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132-796: In addition to a diversity of alien life , the Stargate universe includes an abundance of humans who, prior to the events depicted in the various Stargate fictional vehicles, have been scattered across the cosmos by advanced aliens. Some of the most significant species or beings in Stargate SG-1 are the Goa'uld , the Asgard , and the Replicators . Stargate Atlantis , set in the Pegasus Dwarf Irregular Galaxy , introduced

264-529: A balance in the interaction between the explorers from Earth and advanced races (of which there were only few in the story) so that alliances could be developed where the advanced races do not give Earth all their technology and knowledge. Stargate SG-1 emphasized its present-day-Earth story frame by frequently referencing popular culture , like The X-Files and Buffy the Vampire Slayer had done before. According to one critic in 1997, Stargate SG-1

396-416: A basic component of the development of a potential extraterrestrial technological civilization, as it is on Earth. Fossil fuels may likely be generated and used on such worlds as well. The abundance of chlorofluorocarbons in the atmosphere can also be a clear technosignature, considering their role in ozone depletion . Light pollution may be another technosignature, as multiple lights on the night side of

528-611: A catalog of microorganisms, with the way each one reacts to sunlight. The goal is to help with the search for similar organisms in exoplanets, as the starlight reflected by planets rich in such organisms would have a specific spectrum, unlike that of starlight reflected from lifeless planets. If Earth was studied from afar with this system, it would reveal a shade of green, as a result of the abundance of plants with photosynthesis. In August 2011, NASA studied meteorites found on Antarctica, finding adenine , guanine , hypoxanthine and xanthine . Adenine and guanine are components of DNA, and

660-581: A critical standpoint, Stargate gives the initial impression of a very confused pop-cultural salad, randomly tossed together out of the vegetable bins of sci-fi, American military triumphalism, and a lot of Orientalizing Egyptomania. Yet the film was a lasting hit". Ultimately, he concludes that Stargate "serves as a neo-mythology able to re-enchant the world, to present an attractive anti-authoritarian option for identity formation and yet functionally equivalent to religion (according to traditional modern definitions) in its creationist tenet". Angela Ndalianis examines

792-530: A fundamental difference in plot structure and set design from other series. There is a disjunction between politics on Earth and the realities of fighting an interstellar war. The Stargate also helps to speed up the exposition of the setting. The race of the Ancients is first mentioned in the Stargate SG-1 season 2 episode " The Fifth Race " as the original builders of the Stargate network and members of

924-459: A genetic standpoint and an evolutionary standpoint, they have shown the most proclivity in utilizing Ancient technology when they encounter it. For the first six seasons of Stargate SG-1 , the ascended Ancients maintain a strict rule of noninterference in mortal affairs of the material galaxy, and the interactions between humans of Earth and the Ancients are restricted to the outcast Ancient characters Oma Desala and Orlin . The Ancients' ascension

1056-479: A groundbreaking discovery they made pertaining to the origins of the universe. The Destiny itself was intended to follow a pre-programmed course to explore these galaxies, but was left uncrewed and lost at the time of the Ancients' ascension . The series starts when a team of soldiers and scientists from Earth step through the Stargate to find the Destiny and are unable to return to Earth. The show focuses mostly on

1188-495: A higher plane of existence with an increased power and capacity for learning. While they are no longer physically present in the universe, their highly advanced technology—including the Stargate—remains behind, all of which has shown to be almost entirely resilient to the decay of time, and has also proven to be the most advanced technology anyone has ever encountered. With humans from Earth as their closest descendants both from

1320-406: A humanoid's neck and wrap around the spinal column. The Goa'uld parasite (generally referred to as a "symbiote") then takes control of its host's body and mind, while providing longevity and perfect health. The Goa'uld are branded as evil by their pretending to be gods and forcing people to submit to their quasi-religious pronouncements. The most powerful Goa'uld in the galaxy are collectively known as

1452-481: A living entity must have the capacity to replicate itself, the capacity to avoid damage/decay, and the capacity to acquire and process resources in support of the first two capacities. Life on Earth started with an RNA world and later evolved to its current form, where some of the RNA tasks were transferred to DNA and proteins . Extraterrestrial life may still be stuck using RNA, or evolve into other configurations. It

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1584-446: A major cultural impact, especially extraterrestrials in fiction . Science fiction has communicated scientific ideas, imagined a range of possibilities, and influenced public interest in and perspectives on extraterrestrial life. One shared space is the debate over the wisdom of attempting communication with extraterrestrial intelligence. Some encourage aggressive methods to try to contact intelligent extraterrestrial life. Others – citing

1716-534: A math equation, none of its values were known at the time. Although some values may eventually be measured, others are based on social sciences and are not knowable by their very nature. This does not allow one to make noteworthy conclusions from the equation. Based on observations from the Hubble Space Telescope , there are nearly 2 trillion galaxies in the observable universe. It is estimated that at least ten per cent of all Sun-like stars have

1848-472: A mixed aromatic - aliphatic structure") that could be created naturally, and rapidly, by stars . It is still unclear if those compounds played a role in the creation of life on Earth, but Sun Kwok, of the University of Hong Kong, thinks so. "If this is the case, life on Earth may have had an easier time getting started as these organics can serve as basic ingredients for life." In August 2012, and in

1980-601: A movie script based on the fictional television series " Wormhole X-Treme! ", a parody of Stargate SG-1 set in the Stargate SG-1 universe. The Furlings were depicted as Ewok -like, or koala-like creatures that are destroyed by the Goa'uld soon after making contact with SG-1. The Goa ' uld are the primary adversaries in Stargate SG-1 from seasons 1 to 8. Stargate SG-1 creators Brad Wright and Jonathan Glassner established in SG-1 ' s 1997 pilot episode " Children of

2112-455: A new direction. Like the first two series in the franchise, Stargate Universe takes place during the present time, not in the distant future. Unlike SG-1 and Atlantis , no single dominant villain race is featured. The show is set on the Ancient ship Destiny , which is established as a part of an Ancient experiment to seed the universe with Stargates millions of years ago and investigate

