Do I Believe There Is Life On Other Planets?

Disclosure: Millennium River is an independent website that uses hyperlinks. Some of these links are affiliate links. When you click and purchase a product(s) through these links, I may earn a commission on qualifying sales. This is done at no extra expense to you. You may also support this website via PayPal. Unless it is clearly stated, the content is not sponsored.

What I Believe

Back in the days, pre-2006 that is, there were 9 planets: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto. In August 2006, Pluto was demoted to something called a “dwarf planet”. In my view, I still see Pluto as a planet. Nevertheless, according to the book of officials, there are 8 planets. Out of all these planets, there is only one that is teeming with life: Earth. What about the others? Do they have life, too? No, I do not think there is life on other planets besides Earth. Why? Because all the other planets are either too close or too far from the sun, lack water, and other forms of protection. As a result, this makes them severely hot or cold, and not to mention how inhospitable their terrains are. Planets like Uranus cannot even be landed on due to its gas composition. Venus would be like entering a volcano with intense pressure and fumes, enough to kill you in a matter of seconds.

What Science Says

Science has discovered icy crusts on certain planets or their moons, which leads to the possibility of there being an ocean beneath their crusts. Keyword: possibility, meaning that it is all, but confirmed. Even with Jupiter’s moon Europa, scientists are still not 100% certain about whether or not the geysers are even legitimately geysers. If they are, they believe that there must be an ocean beneath its surface. The only problem is proving it. At best, only simple organisms such as single celled microbes have been allegedly found on Mars. More on that later in this post.

The Basics Needs of Living Things

While the modern human requires quite a bit of things to survive and thrive in an urban environment, they too, like all other forms of life, require five vital things: sunlight, water, air, nutrition, and an appropriate habitat.

Sunlight

The sun plays an extremely important role in the sustenance of life. Without it, Earth would be a lifeless planet of ice crusts — a similar scenario to the other planets. The sun prevents massive ice crusts from forming across the entire planet, warms the oceans, moves the atmosphere, generates weather and seasons, and allows plants to grow, which provide food and oxygen for Earth’s lifeforms.

Water

All organisms on Earth are composed of water. The human body for example, is between 50-75% water. Not only is water crucial for biological functions, but it also serves as a habitat for many plants and animals such as fish, whales, and seaweed.

Air

Animals need oxygen to breathe. An element that is either absent, or extremely minimal on other planets. Earth’s atmosphere is composed of 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, 1% argon, and the rest is trace amounts of carbon dioxide, neon, helium, methane, krypton, hydrogen, nitrous oxide, xenon, ozone, iodine, carbon monoxide, and ammonia.

Nutrition

All animals are heterotrophs. This means that they are incapable of producing their own food. They are dependent on the intake of nutrition from other organic sources, be it another animal or plant. Even autotrophs such as plants, require nutrients to survive and serve as food or shelter for the heterotrophs that feed or live on them. Nutrition is needed to function biologically: move, grow, cellular repair, reproduce, and other functions.

Shelter/Habitat

All living organisms need a shelter or environment to live in. Their habitats must be able to provide safety, and be of the correct temperature to survive. A tropical saltwater fish for instance, needs to be in an aquatic environment that is not only consistently warm, but also of the right salinity. The modern, urban-dwelling human, requires a safe, clean shelter to not only house their belongings, but also serve as a place to keep them safe from extreme weather and rest.

How Hard Could Life Be In Another World?

Life would not be easy or hard on another planet; it is straight up impossible. I will discuss the extreme conditions of the other planets that prohibit life from living on them.

Mercury

It has been an extremely long time since I have revisited the topic of planets. Therefore, I was under the impression that with Mercury being so close to the sun, it would naturally be the hottest planet. False. It is actually Venus that is the hottest. Similarly to Venus and Mars, Mercury has a rocky, solid, cratered surface, making it a terrestrial planet. Now what makes Mercury uninhabitable? It does not have an atmosphere, rather it has an exosphere; a thin atmosphere-like volume that surrounds a planet. This means that there is no protection from intense solar radiation. The weather is also extreme with daylight temperatures going up to 430°C, while nighttime temperatures can plunge down to -180°C. Breathability? Mercury’s exosphere is made mostly of oxygen, sodium, hydrogen, helium and potassium. Some sources say that oxygen is actually almost non-existent on the planet. Either way, Mercurian air is too thin to breathe.

