Why extraterrestrial life may not seem alien

Re:Why extraterrestrial life may not seem alien by AnimalMuppet on Monday August 02, 2021 @12:44PM (#28039067)

First generation stars are stars that are formed from big-bang gas - mostly hydrogen, a bit of helium, a trace of lithium, and nothing more. Second generation stars are formed from the gasses blown off by the novas of first generation stars. Third generation stars are from the novas of second generation stars.

I suspect that the claim that life as we know it can only evolve there is because life as we know it needs a wide variety of chemical elements. We need carbon and oxygen, of course, but also iron and calcium and magnesium and potassium and so on. You're not going to get that around a first generation star. You might not get enough of it around a second generation star.

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Re:Why extraterrestrial life may not seem alien by iamgopal on Monday August 02, 2021 @12:59PM (#28039314)

can by products of first gen / second gen star creates life-form that is alive in whatever sense we think something is alive, but radically different in whatever capability we think a life form must have ? What is alive in the sense for us to search in universe ?

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Re:Why extraterrestrial life may not seem alien by dogma1138 on Monday August 02, 2021 @01:34PM (#28039876)

First gen unlikely unless life can form from the elements created during the Big Bang and w/e minute amounts were created due to solar radiation during the life of the star.

And most importantly first gen stars can’t form planets other than gas giants and even gas giants are questionable because our current understanding that other than a few failed stars these also usually require a heavy element core as a seed.

2nd gen stars are a possibility in a region of space that had a lot of 1st gen stars to nova and there might be sufficient amount of heavy elements already there to form a solar system.

So unless life can form from hydrogen, helium, lithium and beryllium then no life in 1st gen stars.

2nd gen is highly dependent on the region of space although I would posture that any region active enough to create sufficient amount of heavy elements would probably remain too active during the 2nd generation for life or at least complex life to form.

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