2244-650: A planetary system formed by a star at the center, the Sun , and the objects that orbit it: other planets, moons, asteroids, and comets. The sun is part of the Milky Way , a galaxy . The Milky Way is part of the Local Group , a galaxy group that is in turn part of the Laniakea Supercluster . The universe is composed of all similar structures in existence. The immense distances between celestial objects

2376-466: A potential explanation to the Fermi paradox. If extraterrestrial life exists, it could range from simple microorganisms and multicellular organisms similar to animals or plants, to complex alien intelligences akin to humans . When scientists talk about extraterrestrial life, they consider all those types. Although it is possible that extraterrestrial life may have other configurations, scientists use

2508-570: A reasonable scientific explanation for any gathered data. In 1961, astronomer and astrophysicist Frank Drake devised the Drake equation as a way to stimulate scientific dialogue at a meeting on the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI). The Drake equation is a probabilistic argument used to estimate the number of active, communicative extraterrestrial civilisations in the Milky Way galaxy . The Drake equation is: where: and Drake's proposed estimates are as follows, but numbers on

2640-566: A replacement drug called Tretonin. Ordinary Jaffa bear a black tattoo symbol of their Goa'uld master's insignia on their foreheads, and the highest-ranking Jaffa in the service of a Goa'uld is known as the First Prime , who has the symbol branded in gold. SG-1 encounters three notable Jaffa factions: the all-female Hak'tyl ("liberation") led by Ishta in season 7's " Birthright ", the Ancient -worshipping Sodan in season 9's " Babylon ", and

2772-443: A result has been conceived, even if hypothetical. Evolution requires life to be divided into individual organisms, and no alternative organisation has been satisfactorily proposed either. At the basic level, membranes define the limit of a cell, between it and its environment, while remaining partially open to exchange energy and resources with it. The evolution from simple cells to eukaryotes, and from them to multicellular lifeforms,

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2904-468: A scale. Life on Earth is quite ubiquitous across the planet and has adapted over time to almost all the available environments in it, extremophiles and the deep biosphere thrive at even the most hostile ones. As a result, it is inferred that life in other celestial bodies may be equally adaptive. However, the origin of life is unrelated to its ease of adaptation, and may have stricter requirements. A celestial body may not have any life on it, even if it

3036-476: A series of factors that range from the location in the galaxy and the configuration of the Solar System to local characteristics of the planet, and that it is unlikely that all such requirements are simultaneously met by another planet. The proponents of this hypothesis consider that very little evidence suggests the existence of extraterrestrial life, and that at this point it is just a desired result and not

3168-579: A solvent other than water. The low temperatures required would add an extra problem, the difficulty to kickstart a process of abiogenesis to create life in the first place. Norman Horowitz , head of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory bioscience section for the Mariner and Viking missions from 1965 to 1976 considered that the great versatility of the carbon atom makes it the element most likely to provide solutions, even exotic solutions, to

3300-440: A star's light and heat, and so its lifeforms would not grow beyond a certain complexity. There is also research in assessing the capacity of life for developing intelligence. It has been suggested that this capacity arises with the number of potential niches a planet contains, and that the complexity of life itself is reflected in the information density of planetary environments, which in turn can be computed from its niches. It

3432-660: A system of planets, i.e. there are 6.25 × 10 stars with planets orbiting them in the observable universe. Even if it is assumed that only one out of a billion of these stars has planets supporting life, there would be some 6.25 billion life-supporting planetary systems in the observable universe. A 2013 study based on results from the Kepler spacecraft estimated that the Milky Way contains at least as many planets as it does stars, resulting in 100–400 billion exoplanets. The apparent contradiction between high estimates of

3564-501: A threat. Audiences are also made aware of large numbers of humans in the Ori galaxy, where human worship enhances the power of the Ori. Scholars have remarked on the multiple borrowings of real-world mythology to provide Stargate settings. Mariella Scerri and David Zammit note numerous such uses in Stargate. Frederic Krueger analyses the use of Ancient Egyptian mythology , and concludes: "From

3696-461: A world first, astronomers at Copenhagen University reported the detection of a specific sugar molecule, glycolaldehyde , in a distant star system. The molecule was found around the protostellar binary IRAS 16293-2422 , which is located 400 light years from Earth. Glycolaldehyde is needed to form ribonucleic acid , or RNA, which is similar in function to DNA. This finding suggests that complex organic molecules may form in stellar systems prior to

3828-402: Is life that originates from another world rather than on Earth . No extraterrestrial life has yet been scientifically conclusively detected. Such life might range from simple forms such as prokaryotes to intelligent beings , possibly bringing forth civilizations that might be far more advanced than humans. The Drake equation speculates about the existence of sapient life elsewhere in

3960-601: Is a difficulty for the study of extraterrestrial life. So far, humans have only set foot on the Moon and sent robotic probes to other planets and moons in the Solar System. Although probes can withstand conditions that may be lethal to humans, the distances cause time delays: the New Horizons took nine years after launch to reach Pluto . No probe has ever reached extrasolar planetary systems. The Voyager 2 has left

4092-501: Is also conceivable that there are forms of life whose solvent is a liquid hydrocarbon , such as methane , ethane or propane . Another unknown aspect of potential extraterrestrial life would be the chemical elements that would compose it. Life on Earth is largely composed of carbon, but there could be other hypothetical types of biochemistry . A replacement for carbon would need to be able to create complex molecules, store information required for evolution, and be freely available in

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4224-416: Is being carried out both directly and indirectly. As of September 2017 , 3,667 exoplanets in 2,747 systems have been identified , and other planets and moons in the Solar System hold the potential for hosting primitive life such as microorganisms . As of 8 February 2021, an updated status of studies considering the possible detection of lifeforms on Venus (via phosphine ) and Mars (via methane )

4356-403: Is common knowledge that the conditions on other planets in the solar system, in addition to the many galaxies outside of the Milky Way galaxy , are very harsh and seem to be too extreme to harbor any life. The environmental conditions on these planets can have intense UV radiation paired with extreme temperatures, lack of water, and much more that can lead to conditions that don't seem to favor

4488-485: Is complex and defined by several factors. Being in the habitable zone is not enough for a planet to be habitable, not even to actually have such liquid water. Venus is located in the habitable zone of the Solar System but does not have liquid water because of the conditions of its atmosphere. Jovian planets or gas giants are not considered habitable even if they orbit close enough to their stars as hot Jupiters , due to crushing atmospheric pressures. The actual distances for

