JR>      The distances are not that great, and a star with
 JR> planets around it, if at 25 light years distance would be
 JR> accessable in a little over 25 years of Earth time, if the
 JR> space ship employed was capable of travelling at close to
 JR> the speed of light. The time would be relative (A.Einstein)
 JR> E = mc^2
 LA> There is no indication at this time that we will get
 LA> anywhere near to such a speed for many a long day. Besides
 LA> there is no indication of their being any suitable planets
 LA> anywhere as close as that either. Even the ones that some
 LA> claim might exist have NOT been directly seen at all and
 LA> they are at much much greater distances.
The general contention and agreement among scientists now is
that there are more positive indications now than a few years
ago, that life forms can and do probably exist on other planets.
(Have you been looking at the latest news reports?) :-)
The Hubble photographs have in fact been able to detect what
astronomers agree is very likely a picture of a very large
Jupiter type planet which is rotating around a sun similar to
our own.
I didn't say that *we* would be capable yet of being able to
travel at close to the speed of light.
*WE* do not have that capability, but a species which is a few
thousand years technologically advanced than we presently are,
might have such a capability.
Major Donald Keyhoe (USMC ret) belives that based on reports
which were gathered prior to the C.I.A. coverup, indicate that
the likelyhood that UFOs have a more highly advanced state
of the art of technology than we, is very likely.
 LA> It seems to me that it would be necessary to discover how
 LA> to travel much much faster than the speed of light long
 LA> before we realistically think of travelling anywhere near
 LA> far enough to be of any use at all.
 
 LA> Thank you for that comment. However, as in the case of
 LA> the previous message, I decline to comment further on the
 LA> grounds that almost anything that I say will be claimed to
 LA> be off-topic.
 
 JR>      I don't think that a discussion of this subject in
 JR> this echo is off topic. It would be up to the moderator to
 JR> caution you when you do go astray Laurie.
 LA> Since I have had three mild warnings already, then that
 LA> seems to be enough. Sorry.
 LA> Laurie
Sorry to hear that! It was getting interesting! :-)
James
... Peter Norton is the "Betty Crocker" of software!
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