Some scientists, notably the physicist and writer David Brin, have pointed out the danger of shouting 'we are here' to a potentially hostile cosmos.

The fact is that if a civilisation even a few centuries in advance of ours (in technological terms) were to get wind of our existence then the results could be catastrophic.

For what if Gliese is home to a belligerent lifeform with infinitely superior technology to ours? After all, the history of Earth tells us that when advanced civilisations meet technologically backward ones, the results have been, almost without exception, disastrous for the people with bows and arrows.

If we are unlucky, the inhabitants of Gliese could send an invasion fleet. Since they are 20 light years away, the signal will not reach them until 2028 and it will be some decades after that before the fleet arrives here.

It is important to remember that any aliens capable of flying across the great voids between the stars will be in possession of technology so advanced that fighting them would be like taking on a modern army with spears.

The Jet Propulsion Laboratory reported today that its scientists have concluded that the Red Planet was once awash in … well, water.  NASA said the findings are further spurring interest in searching not only for elements that could support life, but also for evidence of past life.

"The minerals present in Mars' ancient crust show a variety of wet environments," Brown University professor John Mustard, a member of the investigative team, said in a statement. "In most locations, the rocks are lightly altered by liquid water, but in a few locations, they have been so altered that a great deal of water must have flushed though the rocks and soil. We're finding dozens of sites where future missions can land to understand if Mars was ever habitable and, if so, to look for signs of past life."

NASA: Ancient Mars had lakes, rivers and possibly life

The site of the ground control of the Mars Phoenix Lander has been abuzz with activity and excitement. Several recent discoveries is making NASA take a hard look at the possibility of past life on Mars.

There have been evidence of water molecules found both in the soil and in ice found on the lander itself. The Space Administration is mulling over the meaning of some of the finds, all of which have been very exciting for both NASA and the scientists from the United States and Canada that have cooperatively been working on the project.

CAPE CANAVERAL — The Internet has run wild with rumors of some new discovery related to the search for life on Mars.

NASA on Tuesday will answer questions about new data from the Mars Phoenix Lander that helped set off the worldwide internet buzz about the red planet’s ability to support life. The agency plans a 2 p.m. conference call with journalists to discuss hints of a corrosive chemical that could make the Martian soil “Earth-like.”

The hubbub among space enthusiasts began Friday, when the trade magazine Aviation Week & Space Technology published a story noting that the White House had been “alerted” about an announcement on the “potential for life” on Mars.

The Phoenix Lander touched down in May near a Martian pole and found water. For the first time, Martian water ice was scooped up and a sample was placed in one of the analyzing ovens. The four ovens analyze samples but cannot detect life, though they might find some evidence of organic molecules.

Since Friday, the excited blogging became so heavy that Phoenix project officials relied on their Twitter account, aimed at cell phones and instant messages, to try to get the word out that life was not found on Mars and that Phoenix scientists did not meet with the White House.

 Mars mystery deepens, but life hasn’t appeared

Turning the Phoenix Mission's confirmation of water ice on Mars into a thought experiment on the search for little green men (or at least some super microbes), PM's resident geek offers an instant analysis on two diverging worlds—scientific research for alien life (losing funding) and open-source fanaticism for alien intelligence (losing credibility).

The scientific impact of confirming the presence of water on Mars is hard to overstate. Forget the occasional discovery of a new, earthbound species—the so-called “hobbits” of Indonesia, or the recent, mysterious “monster” that supposedly washed up in Montauk. If the chain of evidence on Mars bears out, and NASA's ongoing robotic experiments on the Red Planet eventually yield proof of life, it could open an entirely new field of research for biologists.

What would Martian DNA look like? Would the “red” equivalent of a paramecium have flagella, or some bizarre new organic structure? And if there is one species, it's safe to say there are many more—their fossilized remains buried in the frigid world, or maybe even teeming silently in the layers below the florid surface.

 Search for Life on Mars Phoenix Mission – Do Aliens Exist With Water on Mars? - Popular Mechanics

Physicists from the University of Granada and University of Valencia, analyzing data sent by the Huygens probe from Titan, say they have “unequivocally” proved that there is natural electrical activity on Titan, the largest of Saturn's moons. The world scientist community believes that the probability of organic molecules, precursors of life, being formed is higher on planets or moons which have an atmosphere with electrical storms.