Venus

Venus differs from other planets, in that rather than having an extremely thin or non-existent atmosphere, it has a thick atmosphere. It is largely made up of carbon dioxide. Venus’ atmosphere traps heat in a runaway greenhouse effect, resulting in making it the hottest planet in the solar system. Here, the surface temperature is 430°C — hot enough to melt lead. If you were to come as you are to Venus, you be crushed by the extreme air pressure, suffocate from the carbon dioxide, be scorched from the heat, and be dissolved by the acid. Indeed a morbid mental image. Living a Venusian life is impossible.

Mars

The fourth planet from the sun. It is often called the red planet, due to the iron minerals that oxidize or rust in Martian soil, attributing to its red-orange appearance. This planet is one of the most explored places (in terms of equipment sent there). It is also the only one that had rovers sent there to roam and gather details about the Martian landscape. However, there are two major obstacles preventing life from living on Mars: too cold and unbreathable. The average Martian temperature is -60°C, while temperatures near the poles can plunge down to an even lower -125°C. Near the equator, temperatures can reach 20°C during summer, but then they can consequently dive down to -73°C at night. As for the atmosphere, it is virtually non-existent. Since the Martian atmosphere is so thin, it cannot retain heat. And speaking of atmosphere, it is 95% carbon monoxide and less than 1% oxygen, rendering it impossible to get a breath of fresh Martian air. There has been some talks and theories about how we could make Mars a more breathable place. I personally do not believe that there will ever be a way to breathe on Mars. We have not been able to figure out how to even get humans to safely land there, yet alone get creative with whatever ice or vapors Mars has to offer.

As promised from earlier, I would touch on the discovery of life on Mars. According to an article that took place this month, fossilized bacteria was found in a meteorite from Mars. But what about Mars itself? What the articles do not mention, is whether or not the meteorite could have been contaminated from Earth. To date, life has never been found on Mars proper, despite all the speculations and theories about it possibly once being a lush, supportive planet long ago.

Jupiter

The fifth and largest planet in our solar system. It is so big, that using the basketball and grape analogy, Earth is the grape and Jupiter is the basketball. Unlike basketballs, Jupiter is not a solid sphere. Jupiter, like Uranus and Neptune, does not have a solid surface which is also why we have not been able to get space probes to land there. The planet is made almost entirely of hydrogen and helium. As for temperature, Jupiter averages -145°C. Attempting to live on Jupiter would result in being suffocated, crushed from atmospheric pressure and frozen. A rather similar scenario to Venus, only with severe cold and no acid.

Saturn

The sixth planet and also the second largest planet within our solar system. Saturn’s signature feature is its large, beautiful rings. These rings make it stand out from all the other planets. Similarly to Jupiter, Saturn is also almost entirely made of hydrogen. 94% hydrogen, 6% helium and traces of other gases. This of course, means that it is impossible to set a foot on the planet, without sinking in, freezing and getting destroyed. Speaking of freezing, the average temperature of Saturn is -178 °Celsius. Saturnian living is impossible.

Uranus

The seventh planet from the Sun. In like manner to Jupiter and Saturn, Uranus is also largely made up of hydrogen and helium, but also has one major difference: methane. The methane scatters blue light, contributing to Uranus’ pale blue appearance. The lack of a solid surface, average temperature of -214 °C, and no oxygen means life is impossible on Uranus. I should also mention that because this planet rotates on its side, its north pole gets 21 years of nighttime in winter, 21 years of daytime in summer, and 42 years of day and night in the spring and fall. Not something anything on Earth would ever get used to.

