Earth is small. Many people find it hard to believe, but when one thinks of earth in its context, amongst billions of galaxies, stars, planets, and an infinite universe, earth is a mere grain of sand on the beach that is space. With this in mind, one may, quite understandably, find it hard to believe that earth is the only planet that sustains life. With today’s advanced technology and science, extensive evidence has been found suggesting a great likelihood of life on other planets. The discovery of life on other planets has huge implications for humankind, as it would likely give a more thorough understanding of what human life is, how it came to be, and possibly even insight into why humans exist.
Oftentimes, people ignore rhetoric regarding the possibility of life on other planets. This may be for religious reasons or because many people see it as more science fiction that scientific, but there is a substantial difference between Hollywood’s perception of aliens and what is likely to be the first extraterrestrial life discovered (Borenstein). In all reality, carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and a few other basic elements are all it takes to create the miracle of life, and these chemicals could exist in countless places other than earth (Bryson 2). Some life may not even require that, like the microbe found in a lake in California, which was able to survive on arsenic and phosphorus alone (Borenstein). According to Borenstein, the “life” that scientists are looking for is more accurately described as a life form or microbial slime, much like the microbes that became humans via evolution.
Approximately 140 billion galaxies inhabit the universe, with somewhere between one hundred billion and four hundred billion stars in Earth...
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Bryson, Bill. A Short History of Nearly Everything. New York: Broadway Books, 2003. Print.
Cohen, Daniel. The Ancient Visitors: Have Creatures from Other Planets Ever Lived On Earth? Garden City, NY: Double & Comp., Inc., 1976. Print.
Kaufman, Marc. “Reaching for the Stars: It’s Alive Out There! Scientists Seek Out the Evidence.” McClathy-Tribute News Service. 17 June 2011: n.p. Web. 15 Mar 2012.
Spotts, Pete. “In Search of Life, More Planet ‘Candidates’ Are Found. Are Any Just Right?” Christian Science Monitor. 12 Sep 2011:n.p. Web. 15 Mar 2012.
"Story of the Universe." European Space Agency, 2011. Web. 15 Apr 2012.
There is a cultural assumption that there are many alien civilizations in the universe. However, what do we really know about extraterrestrial life? With recent findings of water on Mars and the discovery of Trappist-1, there could be hope for extraterrestrial life out in the universe. Even though the water on Mars is frozen under the polar ice caps and Trappist-1 could be far from finding any alien life, there are still many articles supporting the research and looking forward to finding additional news. In the article “Could the TRAPPSIT-1 worlds harbor alien life?’ written by Liz Fuller-Wright, she reports the announcement of astronomers that they found a miniature solar system of seven Earth-sized planets. Furthermore, the argument is effective towards bright individuals because it makes one think about what it will be if there was actually life outside of Earth.
As the decades pass, technological advances have enabled researchers, entrepenures and pondering minds the ability to discover more and more about every aspect of our very existence. Over the past three decades the evolutionary tree of life has been expanded at least seven times over. Major advances have been made in the area of evolution to open the eyes of many to the extensive history of the earth. For the very first time, we have tangible knowledge that life evolved and grew to become a flourishing success during the young ages of the Earth. By 3.5 million years ago life was already well advanced. Before this breakthrough no one could have thought that life occurred so amazingly early, that Earth was inhabited by a huge array of tiny life forms through t the first four-fifths of it’s existence, and no one deduced that evolution itself evolved over geologic time.
[9] Ward, Peter D.; Brownlee, Donald (2000). Rare Earth: Why Complex Life is Uncommon in the Universe. Copernicus Books (Springer Verlag). ISBN 0-387-98701-0.
Fecht, Sarah. "The Case for Alien Life." Popular Mechanics July-Aug. 2013: n. pag. Student Research Center. Web. 9 Mar. 2014.
It is without a doubt that the most fascinating thing about space is the possibility of life elsewhere beside Earth. It is estimated that the Milky Way Galaxy itself contains about 300 billion stars. Each star contains planets and some planets might even have moons. With these findings, the question is no longer whether life exists elsewhere. The probability that Earth is the only place where life exists in the universe is far too slim. NASA has identified many planets that have similar conditions to Earth but most of these planets are hundreds of light years away so traveling there to find out if there’s any living organism is not easy. Luckily, scientific evidences have pointed out that one of the moons of Jupiter, Europa, could be one of the places where life can exist. If the theories proposed by astronomers about Europa are true, life on Europa might not even be entirely different than life near the bottom of Earth’s oceans.
