What If the James Webb Telescope Found Alien Life?

The infrared James Webb telescope is 100 times more powerful than the Hubble telescope. It has 18 separate mirror segments made of ultra-lightweight beryllium.

This telescope launched into space on December 25th, 2021. The mission of the James Webb Telescope? To study the history of our Universe from the afterglow of the Big Bang to the formation of solar systems like our own.

This telescope could be the key to finding alien life. If aliens were discovered, what would you say to them?

Transcript and sources: https://whatifshow.com/what-if-the-james-webb-telescope-found-alien-life/

00:00 Telescope background
01:48 Signs of life
03:33 Discovery announcement
05:33 Public reaction

Questions or concerns? Contact us at https://underknown.com/contact/

Get our 100 best episodes in one mind-blowing book: http://bit.ly/ytc-the-what-if-100-book

Join this channel to get access to perks:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCphTF9wHwhCt-BzIq-s4V-g/join

Check out our other shows:
How to Survive: https://bit.ly/how-to-survive-show
Your Body on: https://bit.ly/your-body-on-show
Crazy Creatures: https://bit.ly/crazy-creatures-show

Watch more what-if scenarios:
Planet Earth: http://bit.ly/YT-what-if-Earth
The Cosmos: http://bit.ly/YT-what-if-Cosmos
Technology: http://bit.ly/YT-what-if-Technology
Your Body: http://bit.ly/YT-what-if-Body
Humanity: http://bit.ly/YT-what-if-Humanity

T-shirts and merch: http://bit.ly/whatifstore
Suggest an episode: http://bit.ly/suggest-whatif
Newsletter: http://bit.ly/whatif-newsletter

What If elsewhere:
Instagram: http://bit.ly/whatif-instagram
Discord: https://discord.gg/WzkQPB3nea
Twitter: http://bit.ly/whatif-twitter
Facebook: http://bit.ly/facebook-whatif
What If in Spanish: http://bit.ly/YT-Spanish-what-if
What If in Mandarin: http://bit.ly/YT-Chinese-what-if
Podcast: http://bit.ly/yt-what-if-show-podcast

What If is a mini-documentary web series that takes you on an epic journey through hypothetical worlds and possibilities. Join us on an imaginary adventure through time, space and chance while we (hopefully) boil down complex subjects in a fun and entertaining way.

Produced with love by Underknown in Toronto: https://underknown.com
Contact us at https://underknown.com/contact/

References:

Why infrared? (earliest galaxies edition) – https://asd.gsfc.nasa.gov/blueshift/index.php/2013/09/12/maggies-blog-why-infrared-earliest-galaxies-edition/
The James Webb Space Telescope is fully deployed. So what’s next for the biggest observatory off Earth? – https://www.space.com/james-webb-space-telescope-steps-after-deployment
NASA’s James Webb Telescope Could Detect Alien Life in Just 20 Hours – https://interestingengineering.com/nasas-james-webb-telescope-could-detect-alien-life-in-just-20-hours
NASA is thinking of new ways to find aliens… if they exist – https://www.syfy.com/syfy-wire/nasa-scientists-created-a-scale-for-possible-signs-of-life
A call for a methodical approach to identifying life beyond Earth – https://phys.org/news/2021-10-methodical-approach-life-earth.html
What are chemical signs of life beyond Earth? – https://cen.acs.org/physical-chemistry/astrochemistry/What-are-chemical-signs-of-life-beyond-Earth/98/i46
NASA proposes playbook for communicating the discovery of alien life – https://cosmosmagazine.com/space/astrobiology/what-happens-when-we-find-aliens/
Proxima Centauri: The closest exoplanet to Earth – https://astronomy.com/news/2020/02/proxima-centauri-the-closest-exoplanet-to-earth
Could Extraterrestrial Intelligence Sway Religious Beliefs? – https://www.space.com/10670-extraterrestrial-life-religious-beliefs.html
The Philosophy Of Star Trek: Is The Prime Directive Ethical? – https://www.forbes.com/sites/janetstemwedel/2015/08/20/the-philosophy-of-star-trek-is-the-prime-directive-ethical/?sh=4e140fe72177

#WhatIf #SpaceExploration #Cosmos #Universe #JamesWebbTelescope #SpaceDiscovery #AlienLife