Neptune

Neptune is the eighth and furthest planet from the sun. Despite being further from the sun than Uranus, it oddly happens to have an average temperature of -214 °C just like it. Some sources do state the average is actually -220 °C. Either way, it is not terribly off and both are severely cold. Unlike Uranus which consists of 83% hydrogen, 15% helium and 2% methane, Neptune is 80% Hydrogen, 19% Helium, and 1.5% Methane. This explains why Neptune is a darker blue than its close counterpart Uranus. Aside from being extremely cold and having a poisonous atmospheric composition, Neptune has two other major problems that will forever stop anyone from becoming a Neptunian: Firstly, it has no solid surface to land on, meaning that you would sink into its 5000°C core. That is, if you somehow managed to go deep enough without being crushed and frozen from the surface. Secondly, winds push clouds of frozen methane across the planet at speeds of more than 2,000 km/h. The most powerful winds on Earth only top 400 km/h. This effectively means that winds are five times more powerful on Neptune than they are on Earth. This makes Earth’s hurricanes and tornadoes look like a child blowing out candles on their birthday cake.

Honourable Mention: Pluto

Do you remember the days when Pluto was our 9th planet? I do. For anybody that does not know why it lost its planetary status, it is because the International Astronomical Union (IAU) officialized the definition of what a planet qualifies as:

1. A planet is a celestial body that is in orbit around the Sun.

2. Has sufficient mass for its self-gravity to overcome rigid body forces so that it assumes a hydrostatic equilibrium (nearly round) shape

3. Has cleared the neighbourhood around its orbit.

Pluto meets all, but the third requirement, thus resulting in its dwarf planet status. Now Pluto, as with Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars does happen to have a solid surface. Is it liveable? No. Its distance from the sun results in a temperature range of -223 °C to -233 °C. It also lacks an atmosphere majority of the time, making cosmic radiation a threat. Even when an extremely thin atmosphere periodically forms, it is comprised mostly of nitrogen, methane and carbon monoxide, making it impossible to get a breath of fresh Plutonian air.

Confined To Earth Forever

The summary for all of this? The other celestial bodies are either too cold, too hot, have intoxicating atmospheres that offer no protection from cosmic radiation, have little if any oxygen, and majority of them have atmospheric pressure that is far too hard on living things. That said, if the other planets were to become hospitable, money were no boundary, and technology made it possible to visit planets quickly and safely, what would be the first planet you would like to explore? Comment and let me know. I suspect that most people would choose Mars. Perhaps Venus or Mercury might be a surprising first choice?

The Truth About Alfa Romeo’s Logo Surprised Me Greatly

Disclosure: Millennium River is an independent website that uses hyperlinks. Some of these links are affiliate links. When you click and purchase a product(s) through these links, I may earn a commission on qualifying sales. This is done at no extra expense to you. You may also support this website via PayPal. Unless it is clearly stated, the content is not sponsored.

When You See It

Shortly after finishing my write-up on “Maseromeo” I wanted to attempt drawing the Alfa Romeo and Maserati logos for the Instagram post advertising the story. Seeing as though the Alfa Romeo logo has quite a bit of details on it, it is not the easiest thing to draw. Still, it was doable, and fun nonetheless. But before drawing it, I scrolled around Google Images of Alfa Romeo logos, and saw “Logo Depicts a Man Being Devoured” Emotions of deep shock and fascination entered me. I just could not believe it was that the whole time. After all these years of looking at the brand’s fancy logo, I just thought that was a dragon puffing out a stylized flame. This stuck my radar so much, that I posted the following on Twitter that same day:

“Today, April 02, 2019, I have just learned that the #AlfaRomeo logo depicts a man being devoured by a snake….. 🤯 Who would have thought those pretty-faced Alfa Romeos had a vore-themed side to them. “

And now here I am typing a blog post on Alfa Romeo’s logo. I initially had plans to do another topic, but this one was just too interesting to pass up. Let us take a look at the history behind Alfa Romeo’s badge.

History

1910

Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili, (A.L.FA.) was established on June 24, 1910 in Milano, Italy. Two of Milano’s traditional symbols were used to create the badge: the Milano cross and the biscione. They were put on a disc with the lettering ALFA-MILANO printed around the disc’s edge. These symbols were divided by two Savoy-dynasty knots.