“On this moon, clouds with convective movements are formed and, therefore, static electrical fields and stormy conditions can be produced”, he explained. “This also considerably increases the possibility of organic and prebiotic molecules being formed, according to the theory of the Russian biochemist Alexander I. Oparín and the experiment of Stanley L. Miller”, which managed to synthesize organic compounds from inorganic compounds through electrical discharges. “That is why Titan has been one of the main objectives of the Cassini-Huygens joint mission of NASA and the European Space Agency”, added the researcher.

 Electrical Activity -Key Extraterrestrial Life Indicator-Discovered on Saturn's Titan

He is 8ft tall and has a roar that could start an avalanche.

Despite this, the yeti has always managed to remain abominably elusive.

But yesterday, claims that the legendary beast really does exist took a giant step forward.

Scientists have used microscopes to analyse of strands of hair found caught on some rocks in jungle near the India-Bangladesh border.

The tests showed the thick, wiry hairs do not belong to any of the most common wild animals known to live in the area.

Instead, they bear a 'startling resemblance' to some collected half a century ago by Everest conqueror Sir Edmund Hillary.

Researcher Ian Redmond said: 'The hairs are the most positive evidence yet that a yeti might possibly exist. It might be that the region this animal is inhabiting is remote enough for it to remain undiscovered so far. We are very excited.'

 The single hair that could FINALLY prove the Yeti really exists | Mail Online

NASA has confirmed that the Phoenix Mars Lander has identified one of the crucial ingredients for life in a soil sample.

"We have water," said William Boynton of the University of Arizona, one of the lead scientists monitoring the mission. "We've now finally touched it and tasted it. From my standpoint, it tastes very fine." 

 Dr Boynton said he had described the news as the mission's "Wicked Witch" moment, from the film The Wizard of Oz in which the Wicked Witch exclaims "I'm melting, melting."

The news arrived late last night from the Red Planet, which, depending on it and the Earth's orbits, can be between 33 million and 249 million miles away.

 Phoenix is not the only human presence on Mars at the moment. But unlike the two rovers working near the Martian equator, Phoenix's lifetime cannot be extended much further because it is unlikely to have enough power left to survive the planet's winter.

 Nasa's Phoenix Lander 'tastes and touches' water on Mars - Science, News - The Independent

Laboratory tests aboard NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander have identified water in a soil sample. The lander's robotic arm delivered the sample Wednesday to an instrument that identifies vapors produced by the heating of samples.

"We have water," said William Boynton of the University of Arizona, lead scientist for the Thermal and Evolved-Gas Analyzer, or TEGA. "We've seen evidence for this water ice before in observations by the Mars Odyssey orbiter and in disappearing chunks observed by Phoenix last month, but this is the first time Martian water has been touched and tasted."

 "Phoenix is healthy and the projections for solar power look good, so we want to take full advantage of having this resource in one of the most interesting locations on Mars," said Michael Meyer, chief scientist for the Mars Exploration Program at NASA Headquarters in Washington.

 "Mars is giving us some surprises," said Phoenix principal investigator Peter Smith of the University of Arizona. "We're excited because surprises are where discoveries come from."

 NASA - NASA Spacecraft Confirms Martian Water, Mission Extended

From the wastes of Siberia to the deserts of western China, thousands of people turned out to watch the solar eclipse as it swept across the earth.

The eclipse began in arctic Canada, when the moon first came between the earth and the sun. The shadow then passed across northern Greenland to Russia, where soon after 1000 GMT yesterday darkness descended on the Siberian city of Novosibirsk. Birds fell silent and the temperature dropped suddenly. An eerie wind blew through the assembled throng.

It was the largest city under the eclipse path and more than 10,000 tourists descended on the city, local media reported, booking out hotels months in advance.

In St Petersburg the sun's outer corona appeared, to gasps of amazement from onlookers. "You just feel part of nature," said one. "This is so rare".

 Solar eclipse awes spectators across the globe - Times Online

"It is not widely appreciated that an estimated 25 per cent of the world's impact structures are associated in some way with economic or sub-economic mineral and petroleum resources," said Peter Haines a sedimentologist with the Geological Survey of Western Australia.

Meteor craters may hold untapped wealth | COSMOS magazine