4620-520: Is embodied in the Copernican principle , which states that Earth does not occupy a unique position in the Universe, and the mediocrity principle , which states that there is nothing special about life on Earth. Other authors consider instead that life in the cosmos, or at least multicellular life, may be actually rare. The Rare Earth hypothesis maintains that life on Earth is possible because of

4752-439: Is likely devoid of life. However, Venus is still of interest to astrobiologists, as it is a terrestrial planet that was likely similar to Earth in its early stages and developed in a different way. There is a greenhouse effect , the surface is the hottest in the Solar System, sulfuric acid clouds, all surface liquid water is lost, and it has a thick carbon-dioxide atmosphere with huge pressure. Comparing both helps to understand

4884-435: Is much bigger than that of the whole Pegasus Galaxy. This can only be achieved either through the Stargate or by getting more advanced Hyper drive technology, both of which are present in the city of Atlantis. Stargate Universe was conceived as "a completely separate, third entity" in the live-action Stargate franchise. Although it was firmly entrenched in pre-established Stargate mythology, Stargate Universe diverged in

5016-444: Is no guarantee that it is transmitting radio communications in the direction of Earth. The length of time required for a signal to travel across space means that a potential answer may arrive decades or centuries after the initial message. The atmosphere of Earth is rich in nitrogen dioxide as a result of air pollution , which can be detectable. The natural abundance of carbon, which is also relatively reactive, makes it likely to be

5148-657: Is not guaranteed. The Cambrian explosion took place thousands of millions of years after the origin of life, and its causes are not fully known yet. On the other hand, the jump to multicellularity took place several times, which suggests that it could be a case of convergent evolution , and so likely to take place on other planets as well. Palaeontologist Simon Conway Morris considers that convergent evolution would lead to kingdoms similar to our plants and animals, and that many features are likely to develop in alien animals as well, such as bilateral symmetry , limbs , digestive systems and heads with sensory organs . Scientists from

5280-466: Is that the chemical elements that make up life, such as carbon and water, are ubiquitous in the universe. The third is that the physical laws are universal, which means that the forces that would facilitate or prevent the existence of life would be the same ones as on Earth. According to this argument, made by scientists such as Carl Sagan and Stephen Hawking , it would be improbable for life not to exist somewhere else other than Earth. This argument

5412-421: Is that there are natural sources of such signals as well, such as gamma-ray bursts and supernovae, and the difference between a natural signal and an artificial one would be in its specific patterns. Astronomers intend to use artificial intelligence for this, as it can manage large amounts of data and is devoid of biases and preconceptions. Besides, even if there is an advanced extraterrestrial civilization, there

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5544-447: Is unclear if our biochemistry is the most efficient one that could be generated, or which elements would follow a similar pattern. However, it is likely that, even if cells had a different composition to those from Earth, they would still have a cell membrane . Life on Earth jumped from prokaryotes to eukaryotes and from unicellular organisms to multicellular organisms through evolution . So far no alternative process to achieve such

5676-455: The Ancients , an advanced race of humans from another galaxy who lived on Earth until approximately 10,000 years ago. A Stargate is a device that allows practical, rapid travel between two distant locations. The first Stargate appears in the 1994 film Stargate , and subsequently Stargate SG-1 and its spin-offs. In these productions, the Stargate functions as a plot generator , allowing

5808-604: The Jaffa to serve as soldiers and as incubators for their young via an abdominal pouch. The story of the Jaffa is primarily told through the main character Teal'c . The Jaffa's look in the series was copied from the Egyptian look of Ra from the film. The Jaffa rely on the symbiotes for their immune system or will die a slow and painful death that can only be avoided by either acquiring a new symbiote or by lifelong regular injections of

5940-645: The Ori -worshipping Illac Renin (meaning "Kingdom of the Path") in season 10's " Talion ". The planet Dakara , a holy ground for the Goa'uld and Jaffa alike, is the turning point in the Goa'uld–Jaffa power struggle in season 8's " Reckoning "/" Threads ": It is where the Ancients first landed in the Milky Way Galaxy after fleeing the Alteran Galaxy and later built a powerful device, capable of destroying existing life or creating it where there

6072-778: The Rio Tinto river in Spain. NASA officials soon distanced NASA from the scientists' claims, and Stoker herself backed off from her initial assertions. In November 2011, NASA launched the Mars Science Laboratory that landed the Curiosity rover on Mars. It is designed to assess the past and present habitability on Mars using a variety of scientific instruments. The rover landed on Mars at Gale Crater in August 2012. A group of scientists at Cornell University started

6204-616: The Stargate film. The Stargate device sets apart SG-1 from other science fiction shows by allowing modern-day people to travel to other planets in an instant, although scholar Dave Hipple argued that SG-1 "also deploys [science fiction] stereotypes both to acknowledge forebears and to position itself as a deserving heir". With the help of the central Stargate device, the premise of Stargate SG-1 combines ancient cultures, present-day political and social concerns, aliens and advanced technologies. Near-instantaneous interplanetary travel allows

6336-714: The Stargate universe are populated by humans, there was once an Alliance of four great races. In season 2's " The Fifth Race ", the Asgard tell Jack O'Neill that this strategic alliance had consisted of the Ancients , the Asgard, the Furlings, and the Nox, and that the humans from Earth had taken the first steps towards becoming "the Fifth Race". (This comes full circle in the Stargate SG-1 finale " Unending ", when Thor declares

6468-699: The System Lords . The fictional backstory is established over the course of the series. In season 4's " The First Ones ", it is stated that the Goa'uld evolved on the planet P3X-888, where there are still populations of primitive Goa'uld. Their original hosts were the Unas (meaning "First Ones"), a race of large and primitive humanoids also native to the planet and whom SG-1 had first encountered in season 1's " Thor's Hammer ". The Goa'uld then found and ruled over Earth for thousands of years, masquerading as gods from ancient mythologies and transplanting humans throughout

6600-634: The Wraith and the Asurans . One of the most influential species in Stargate , the Ancients , are revealed to have moved on to a higher plane of existence. "There’s no shortage of familiar myths to be found in the Stargate franchise, even if they are transformed to fit sci-fi parameters." Frederic Krueger notes the re-emergence of the Ancient Astronaut Discourse (AAD) in the 1990s, and points to "the continuous mutual influence between

