If there are aliens, what will they look like?

[MinnesotaEric]

The aliens will look like different versions of our own development since faster than light space travel also necessitates time travel.

 

[JasperFrank]

Well, there are theoretical constructs that say one could warp space in front and in back of a space craft of some sort and not violate the speed limit of C. What is always left out of that though is that if a space craft using this tech, ever came even close to our solar system, it would cause a gravitational wake, that would re-arrange the orbital trajectories of all our planets.

 

[RoyJackson]

I've got to see the movie "Arrival" again. It shows the difficulties with communicating with aliens.

Excellent movie, as is "Contact" and "Annihilation"

Of course, I prefer the cheesy SF movies of the '50's

 

[Doughknob]

I think they would look like us; pretty sure we crash landed here. If not us, then octopuses. Octopuses definitely crash landed here. They (Octopuses, cuttlefish, and the like) have no genetic cousins and they're super weird. I don't think we should be eating them.

But they taste so good…….

 

[strantor]

But they taste so good…….

So does antifreeze. I mean, you're welcome to eat all the Martians you can cram down your gullet, but don't be surprised when they rise up and have telepathic control over your motor functions.

 

[Doughknob]

Don’t they usually eat US without issues?? Why would we not do ok eating them??

 

[Cougsfan]

I understand your beliefs but what actual proof convinced of "trillions of stars, planet" and "life started on this little remote spot out of nothingness"?

Indeed, there is no actual proof yet that there is life elsewhere. But then there was no actual proof that the world was round prior to Magellan's crew circumnavigating the globe. Prior to that though, there were several ancient scientists who were convinced that the world was round based logic rather than physical proof.

I suppose there is also no proof that life started on this planet out of nothingness. Maybe life was planted here by little green aliens from who knows where. That is entirely possible, but I am not convinced.

 

[BravoXray]

I've got to see the movie "Arrival" again. It shows the difficulties with communicating with aliens.

Yep, that was a great movie. I think I've watched it five or six times, you have to so you can pick up on little things you missed the first few times.
Besides, Amy Adams ain't too hard on the eyes.

 

[BravoXray]

As to the questions about how life could just spontaneously emerge on Earth, this is how one book I read, I don't remember which one it was, explained it.
After the Earth was formed and was cooling off, and water was beginning to rain down and form puddles, lakes and oceans, there were a lot of chemical compounds formed as the different available raw materials were mixed, heated, and struck by lightning. The shear numbers of reactions and possible combinations of those components produced were enormous, on the order of 10 to some very large power. When you have that large of a number of combinations and reactions, it's probable that some are going to be made that have special properties, for example, a molecule that can "eat" other molecules, and use that material to make itself larger or make copies of itself. That was the critical step forward in creating life, being able to reproduce. One of the next critical steps was to create a surrounding shell to protect the nucleus, usually a lipid molecule of some sort. Another crucial step was to either develop or capture another cell or nucleus that was able to convert other captured protocells into food to run it's cellular machinery.
From that point, it was a long process of evolving into a myriad of more complex and differing types of cells until they started clumping together and becoming more specialized, becoming a more complex organism.
None of this is magic or requires divine intervention, it's simply the right combinations being formed by the brute force of enormous numbers of compounds formed over millions of years, some that ended up having special properties that gave it special abilities.
I may not have all the details correct, but this is the general concept of how life most likely arose on Earth.

 

[tradosaurus]

Indeed, there is no actual proof yet that there is life elsewhere. But then there was no actual proof that the world was round prior to Magellan's crew circumnavigating the globe. Prior to that though, there were several ancient scientists who were convinced that the world was round based logic rather than physical proof.

I suppose there is also no proof that life started on this planet out of nothingness. Maybe life was planted here by little green aliens from who knows where. That is entirely possible, but I am not convinced.

So you have a belief system, like everyone else.