1915

Engineer and entrepreneur, Nicola Romeo, took over the A.L.F.A and his surname was added to the badge. The badge was changed to spell ALFA-ROMEO MILANO.

1925

A golden laurel crown was put on the badge, commemorating victory at the first World Championship.

1946

During World War II, the machines that fabricated the badges for A.L.F.A vehicles were destroyed. As a result, this led to the badges being created in a solo red colour.

1950

With the declaration of the republic, the Savoy-dynasty knots were exchanged with two wavy lines. The badge also went back to its original colour theme.

1972

The wavy lines and the word Milano was removed when the Pomigliano d’Arco Alfasud plant opened.

1982

The laurel wreath was taken off, while the diameter of the logo was increased. The badges’s traditional elements were redesigned, the biscione simplified, and the words ALFA ROMEO were recomposed in the Futura typeface.

2015

The present Alfa Romeo badge no longer has the biscione and cross separated by a yellow line within the centre. The yellow outlines and lettering have also been replaced with bright shades of grey. The badge overall sports a more stylized, modern appearance.

Stood True To Its Roots

As you can see from the images above, the Alfa Romeo badge has actually remained largely the same over the last 100+ years. The only notable period of difference was 1946 – 1949 when the machines that made the badges were destroyed. Even then, the word “ALFA ROMEO” was present, with the cross and Visconti serpent positioned underneath it. Fast forward to today, and you still see the brand name and symbols with the same setup they had 100+ years ago.

Visconti di Milano

Visconti and biscione: what do those two have in common? For starters, the Visconti were a Milanese family, founded by Otone Visconti. This family dominated the history of northern Italy in the 14th and 15th centuries. The biscione, is a heraldic symbol depicting a human being devoured by a serpent. During the time of the crusades, Otone Visconti engaged in a battle with a Saracen knight. Otone defeated the Saracen, and honoured the tradition by taking the symbols the Saracen had on his shield: a serpent with a human in its mouth. He brought it to Milano and adopted them as his own, forming the symbol for the House of Visconti. When the family gained authority over Milano, the biscione became the city’s symbol.

As you will know from reading this post or elsewhere, Alfa Romeo is a Milanese company that takes great pride in cultural heritage. This is why they would want to pay tribute to Nicola Romeo, Saint Ambrose (the saint the flag is attributed to), and a powerful symbol associated with the Visconti’s victory.

Alternate Theories

Now, this is where things get rather interesting, but also disturbing on some accounts. While we can clearly see that the Visconti di Milano depicts a draconic serpent swallowing a man, there are other theories about what it is actually doing, who the person is, and what the serpent could truly represent.

Birthing Theory

Some people insist that the serpent is giving birth. One of the reasons behind this is because some serpents in mythology are capable renewing and rebirthing themselves, and even others too? The problem with that argument, is that this description describes the ouroboros, and not the biscione. Not only do the majority of sources cite that the symbol depicts a man or child being swallowing, but a clear look at such images show the human flailing, panicking, or displaying hopelessness. It may be a legend, but even in legends, serpents and dragons are not widely known for being friendly, birthing type of beasts. Usually the opposite. That said, the Biscione in Stazione Milano Centrale does look more look like it could being birthing or swallowing, but through the mouth? Surely, portraying a serpent birthing a human through the cloaca would be morbidly disturbing, but orally does not make sense either. Does it have to make sense? Should it make sense?

