Geneva, 2 July 2001. The Universe is indescribably huge. Can it be possible that humanity is the only form of intelligent life that exists in all this immensity? Are we really alone ?
Is there anybody out there?
Geneva, 2 July 2001. The Universe is indescribably huge. Can it be possible that humanity is the only form of intelligent life that exists in all this immensity? Are we really alone ?
Throughout history there have been reported sightings of creatures from elsewhere. Science fiction novels and films with flying saucers and bizarre looking aliens are part of our general culture. Perhaps the Earth is really only an experiment designed by mice and soon we will all be destroyed to make way for a new interstellar highway!
The possibility that there is life in the Universe has always excited the general public and scientists are equally enthusiastic. Physicists, biologists, chemists, cosmologists, and astronomers are researching all over Europe to try to answer the age-old question: is there life in the Universe?
What is our understanding at the beginning of the 21st century? Is there any scientific evidence for other forms of life? How can you define life? What signs are we looking for? What would the reaction be if other forms of life were discovered?
The European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN1), the European Space Agency (ESA) and the European Southern Observatory (ESO), in cooperation with European Association for Astronomy Education ( EAAE), have organised a competition to find out what young people in Europe think. The European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) and the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) are also involved.
This programme "Life in the Universe" is being mounted in collaboration with the research directorate of the European Commission for the European Week of Science and Technology in November 2001. Competitions are already underway in 23 European countries to find the best projects from school students between 14 and 18. The projects can be scientific or they can be a piece of art, a theatrical performance, poetry or even a musical performance. The only restriction is that the final work must be based on scientific evidence. Two winning teams from each country will be invited to a final event at CERN in Geneva on 8-11 November 2001 to present their projects to a panel of International Experts at a special three day event devoted to understanding the possibility of other life forms existing in our Universe. This final event will be broadcast all over the world via the Internet.
The home base of the "Life in the Universe" project is a vibrant web space where details of the programme can be found. It is still under development but already has a wealth of information and links to the national websites, where all entries are posted.
- Is there other life in the Universe? We do not know - but the search is on!
To find out what is happening for "Life in the Universe" in each country contact the National Steering Committees:
| Austria Mr Christian Gottfried Theobaldgasse 16/13 A-1060 Wien Austria Email : christian.gottfried@cern.ch |
Netherlands Mr Gert Schooten Holtmate 14 8014 HA Zwolle Netherlands Email : gertschooten@wish.net |
| Bulgaria Mrs Veselka Radeva Astronomical Observatory and Planetarium PO Box 120 Varna Bulgaria Email : radevi@mail.varna.techno-link.com |
Poland Ms Barbara Popielawska Space Research Center, P.A.N. ul. Bartycka 18a PL 00-716 Warszawa Poland Email : bpop@cbk.waw.pl |
| Denmark Ms Anne Værnholt Olesen Tycho Brahe Planetarium Gammel Kongevej 10 DK-1610 København V Denmark Email : Anne_O@tycho.dk |
Portugal Mrs Felisbela Martins ASTRO - Apartado 52503 Amial 4202-301 Porto Portugal Email : Felisbela.Martins@ip.pt |
| Estonia Kertu Saks Tallinn Technology and Science Centre Energy Põhja Blvd 29, Tallinn 10415 Estonia Email : kertu.saks@energia.ee |
Romania Magda Stavinschi Bucharest, str. Cutitul de Argint 5, RO-75212 Romania Email : magda@roastro.astro.ro |
| Finland Mr Lauri Kervonen National Board of Education PL380 Hakaniemenkatu 2 00531 Helsinki Finland Email : Lauri.kurvonen@oph.fi |
Slovak Republic Mr Dalibor Krupa Slovak Academy of Sciences Stefanikova 49 SK-814 38 Bratislava Slovakia Email : fyzikrup@savba.sk |
| France Mr Bernard Pellequer Geospace Observatoire d'Aniane, Institut de Botanique, 163 rue Auguste Broussonnet, 34090 Montpellier France Email : bernard.pelleque r@geospace-online.com |
Spain Mrs Rosa Maria Ros Dept. Applied Mathematics IV, Technical University of Catalonia, Jordi Girona 1-3, modul C3 Barcelona Spain Email : ros@mat.upc.es |
| Germany Ms Elisabeth Lahr-Nilles Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie Auf dem Hügel 69 53121 Bonn Germany Email : e.lahr-nilles@gmx.de Ou elahr@mpifr-bonn.mpg.de |
Sweden Mr Björn Lingons Mediecenter Stockholm, Box 19612, S-10432 Stockholm Sweden Email : bjlin@avc.edu.stockholm.se |
| Greece Mrs Maragarita Metaxa 63, Ethnikis Antistaseos 152 31 Athens Greece Email : mmetaxa@compulink.gr |
Switzerland Mr Michael Reichen Gymnase de Nyon Route de Divonne 8 Case postale 1260 Nyon 2 Switzerland Email : michael.reichen@freesurf.ch |
| Kevin Nolan School of Applied Science Institute of Technology Tallaght Dublin 24 Ireland E-mail: knolan@seti.it-tallaght.ie |
United Kingdom Mr Alan Pickwick 19 Edale Grove, Sale, Cheshire, M33 4RG United Kingdom Email : Alan_C_Pickwick@compuserve.com |
| Italy Mrs Cristina Palici di Suni Via Giulia di Barolo 3 TORINO Italy Email : palici@aerre.it |
Helen Wilson ESTEC - ADM-AE European Space Agency Postbus 299 2200 AG Noordwijk The Netherlands +31 71 565 5518 (tel) +31 71 565 5590 (fax) Email : Helen.Wilson@esa.int |
| Luxembourg Mr Fernand Wagner Laboratoire de Physique, Lycée de Garçons d'Esch, Boite postale 195, L-4002 Esch/Alzette. Luxembourg Email : fernand.wagner@ci.educ.lu |
Monica De Pasquale CERN CH-1211 Geneva 23 Switzerland +41 22 767 7794 +41 22 785 0247 Email : monica.de.pasquale@cern.ch |
Life in the Universe : Experts
| Ricardo Amils, Centro de Biología Molecular (CBM), Madrid, ES |
Pascale Ehrenfreund, Leiden Observatory, NL |
| Juan Perez Mercader, Centro de Astrobiología, Torrejón de Ardoz, ES |
John Ellis, CERN, Geneva CH |
| Willy Benz, Universitaet Bern, CH |
Maurice Jacob, CERN, Geneva, CH |
| Tilman Spohn, Institut für Planetologie, Münster, DE |
Michel Mayor, Geneva Observatory, CH |
| Roger Bonnet, ex- European Space Agency,Paris, FR |
Monica Grady, Natural History Museum, London, UK |
| Athéna Coustenis, Observatoire de Meudon, FR |
John Zarnecki, Milton Keynes, UK |
| Hubert Reeves, Centre Nationale De La Recherche Scientifique, Paris, FR |
Ian Morison, Jodrell Bank Observatory, Macclesfield, UK |
| Anny-Chantal Levasseur-Regourd, CNRS, Paris, FR |
Peter Schuster, Vienna, AT |