6732-459: The hydrothermal vents found on the ocean floor are known to support many chemosynthetic processes which allow organisms to utilize energy through reduced chemical compounds that fix carbon. In return, these reactions will allow for organisms to live in relatively low oxygenated environments while maintaining enough energy to support themselves. The early Earth environment was reducing and therefore, these carbon fixing compounds were necessary for

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6864-485: The 15th century, acknowledged the possibility Jesus could have visited extraterrestrial worlds to redeem their inhabitants. Nicholas of Cusa wrote in 1440 that Earth is "a brilliant star" like other celestial objects visible in space; which would appear similar to the Sun , from an exterior perspective, due to a layer of "fiery brightness" in the outer layer of the atmosphere. He theorised all extraterrestrial bodies could be inhabited by men, plants, and animals, including

6996-646: The AAD and popular culture, exemplified via the rather spectacular case of Stargate". For example, an origin theory for human populations shown to inhabit the Milky Way galaxy in Stargate SG-1 holds that the Goa'uld transplanted humans from Earth to other planets for slave labor. Many of these populations were abandoned, often when deposits of the fictional precious mineral naquadah were exhausted, and subsequently developed their own unique societies. Some of these extraterrestrial human civilizations are shown to have become much more technologically advanced than those on Earth,

7128-462: The Ancient mythos further. A benevolent race that, according to the mythology of Stargate , gave rise to Norse mythology on Earth and inspired accounts of the Roswell Greys . The Asgard can no longer reproduce and therefore perpetuate themselves by transferring their minds into new cloned bodies. Extremely advanced technologically, the threat of their intervention protects many planets in

7260-665: The Earth expedition arrives. The existence of the Wraith is restricted to waking en masse every few centuries to replenish their health by galaxy-wide abductions of humans called "cullings", but the arrival of the Atlantis Expedition in the Pegasus Galaxy in the pilot episode " Rising " leads to the Wraith waking prematurely from their hibernation. To sate their hunger, the Wraith try to get to Earth whose population

7392-424: The Goa'uld had transplanted maintain much of their original Earth culture, and Stargate SG-1 does not equate civilization with technology like many other sci-fi shows do. Newly encountered races or visited planets are integrated into the mythology, although plotlines of individual episodes are often new, self-standing and accessible for new audiences, giving a compelling internal coherence. The writers had to strike

7524-479: The Goa'uld, including a floating city. As they have the ability to render themselves and other objects invisible and intangible, as well as the ability to resurrect the dead, they never need to fight. The Nox also appear in " Enigma " and " Pretense ". However, Stargate SG-1 revealed virtually nothing about the Furlings, beside making them the story backdrop of an abandoned site in season 6's " Paradise Lost ". Furling skeletons were originally planned to be featured in

7656-577: The Gods " that the film's unnamed alien race and the Goa'uld are the same. As such, the look of the series' Goa'uld, including the early archvillain Apophis , was based on Ra in the feature film. The Goa'uld are introduced as the first and most prominent alien race in the Milky Way, and are also one of the few nonhumanoid species to appear in the early seasons of the series. They are a parasitic species that resemble finned snakes, which can burrow themselves into

7788-401: The Gods ", which takes place a year after the film, Stargate Command is established in response to an attack by the Goa'uld Apophis , and given the mandate to explore other worlds and obtain technologies that can be used to defend Earth. They encounter other races, such as the Asgard , who masquerade as Norse gods . Stargate SG-1 further extended the backstory of Earth humans by introducing

7920-457: The Milky Way, including Earth, from Goa'uld attack. They also provide much assistance to Earth in the way of technology, equipment, and expertise. Their main adversary in Stargate SG-1 are the mechanical Replicators , against which they enlist the aid of SG-1 on several occasions. The entire Asgard civilization chooses to self-destruct in " Unending ", due to the degenerative effects of repeated cloning. A small rogue colony of Asgard, known as

8052-480: The Ori do not interfere directly in the mortal plane. Instead, they use humans called Priors , which they artificially evolve so that they are one step from Ascension, giving the Priors godlike powers. Because the Ori have worshipers across the entire home galaxy of the Ancients, and use their knowledge to spread, they are nearly unstoppable. For example: Ori warships, built using conventional means while operated through

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8184-584: The Pegasus Galaxy. The story arc of Stargate Atlantis begins in the season 6 finale of Stargate SG-1 , " Full Circle ", where Daniel Jackson first mentions the Lost City of the Ancients. The search for the Lost City continues through SG-1 ' season 7 with the aim to find powerful weapons, and ends with an Ancient outpost found in Antarctica in the season 7 finale " Lost City ". In SG-1 ' s season 8 premiere " New Order ", Daniel Jackson discovers

8316-645: The Pegasus galaxy, but rarely interbred with them. As explained in season 1's " The Defiant One ", the Wraith drove the Ancients from their holdings until only Atlantis was left, defended by its powerful shield and a network of armed satellites. The Atlantis Expedition learn during their arrival in Atlantis in "Rising" that the Ancients submerged the city in Lantea's ocean to evade detection by the Wraith and returned via stargate to Earth, where survivor recollections formed

8448-478: The Solar System at a speed of 50,000 kilometers per hour, if it headed towards the Alpha Centauri system, the closest one to Earth at 4.4 light years, it would reach it in 100,000 years. Under current technology such systems can only be studied by telescopes, which have limitations. It is estimated that dark matter has a larger amount of combined matter than stars and gas clouds, but as it plays no role on

8580-480: The Stargate correspond to constellations and serve to map out coordinates for various destination planets and other locations in space. A typical Stargate measures 6.7 m (22 ft) in diameter, weighs 29,000 kg (64,000 lb), and is made of the fictional heavy mineral "naqahdah". The Stargates were created millions of years ago by an alien race known as the Ancients ; their modern history begins when Egyptologist Daniel Jackson deciphers their workings in

