LIFE ON PLANETS

Press, Volume C, Issue 29624, 21 September 1961, Page 13

LIFE ON PLANETS

Working Out Possibility

Combining their knowledge of life and physics, it was possible for scientists to work out the possibility of the existence of life on other planets, said Mr F. Andrews in an address to the Canterbury Astronomical Society, on Tuesday evening. Sufficient light and heat from a star, an atmosphere of the right composition to maintain living organisms, suitable size, and enough time at a constant temperature, were the conditions necessary for a planet to support life. Within a 16-light-year radius of the sun there were only two planets satisfying these conditions, and even on them the chances of advanced life forms existing were very small. Millions of planets in the universe might support primitive life forms, but only on a few thousand was there any possibility of advanced life existing, he said. “How tragic if man destroys himself with modern weapons over differences of opinion which really amount to nothing and are certainly not worth fighting over, taking with him all living things on this planet; perhaps the only abode of intelligent life within thousands of light years,” said Mr Andrews.

“h> the last 3000 million years life has striven towards intelligence. Now that it has obtained it let us hope that it will be used to benefit its owners, not destroy them,” he said.

Problems in the development of electronic telescopes which increase the number of stars which can be seen by the naked eye many times, were described by Mr P. A. Maxwell. When electronic telescopes were fully developed they would be able to be used by amateur astronomers find would revolutionise optical astronomy, he said.

The history of astronomical instruments was briefly dealt with by Mr A. R. Messenger, and he demonstrated a camera which can be mounted on a telescope to photograph the moon. Mr W. H. Allen, in an address on astro-photography, explained how stars were photographed by a special camera which the society uses, and the techniques involved in magnifying star clusters and photographing star trails.