conclusion
  
• Communicate Your Results
  

They are at Step #3.  They saw an anomaly in the data.  They did some research.  They constructed a hypothesis. 

Whether it survives steps 4-6 is up for grabs but they are proceeding properly.  It will be an interesting experiment if they can devise one.

In the sense you are using it all science is "conjecture" since you never have complete information nor would you even know what complete information is.

[Napoléon]

Fair point Minnie.

[Alex K]

Don't get too excited. I knew the name sounded familiar. The guy has a habit of spuriously claiming life in space...

http://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2...ails-hard/

He's been trying to argue for panspermia since the stone age, and this fits all too neatly into his pet theory.

[Minimalist]

Don't say "panspermia" around Vorlon.