8712-478: The Sun. Descartes wrote that there was no means to prove the stars were not inhabited by "intelligent creatures", but their existence was a matter of speculation. When considering the atmospheric composition and ecosystems hosted by extraterrestrial bodies, extraterrestrial life can seem more speculation than reality, due to the harsh conditions and disparate chemical composition of the atmospheres, when compared to

8844-625: The University of Oxford analysed it from the perspective of evolutionary theory and wrote in a study in the International Journal of Astrobiology that aliens may be similar to humans. The planetary context would also have an influence: a planet with higher gravity would have smaller animals, and other types of stars can lead to non-green photosynthesizers . The amount of energy available would also affect biodiversity , as an ecosystem sustained by black smokers or hydrothermal vents would have less energy available than those sustained by

8976-539: The Vanir, still exist in the Pegasus galaxy. They were able to slow cloning's negative side effects by experimenting on humans. Stargate SG-1 takes place mostly in the Milky Way galaxy. Brad Wright and Jonathan Glassner tried to stay true to the feature film, but also wanted Stargate SG-1 to be unique in its own way. Stargate SG-1 gradually evolved away from the basic premise of the film and developed its own unique mythological superstructure. Stargate SG-1 elaborated on

9108-468: The Wraith evolved in the Pegasus galaxy after a human population seeded by the Ancients was fed upon by an insect called the irratus bug, which has the ability to draw upon a human's life to heal itself. As they fed, the bugs incorporated human DNA into themselves, giving rise to the Wraith. The Wraith have destroyed any civilizations with the potential to threaten their dominance, and few human races in Pegasus surpass Earth in technological advancement when

9240-410: The area surrounding these hydrothermal vents which can suggest that some form of life can be supported even in the harshest of environments like the other planets in the solar system. The aspects of these harsh environments that make them ideal for the origin of life on Earth, as well as the possibility of creation of life on other planets, is the chemical reactions forming spontaneously. For example,

9372-568: The atom speeds, either too fast or too slow, make it difficult for specific ones to meet and start chemical reactions. A liquid medium also allows the transport of nutrients and substances required for metabolism. Sufficient quantities of carbon and other elements, along with water, might enable the formation of living organisms on terrestrial planets with a chemical make-up and temperature range similar to that of Earth. Life based on ammonia rather than water has been suggested as an alternative, though this solvent appears less suitable than water. It

9504-497: The backstory of Atlantis: The city was built by the Ancients millions of years ago, originally as a central outpost in prehistoric Antarctica, until an unexplained crisis—involving a virulent plague—forced them to relocate the city to the planet Lantea in the Pegasus Galaxy via intergalactic hyperdrive engines. The Ancients (known as "Ancestors" to the denizens of Pegasus, and "Lanteans" to the Wraith) seeded several human populations in

9636-584: The basis for the ancient Greek accounts of Lost City of Atlantis . In the Atlantis series finale " Enemy at the Gate ", Atlantis returns to Earth and lands in the Pacific Ocean near San Francisco . The producers intended the city of Atlantis to be the size of Manhattan . Many sets used for Atlantis are part of a large sound stage that was built for almost US$ 2 million. This stage is used for rooms like

9768-404: The brig, several balconies, and other interior parts of Atlantis. Green screens were used if an outdoor view was required in an episode. According to digital effects artist Bruce Woloshyn, the series' original CGI model of the city of Atlantis was over four million polygons, which was feature film in size. This allows the city model to still look good and detailed in extreme close view. Since most of

9900-503: The city is modelled rather than textured, the details appear more realistic when the virtual camera revolves around the city model. The Wraith are the main antagonists in Stargate Atlantis and the dominant species in the Pegasus Galaxy. They are biologically immortal hive-based humanoids who maintain the human worlds of the Pegasus Galaxy as livestock to feed on their "life-force". As established in season 1's " The Gift ",

10032-402: The cold temperatures would make such chemistry take place at a very slow pace. Water is rock-solid on the surface, but Titan does have a subsurface water ocean like several other moons. However, it is of such a great depth that it would be very difficult to access it for study. The science that searches and studies life in the universe, both on Earth and elsewhere, is called astrobiology . With

10164-469: The creation or maintenance of extraterrestrial life. However, there has been much historical evidence that some of the earliest and most basic forms of life on Earth originated in some extreme environments that seem unlikely to have harbored life at least at one point in Earth's history. Fossil evidence as well as many historical theories backed up by years of research and studies have marked environments like hydrothermal vents or acidic hot springs as some of

10296-444: The difficulty for life to appear was not the temperature, but the scarcity of free heavy elements. Planetary systems emerged, and the first organic compounds may have formed in the protoplanetary disk of dust grains that would eventually create rocky planets like Earth. Although Earth was in a molten state after its birth and may have burned any organics that fell in it, it would have been more receptive once it cooled down. Once

10428-413: The end, the star blows much of its content back into the stellar medium, where it would join clouds that would eventually become new generations of stars and planets. Many of those materials are the raw components of life on Earth. As this process takes place in all the universe, said materials are ubiquitous in the cosmos and not a rarity from the Solar System. Earth is a planet in the Solar System ,

10560-466: The episode, but the production of such proved to be too expensive. Jack O'Neill concludes that the Furlings must be cute and cuddly creatures, based solely on their name. In " Citizen Joe ", another character equates the Furlings to Ewoks based on their name. The length of time that the Furling nature remained a mystery in the series turned into a running gag . When Executive Producer Robert C. Cooper

10692-400: The events of the film Dr. Daniel Jackson deciphers the workings of the Stargate and a team is sent through to the planet on the other side. Stargate SG-1 resumes the story of the film, but establishes that Ra was one of many parasitic Goa'uld , aliens who identify as Earth deities to various primitive human communities on planets throughout the Milky Way. In its pilot episode " Children of

10824-717: The film's Egyptian hybrid mythology and mixed in other historical mythologies, coming up with a mythological superstructure that explains the existence of all of the other mythologies in the overarching Stargate narrative. The series expands upon Egyptian mythology (notably the Egyptian gods Apep /Apophis, and Anubis as Goa'uld villains ), Norse mythology (notably the god Thor as an Asgard ally ), Arthurian legend (notably Merlin as an Ancient ally ), and many other mythologies like Greek and Roman mythology . SG-1 does not introduce new alien races as often as some other science fiction television series. Most civilizations that

