Extraterrestrial life. The official U.S. government position on extraterrestrial life and the three major efforts to search for it.
Clockwise from top left: The development and testing of hypotheses on extraterrestrial life is known as "exobiology" or "astrobiology", although astrobiology also considers Earth-based life in its astronomical context. Many scientists consider extraterrestrial life plausible, but there is no direct evidence of its existence.[2] Since the mid-20th century, there has been an ongoing search for signs of extraterrestrial life, from radios used to detect possible extraterrestrial signals, to telescopes used to search for potentially habitable extrasolar planets.[3] It has also played a major role in works of science fiction.
Science fiction works, especially Hollywood's involvement, has increased over the years the public's interest in the possibility of extraterrestrial life. §Background. Ghost. Spontaneous human combustion. Spontaneous human combustion (SHC) is a term encompassing reported cases of the burning of a living (or very recently deceased) human body without an apparent external source of ignition.
In addition to reported cases, examples of SHC appear in literature and both types have been observed to share common characteristics regarding circumstances and remains of the victim. Forensic investigations have attempted to analyze reported instances of SHC and have resulted in hypotheses regarding potential causes and mechanisms, including victim behavior and habits, alcohol consumption and proximity to potential sources of ignition, as well as the behavior of fires that consume melted fats.
Natural explanations, as well as unverified natural phenomena, have been proposed to explain reports of SHC. Overview[edit] Home.