The Human Being Swallowed Is A Muslim

Aside from the birth theory supporters, descriptors otherwise consistently agree that the serpent is swallowing a human. Depending on the depiction of the bisione, I have seen some places describe it as a Moor child being swallowed. And when you consider that the man Otone fought was Islamic, it is no wonder why some portray the child in the biscione’s mouth as a Moor child. At this point, it is easy to get alarmed into thinking that Alfa Romeo would go as far as putting a serpent swallowing an Islamic child on their badge: they did not. The official descriptions for the history behind the badge, does not go into detail about who the serpent is swallowing. At least not on the Canadian nor American websites. According to Automobilismo Storico Alfa Romeo, they would naturally insist on going with the notion of it birthing the human. If they said it was a baby, people would look at Afla Romeos as disgusting and disturbing. Worse, if they chose to portray it as an Islamic child, not only would it be disturbing, but would face massive backlash from the Islamic community, and even some non-Islamics for offending friends who are Islamic. Still, one must wonder if Alfa Romeo is only saying that to protect themselves, or if it is because Alfa Romeo genuinely thinks the symbol is powerful and historical, but would rather change interpretation for their brand logo. After all, it is not animated, so that does give them some flexibility in regards to whether they think they human is going into or out of the serpent’s mouth.

Satan and Jesus

If it is not obvious enough, this theory came from alternate Internet theorists. The people that believe in this theory, insist that the serpent is actually a dragon devouring a man as a consequence for living a sinful lifestyle. The cross on the other hand, represents repentance to Jesus. While I can understand that the cross and dragon in Christianity do represent Christ’s death and Satan respectively, this is not what the biscione is at all. Furthermore, nowhere in Christian literature does a serpent ever swallow anyone. Within Christian literature, the only story that mentions a human getting swallowed by a beast of the sort, is in the story of Jonah where he is swallowed by a whale or fish, depending on the translation. Even though the biscione is not Satan, you can somewhat understand why some would interpret the badge symbols as such.

Millennium Creek’s Concluding Take

I truly believe the biscione is swallowing a man, though some artists substitute it with a child. Do I think the child is Muslim? No, there is no concrete evidence to truly prove that. Has my view changed on Alfa Romeo? After diving so deeply into this, I would be lying to say that I view them the exact same way I did before learning about the truth behind their logo. I certainly do not view them as disgusting, as I still think they look awesome, stylish, sporty and Italian. However, I no longer view them as the innocent, cuter, older sibling of Maserati. Has this discouraged me from considering ever buying one? No, if you read my last post before this one, the biggest turn off about Alfa Romeo and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles is their severe lack of all-electric vehicles within their portfolio. Yes, I know there is the Fiat 500e, but I would not take that car, even if it were given to me for free. Sorry.

What About You?

I want to know what you think of the Alfa Romeo badge, especially if, like me, you previously had not known that the serpent on the logo was eating somebody.

“Maseromeo” What If Maserati And Alfa Romeo Merged Into One Brand?

Disclosure: Millennium River is an independent website that uses hyperlinks. Some of these links are affiliate links. When you click and purchase a product(s) through these links, I may earn a commission on qualifying sales. This is done at no extra expense to you. You may also support this website via PayPal. Unless it is clearly stated, the content is not sponsored.

Why Am I Writing About This Now

Back in June 2018, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles unveiled the 5-year plan. After reading the headlines on it, I decided to do a blog post to cover my personal take on it. One of the rumours at the time was that the two luxury Italian brands, Alfa Romeo and Maserati, were possibly going to merge. I initially intended to do a write-up solely on that subject shortly after finishing that entry. However, I quickly became busy with trying to complete other categories of a portfolio project. With the categories out of the way, I am now finally able to revisit this subject and discuss it.

Is This Still Happening?

‎No. If anything, there now seems to be stories about them actually trying to drift further away from each other. Back in June 2018, when the now deceased Sergio Marchionne was the CEO, he wanted Maserati to be a volume-selling luxury brand. Think Cadillac, Lexus, BMW and Audi. Fast forward to later 2018, and this is what Mike Manley, current CEO of Fiat Chrysler said:

“With hindsight, when we put Maserati and Alfa together, it did two things: Firstly, it reduced the focus on Maserati the brand. Secondly, Maserati was treated for a period of time almost as if it were a mass market brand, which it isn’t and shouldn’t be treated that way.”

What Is Mike Manley Doing About It?