10956-403: The first hominids appeared 60 million years ago. Life on other planets may have started, evolved, given birth to extraterrestrial intelligences, and perhaps even faced a planetary extinction event millions or even billions of years ago. The brief times of existence of Earth's species, when considered from a cosmic perspective, may suggest that extraterrestrial life may be equally fleeting under such

11088-466: The first places that life could have originated on Earth. These environments can be considered extreme when compared to the typical ecosystems that the majority of life on Earth now inhabit, as hydrothermal vents are scorching hot due to the magma escaping from the Earth's mantle and meeting the much colder oceanic water. Even in today's world, there can be a diverse population of bacteria found inhabiting

11220-410: The formation of planets, eventually arriving on young planets early in their formation. In December 2023, astronomers reported the first time discovery, in the plumes of Enceladus , moon of the planet Saturn , of hydrogen cyanide , a possible chemical essential for life as we know it, as well as other organic molecules , some of which are yet to be better identified and understood. According to

11352-429: The former Alliance of four great races . They were considered humanity's predecessors, originally establishing Earth as their homeworld after they migrated to the Milky Way and having seeded multiple galaxies to allow life to evolve on uninhabited worlds. At the time that the Stargate franchise takes place, the Ancients have long since "ascended", i.e. they shed their physical bodies and live eternally as pure energy on

11484-478: The galaxy to serve as slaves and hosts. A faction of Goa'uld symbiotes named the Tok'ra (meaning "against Ra "), whom SG-1 first encounter in season 2's " The Tok'ra " and become close allies with, formed in opposition to the Goa'uld culturally and militarily millennia ago to live in true symbiosis with their hosts, both beings sharing the body equally and benefiting from each other. The Goa'uld modified humans to create

11616-452: The gate address to the legendary city Atlantis of Greek mythology . The Atlantis Expedition has a multi-nation civilian leadership and a predominantly United States military faction providing security. Their intent is to establish diplomacy with inhabitants of the galaxy and a permanent human base in the city of Atlantis for scientific and military research and exploration. The pilot episode " Rising " of Stargate Atlantis establishes much of

11748-455: The giant planets themselves are highly unlikely to have life, there is much hope to find it on moons orbiting these planets. Europa , from the Jovian system, has a subsurface ocean below a thick layer of ice. Ganymede and Callisto also have subsurface oceans, but life is less likely in them because water is sandwiched between layers of solid ice. Europa would have contact between the ocean and

11880-628: The god Ra transplanted Earth humans throughout the galaxy via the Stargate . As a result, the people of Earth rose up against him and buried their Stargate. The modern history of Earth and the Stargate begins when it is unearthed in Egypt in 1928. The device is brought to the United States in 1939 to keep it out of Nazi hands and eventually installed in a facility in Creek Mountain, Colorado ( Cheyenne Mountain in Stargate SG-1 ). In

12012-404: The habitable zones vary according to the type of star, and even the solar activity of each specific star influences the local habitability. The type of star also defines the time the habitable zone will exist, as its presence and limits will change along with the stars stellar evolution. The Big Bang took place 14 billion years ago, the Solar System was formed 4 and a half billion years ago, and

12144-571: The hierarchy of lifeforms from Earth for simplicity, as it is the only one known to exist. The first basic requirement for life is an environment with non-equilibrium thermodynamics , which means that the thermodynamic equilibrium must be broken by a source of energy. The traditional sources of energy in the cosmos are the stars, such as for life on Earth, which depends on the energy of the sun. However, there are other alternative energy sources, such as volcanoes , plate tectonics , and hydrothermal vents . There are ecosystems on Earth in deep areas of

12276-543: The humans from Earth the Fifth Race.) SG-1 had encountered the Nox in season 1's " The Nox ", a fairy -like people that wants nothing to do with humanity, viewing them as "young" and having "much to learn". The Nox can live to be hundreds of years old and have a great desire for wisdom and understanding. They are extreme pacifists and never employ violence for any reason, even to defend themselves. Although they outwardly seem to be primitive forest-dwellers, they possess superhuman intelligence and advanced technology beyond that of

12408-591: The in-show rationale being that they never suffered the setback of the Dark Ages . The most advanced of these humans were the Tollan , who were destroyed by the Goa'uld in Season 5 's Between Two Fires . Another example of AAD in the mythos is the creation of human populations in the Pegasus galaxy by the Ancients, few of which are technologically advanced, as the Wraith destroy any civilization that could potentially pose

12540-440: The life-abundant Earth. However, there are many extreme and chemically harsh ecosystems on Earth that do support forms of life and are often hypothesized to be the origin of life on Earth. Hydrothermal vents , acidic hot springs, and volcanic lakes are examples of life forming under difficult circumstances, provide parallels to the extreme environments on other planets and support the possibility of extraterrestrial life. Since

12672-405: The main characters to visit alien planets without the need for spaceships or any other fictional technology. Within the Stargate fictional universe, Stargates are large metal rings with nine " chevrons " spaced equally around their circumference. Pairs of Stargates function by generating an artificial stable wormhole between them, allowing one-way travel through. The symbols on the inner ring of

12804-543: The medium. To create DNA , RNA , or a close analog, such an element should be able to bind its atoms with many others, creating complex and stable molecules. It should be able to create at least three covalent bonds: two for making long strings and at least a third to add new links and allow for diverse information. Only nine elements meet this requirement: boron , nitrogen , phosphorus , arsenic , antimony (three bonds), carbon , silicon , germanium and tin (four bonds). As for abundance, carbon, nitrogen, and silicon are

12936-478: The mid-20th century, active research has taken place to look for signs of extraterrestrial life, encompassing searches for current and historic extraterrestrial life, and a narrower search for extraterrestrial intelligent life . Depending on the category of search, methods range from analysis of telescope and specimen data to radios used to detect and transmit communications. The concept of extraterrestrial life, and particularly extraterrestrial intelligence, has had

13068-572: The most abundant ones in the universe, far more than the others. On Earth's crust the most abundant of those elements is silicon, in the Hydrosphere it is carbon and in the atmosphere, it is carbon and nitrogen. Silicon, however, has disadvantages over carbon. The molecules formed with silicon atoms are less stable, and more vulnerable to acids, oxygen, and light. An ecosystem of silicon-based lifeforms would require very low temperatures, high atmospheric pressure , an atmosphere devoid of oxygen, and

