New Planet, Same Stupidity

And now for a post a little different than the norm...

Astronomers recently discovered a planet outside of our solar system that they believe could potentially support life. It has Earth-like temperatures and "possibly water in liquid form" (Annoying statement...it wouldn't be "water" if it were ice or steam). The average temperature on the planet, named 581 c, is estimated to be somewhere between 32 and 104 degrees, further supporting the theory that it could sustain life. It's a very interesting story, with a gravitational pull stronger than Earth's and an 13 day orbit around it's Red Dwarf star. Read more about the story here, http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/space/04/25/habitable.planet.ap/index.html.

But here's where I get pissed off. Why are we as a species so close-minded when it comes to the possibilities of alien life? Why must any other form of existance need to comply by Earth-life's need for water, temperature, and gravitational standards. Just because all that we know is matter that consists of the 117 elements that we've discovered doesn't mean that there can't be something else in the grand scheme of the universe that our minds can't even comprehend, let alone verbalize.

Obviously the traditional image of aliens is very well known: lanky, human-like bodies, large eyes, a cerebral center of some sort. Most other alien images are variations on the theme. But why couldn't an alien be gaseous, for example. Or even just an essence? It doesn't have to be tangible in any way, and again, we as a species might not even be capable of recognizing it as life, since our brains aren't able to accept the unknown in that manner.

It's just very frustrating to me to see some of the most intelligent minds in science stuck to this theme of matter and elements and qualifications for a planet to be "life-sustaining." Sure, if they're just looking for somewhere that the human race can move to after we destroy our own planet, I guess looking for these types of criteria is the best thing to do. But if we're actually toying with the idea of extraterrestrial life, then we seriously need to just open up our minds.