The existence of life – Aliens, beyond our planet has been a controversial topic for several centuries, and is a debatable issue even today in the 21st century. What is our topic you may ask? Aliens, Do, Exist. According to theoretical physicist, Stephen Hawking, it would be improbable for life not to exist somewhere other than Earth. This is a bold claim, but there is evidence to support this statement. The evidence we seek is in the many Alien occurrences we have experienced throughout human history.
Jakosky, Bruce. The Search for Life on Other Planets. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1998.
Finding life in our solar system could potentially answer the questions humanity has been asking for thousands of years. Sarah Seager, a professor at MIT, mentioned some of these thought provoking questions, “why are we here? Why does our universe exist? How did Earth form and evolve? How and why did life originate and populate our planet?” Answers to these questions could give humanity a deeper understanding of who we are and what our place in the universe is. Steven Dick believes that humanity has “… deep psychological yearnings for companionship, superior wisdom, or ‘an ineradicable desire to see the skies filled with life’.” Those opposed may argue that a biological universe will have little effect on humanity’s understanding of our place in the universe because a biological universe simply does not exist. One may argue that life is exceedingly complex and the odds of conditions being just right for the production and the sustainment of life are slim. Our civilization may have managed to beat the odds, but many its unlikely to for this to occur elsewhere in our solar system. The proof to back this argument is the N =1 equation. The only solid evidence we have proves that only one planet has beaten these insurmountable odds and produced life. While this argument makes logical sense, relying solely on evidence we have at the moment, takes our focus away from the
Have you ever looked up in the sky and wondered if there is life elsewhere in the universe? Have you ever looked at a photograph of Mars and wondered if there really was ever life on it? People have a wide variety of opinions regarding these questions and with good reason. As far back as the broadcast of H. G. Well's novel, "The War of the Worlds", the world has been fascinated with the possibilities of what Mars may hold. Over time, the majority of people have come to realize that there is no way that life can currently be on Mars. Those who are uncertain think there may be microscopic bacteria underground.
Earth is the element of life found here because with the sun, earth nurtures all plants and
The findings in this book could easily be compared to real findings, throughout history we have been looking at finding proof for existence of life out in the universe and we have found several meteorites throughout times. Though they are not as significant as the discovery in the book where they are found during presidential elections and with fossils on it, but today when people are looking in space and saying our future lies there; reading the book has made everything just more interesting and exciting. "If this discovery is confirmed, it will surely be one of the most stunning insights into our universe that science has ever uncovered. Its implications are as far-reaching and awe-inspiring as can be imagined. Even as it promises answer to some of our oldest questions, it poses still others even more fundamental"
Do aliens exist? For eons, mankind has pondered over this peculiar question and a revealing truth has yet to be answered. However, one thing is known for sure, the discovery of intelligent alien life outside of Earth would provide support to prove and/or disprove fundamental beliefs that have been held for centuries. In any case, the discovery would serve as a cornerstone for humanity to make the quantum leap in understanding the purpose of our existence. Based on numerous examples, it is impossible to deny the existence of extraterrestrial life outside of Earth. Reportings of sightings, ancient civilizations beliefs, and scientific proof from scientists and astronomers are all key factors that contribute to this statement.
While this idea may seem straight out of a science fiction movie, some evidence suggests that an extraterrestrial origin of life may not be such impossible idea.
One of the most common unanswered questions scientists find themselves asking is "Is there life on other planets?" Since the first famously documented UFO sighting in 1947, the idea of extra-terrestrial life has been debated almost non-stop. The subject has inspired many TV programs, such as The X-Files, and films (Mars Attacks, Independence Day, and the Men in Black films to name but a few). Scientists have come up with many new ideas and ways of trying to either prove or disprove the existence of life elsewhere.
...ws radiation from the sun to expose the surface of the planet, adding to environment changes. If life exists on Mars today, it is most likely hiding beneath the surface. Over the past four billion years Earth has had many rocks blown from the surface of Mars, after much research, scientists say that of the thirty-four meteorites, three have the potential to carry evidence of past life on Mars (Carey, 2006). Researches have gathered evidence and continue to explore for life outside of Earth. Earth has provided these scientists with enough knowledge to understand the components needed to sustain life, therefore any research found is compared to the knowledge already understood about life on Earth. Earth is home to billions of plants, animals, bacteria and all types of living things, it is where human beings have evolved and adapted making this planet our home.