13200-558: The mythology behind Stargate SG-1, noting the way it is created by "rewriting centuries-old human mythologies—Egyptian, Norse, Aztec, Greek, Arthurian, Roman—the series takes these myths and 'reboots' them as scientific fact." Norse mythology appears in the shape of the "good-guy aliens the Asgard", deriving explicitly in the fiction from Norse Asgard . In her view, the "layered mythology ... borrows shamelessly" from real-world mythologies, giving examples from several of them. The film Stargate (1994) establishes that five thousand years ago,

13332-504: The native planet that may not be caused by natural causes. There are three main types of techno-signatures considered: interstellar communications , effects on the atmosphere, and planetary-sized structures such as Dyson spheres . Organizations such as the SETI Institute search the cosmos for potential forms of communication. They started with radio waves , and now search for laser pulses as well. The challenge for this search

13464-418: The ocean that do not receive sunlight, and take energy from black smokers instead. Magnetic fields and radioactivity have also been proposed as sources of energy, although they would be less efficient ones. Life on Earth requires water in a liquid state as a solvent in which biochemical reactions take place. It is highly unlikely that an abiogenesis process can start within a gaseous or solid medium:

13596-568: The origin of extraterrestrial life. The Solar System has a wide variety of planets, dwarf planets, and moons, and each one is studied for its potential to host life. Each one has its own specific conditions that may benefit or harm life. So far, the only lifeforms found are those from Earth. No extraterrestrial intelligence other than humans exists or has ever existed within the Solar System. Astrobiologist Mary Voytek points out that it would be unlikely to find large ecosystems, as they would have already been detected by now. The inner Solar System

13728-468: The others are used in other biological processes. The studies ruled out pollution of the meteorites on Earth, as those components would not be freely available the way they were found in the samples. This discovery suggests that several organic molecules that serve as building blocks of life may be generated within asteroids and comets. In October 2011, scientists reported that cosmic dust contains complex organic compounds ("amorphous organic solids with

13860-448: The people aboard the ship and their survival instead of planet-based exploration, and according to Brad Wright, would also "focus on exploration and adventure – and, by extension, the occasional alien encounter as well". In Brad Wright's words, the show was to be "hopefully exploring the truly alien, and avoiding the rubber faced English-speaking one". Alien life Extraterrestrial life , or alien life (colloquially, alien ),

13992-553: The planetary core ceased to generate a magnetic field, solar winds removed the atmosphere and the planet became vulnerable to solar radiation. Ancient life-forms may still have left fossilised remains, and microbes may still survive deep underground. As mentioned, the gas giants and ice giants are unlikely to contain life. The most distant solar system bodies, found in the Kuiper Belt and outwards, are locked in permanent deep-freeze, but cannot be ruled out completely. Although

14124-511: The precise differences that lead to beneficial or harmful conditions for life. And despite the conditions against life on Venus , there are suspicions that microbial life-forms may still survive in high-altitude clouds. Mars is a cold and almost airless desert, inhospitable to life. However, recent studies revealed that water on Mars used to be quite abundant, forming rivers, lakes, and perhaps even oceans. Mars may have been habitable back then, and life on Mars may have been possible. But when

14256-456: The probability of the existence of extraterrestrial civilisations and the lack of evidence for such civilisations is known as the Fermi paradox . Dennis W. Sciama claimed that life's existence in the universe depends on various fundamental constants. Zhi-Wei Wang and Samuel L. Braunstein suggest that a random universe capable of supporting life is likely to be just barely able to do so, giving

14388-476: The probe to study ocean water. Still, Cassini detected complex organic molecules, salts, evidence of hydrothermal activity, hydrogen, and methane. Titan is the only celestial body in the Solar System besides Earth that has liquid bodies on the surface. It has rivers, lakes, and rain of hydrocarbons, methane, and ethane, and even a cycle similar to Earth's water cycle . This special context encourages speculations about lifeforms with different biochemistry, but

14520-438: The problems of survival of life on other planets. However, he also considered that the conditions found on Mars were incompatible with carbon based life. Even if extraterrestrial life is based on carbon and uses water as a solvent, like Earth life, it may still have a radically different biochemistry . Life is generally considered to be a product of natural selection . It has been proposed that to undergo natural selection

14652-439: The producers decided to revamp the series by more than just adding new characters, new villains and new missions. Thus they considered the beginning of Season 9 as the pilot of a new show and replaced the Goa'uld with the Ori as the main villains. The Goa'uld still appeared in the show, but on a regular basis under the command of Ba'al . A major threat in the cosmos, the Ori are Ascended beings who use their advanced knowledge of

14784-433: The researchers, "these [newly discovered] compounds could potentially support extant microbial communities or drive complex organic synthesis leading to the origin of life ." Although most searches are focused on the biology of extraterrestrial life, an extraterrestrial intelligence capable enough to develop a civilization may be detectable by other means as well. Technology may generate technosignatures , effects on

14916-426: The right conditions on Earth were met, life started by a chemical process known as abiogenesis . Alternatively, life may have formed less frequently, then spread – by meteoroids , for example – between habitable planets in a process called panspermia . During most of its stellar evolution stars combine hydrogen nuclei to make helium nuclei by stellar fusion, and the comparatively lighter weight of helium allows

15048-405: The right side of the equation are agreed as speculative and open to substitution: 10,000 = 5 ⋅ 0.5 ⋅ 2 ⋅ 1 ⋅ 0.2 ⋅ 1 ⋅ 10,000 {\displaystyle 10{,}000=5\cdot 0.5\cdot 2\cdot 1\cdot 0.2\cdot 1\cdot 10{,}000} The Drake equation has proved controversial since, although it is written as

15180-422: The rocky surface, which helps the chemical reactions. It may be difficult to dig so deep in order to study those oceans, though. Enceladus , a tiny moon of Saturn with another subsurface ocean, may not need to be dug, as it releases water to space in eruption columns . The space probe Cassini flew inside one of these, but could not make a full study because NASA did not expect this phenomenon and did not equip