Harald Wester was appointed as Chief Operating Officer for Maserati in October 2018. Harald has also been a member of the Group Executive Council (GEC) and Chief Technical Officer since September 2011. Though he may now be the COO of Maserati, Timothy Kuniskis still remains the CEO of both Maserati and Alfa Romeo. Mike said that Wester has a good understanding of the luxury market, and a deep understanding of Maserati as a brand. Now I am no expert in leadership and management, but if they want Maserati to be a rival to the ultra-luxury brands, would it not make more sense to have a separate dedicated CEO for the brand? Lamborghini, Bentley and Bugatti are all owned by the Volkswagen Group, yet have separate CEOs. And yes, I am aware of the fact that Bugatti is in the “Hyper luxury league”. I brought it up because it is an excellent example of a luxury brand within a corporate family that includes other luxury brands without all sharing the same CEO.

Their Current Lineups And Pricing

Depending on where you live, the availability and pricing of models will vary. The international lineup includes the Maserati Quattroporte, Ghibli, GranTurismo, GranCabrio (also called GT Convertible) and Levante. Alfa Romeo on the other hand, offers the Alfa Romeo Giulietta, 4C, Giulia, and Stelvio. In addition to this, Maserati also plans to release the their Maserati Alfieri model in 2020. Alfa Romeo may put their Alfa Romeo Tonale Concept into production at some point after 2020. Their pricing? For Alfa Romeo, starting prices range from $53,345 – $80,000. For Maserati on the other hand, I saw a stark contrast in pricing: $88,500 – $176,000. Bare in mind that this is the Canadian pricing, accurate at the time I created this blog post (March-April 2019). While I always knew that Maserati was a luxury brand, I thought that their prices capped at $150,000. I was wrong. I do not spend much time observing Maserati prices, because I am not in the market for one, but wow.

Millennium Creek’s Take On A Fusion

So you already know that Maserati and Alfa Romeo will not be merging into one, anytime soon or ever. So now it is time for me to discuss my feelings on a brand merger. My take? No, I do not ever want to see “Maseromeo” happen. Alfa Romeo was founded June 24, 1910, while Maserati was founded December 1, 1914, making them 108 and 104 years old respectively. History clearly runs deep within these two brands. They are both Italian. Both are luxury brands. Both are also centered around performance. But make no mistake: just because they are both luxurious Italian performance brands, this does not mean that they are duplicates that should be fused. They have their key differences.

Even Mike Manley knows this, hence why he made the leadership restructure I mentioned earlier in this post. When I look at the front fascias of all of the vehicles within Maserati’s lineup, I see mean, cocky, athletic, posh Italians. When I look at Alfa Romeos, I see sporty, stylish, friendly Italians. Both brands evoke similar, yet also notably different feelings. Alfa Romeos just happen to look cuter, while Maserati is all about that aggressive, exotic look. The upcoming(?) Alfa Romeo Tonale Concept is a notable exception in regards to the “friendly sporty look”.

My Thoughts On Maserati and Alfa Romeo Aside From A Fusion

Fusion business aside, I very much love the styling on both brands. That said, they are not vehicles I plan to purchase anytime soon, chiefly due to their lack of all-electric vehicles within their lineup. Fiat Chrysler did say that they have plans for electric vehicles, but when precisely? Until then, Tesla and Rivian continue to be the most innovative exciting brands at the moment. Though the Volkswagen Group still largely consists of ICE vehicles, their electrification efforts are looking very promising, particularly with Audi and Porsche. The namesake Volkswagen brand has released dates for numerous models of their post 2020 Volkswagen I.D. lineup. Audi is releasing their Audi e-tron crossover later this year, and even stated that they will be launching a whopping 12 vehicles by 2025. Ambitious? Indeed, but given the power and backing of the Volkswagen Group, it can happen.

The Volkswagen Group could even go as far as launching an all-electric Lamborghini or Bugatti. While both are not happening anytime soon at the moment, Lamborghini at least has stated that it will be electrifying future vehicles.

Your Thoughts?

Would you support a merger of Alfa Romeo and Maserati? How do you feel about these two luxurious, sporty Italian brands in general? Share your comments in the comment section.