15312-532: The same samples suggests that a non-biological reaction is a more likely hypothesis. In February 2005 NASA scientists reported they may have found some evidence of extraterrestrial life on Mars. The two scientists, Carol Stoker and Larry Lemke of NASA's Ames Research Center , based their claim on methane signatures found in Mars's atmosphere resembling the methane production of some forms of primitive life on Earth, as well as on their own study of primitive life near

15444-399: The star to release the extra energy. The process continues until the star uses all of its available fuel, with the speed of consumption being related to the size of the star. During its last stages, stars start combining helium nuclei to form carbon nuclei. The higher-sized stars can further combine carbon nuclei to create oxygen and silicon, oxygen into neon and sulfur, and so on until iron. In

15576-482: The stellar evolution of stars and planets, it is usually not taken into account by astrobiology. There is an area around a star, the circumstellar habitable zone or "Goldilocks zone", where water may be at the right temperature to exist in liquid form at a planetary surface. This area is neither too close to the star, where water would become steam, nor too far away, where water would be frozen as ice. However, although useful as an approximation, planetary habitability

15708-508: The study of Earth's life, the only known form of life, astrobiology seeks to study how life starts and evolves and the requirements for its continuous existence. This helps to determine what to look for when searching for life in other celestial bodies. This is a complex area of study, and uses the combined perspectives of several scientific disciplines, such as astronomy , biology , chemistry , geology , oceanography , and atmospheric sciences . The scientific search for extraterrestrial life

15840-400: The supernatural abilities of the Priors, are generally considered to be the most powerful vessels in the Stargate universe. The Ori might be regarded as a shadow form of the Goa'uld, with the significant difference that the Ori promise ascension to their followers but never provide it. Stargate Atlantis explores the adventures of an elite expedition from Earth, the "Atlantis Expedition", in

15972-539: The survival and possible origin of life on Earth . With the little amount of information that scientists have found regarding the atmosphere on other planets in the Milky Way galaxy and beyond, the atmospheres are most likely reducing or with very low oxygen levels, especially when compared with Earth's atmosphere. If there were the necessary elements and ions on these planets, the same carbon fixing, reduced chemical compounds occurring around hydrothermal vents could also occur on these planets' surfaces and possibly result in

16104-636: The tendency of technologically advanced human societies to enslave or destroy less advanced societies – argue it may be dangerous to actively draw attention to Earth. Initially, after the Big Bang the universe was too hot to allow life. 15 million years later , it cooled to temperate levels, but the elements that make up living things did not exist yet. The only freely available elements at that point were hydrogen and helium . Carbon and oxygen (and later, water ) would not appear until 50 million years later, created through stellar fusion. At that point,

16236-539: The universe to force lesser beings to worship them. In essence, they used to be Ancients, however they split into separate groups due to different views of life. The Ori are religious while the Ancients prefer science. The Ori sway lesser-developed planets into worshipping them by promising Ascension through an invented and empty religion called "Origin". This religion states that they created humanity and as such are to be worshiped by their creations. It also promises its followers that, on death, they will Ascend. However, Origin

16368-608: The universe. The science of extraterrestrial life is known as astrobiology . Speculation about the possibility of inhabited worlds beyond Earth dates back to antiquity. Early Christian writers discussed the idea of a "plurality of worlds" as proposed by earlier thinkers such as Democritus ; Augustine references Epicurus 's idea of innumerable worlds "throughout the boundless immensity of space" in The City of God . Pre-modern writers typically assumed extraterrestrial "worlds" are inhabited by living beings. William Vorilong , in

16500-445: The unusual properties of the meteorite were eventually explained as the result of inorganic processes, the controversy over its discovery laid the groundwork for the development of astrobiology. An experiment on the two Viking Mars landers reported gas emissions from heated Martian soil samples that some scientists argue are consistent with the presence of living microorganisms. Lack of corroborating evidence from other experiments on

16632-428: Was also used as a plot device for the departure of actor Michael Shanks ( Daniel Jackson ) in season 6 of Stargate SG-1 . The fictional background of the Ancients was extended with the franchise's Atlantis mythos that began in the Stargate SG-1 season 6 finale " Full Circle ", and which also served as the basis for spin-off show Stargate Atlantis . The Ori arc of Stargate SG-1 ' s seasons 9 and 10 expanded

16764-402: Was asked "Will we ever meet the Furlings?", his answer was "Who says we haven't?". The writers later went on to state that apart from showing Furling technology and legacy, no member of the Furling race has ever appeared on the show. Producer Joseph Mallozzi claimed that more about the Furlings would finally be revealed in SG-1 ' s tenth season, which turned out to be an imagined scene from

16896-538: Was designed to channel energy from the human worshipers to the Ori. As such, the Ori never help anyone else Ascend because then they would have to share the power that they sap from their worshipers. Their ultimate goal is to completely destroy the Ascended Ancients, who they know as "the Others". All of their efforts, including their technology, are for the purpose of garnering worshippers. As Ascended beings,

17028-471: Was designed to have no nationality, which might appeal to viewers all over the world. The final episodes of season 7 (2004) brought a more global approach to the scenario when the Stargate Program was revealed to over a dozen nations, which further helped the international appeal of Stargate SG-1 . SG-1 learns in season 1's " The Torment of Tantalus " that although most known habitable planets in

17160-417: Was habitable. It is unclear if life and intelligent life are ubiquitous in the cosmos or rare. The hypothesis of ubiquitous extraterrestrial life relies on three main ideas. The first one, the size of the universe allows for plenty of planets to have a similar habitability to Earth, and the age of the universe gives enough time for a long process analog to the history of Earth to happen there. The second

17292-462: Was none before, long before the galaxy was colonized by the Goa'uld or the humans. Since season 8 was intended to be the show's last, the producers had finished it with the defeat of the Goa'uld and the Replicators . However, when the Sci Fi Channel renewed the series, the producers had grown tired of writing endings. Having had good experiences with the first season of Stargate Atlantis ,

17424-399: Was reported. Scientists search for biosignatures within the Solar System by studying planetary surfaces and examining meteorites . Some claim to have identified evidence that microbial life has existed on Mars. In 1996, a controversial report stated that structures resembling nanobacteria were discovered in a meteorite, ALH84001 , formed of rock ejected from Mars . Although all

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