To National Science Foundation,
The existence of extra-terrestrial life was once considered almost impossible. However, as humans delve deeper into space, science, and technology the idea seems to be formulating that perhaps we are not the only intelligent life forms. The thought has changed from a perspective of “if” we will encounter intelligent life outside of our own, but “when” and what will be the outcome. With NASA’s confirmation that there are at least 3000 other galaxies that have been observed with a new telescope it is a hard sell to say that there is no possible way that there could be any other “intelligence” in space besides our own race. The hypothesis that I have generated through studying research both for and against is that alien life forms are present in our galaxy or neighboring galaxy it is just a matter of time before we are able to discover them.
When the words alien or extra-terrestrial are spoken it seems to come with a certain stigma behind it of a small green individual with large eyes and a large head. These depictions tend to have features similar to that of human beings. However, the question is being asked if aliens would actually resemble that of human beings and the general convergence of ideas is simply, no. There is a hypothesis according to Senior Astronomer, Seth Shostak , that “any extraterrestrials we detect will not be muscular guys with deep voices and corrugated foreheads, or even big-eyed, hairless grays. Not because such creatures could not exist. Rather, it is because of the timescale for non-biological evolution”. This hypothesis will be tested over time with the current and future space explorations to planets such as Mars and Jupiter to find water and other natural resources capa...
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... prove either that there is life outside of our planet or that earth hit the evolutionary lottery and is a complete miracle. The Hubble Space Telescope and NASA estimate that there are hundreds of billions of galaxies in space and that within the Milky Way galaxy alone there are approximately one trillion planets. This information alone leads to the assumption that the probability of odds is in favor of the fact that we are more than likely not alone. Seth Shostak, a senior astronomer at the SETI Institute has done a great deal of research independently and with NASA and concludes that “there is no direct proof for any life beyond Earth, but the universe is home to a lot of stars. And as research over the past decade has shown, perhaps at least 50 percent of those stars harbor planets and there is a possibility that within those planets there is some sort of life”.
All of these definitions are exact and significant to this research because sometimes it is obvious people are unaware of the true meanings of these words. The meanings of extraterrestrials and aliens have been commonly misinterpreted. An extraterrestrial is something, living or nonliving, which is not from earth, while an alien can be something from earth, but is not native to its surroundings. An unidentified flying object is something that has never been officially recorded. In this case, the witnesses refer to th...
From Roswell to Dreamland Are we alone in the universe? This has been a common question in modern day. Then he was a sailor. It is very difficult to prove that extraterrestrials exist. However, the snares are still a bit snare.
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
Fermi’s paradox supports this claim because theoretically there should be species capable of interstellar travel due to the age of the universe. Although we haven’t encountered any life forms from other galaxies it doesn’t mean there aren’t any. Ted Chiang uses an endangered parrot to show that a possible reason for our great silence is due to or erratic and dangerous nature as humans. However, there are still some instances where humans have connected with other species and created special bonds in the
With more and more planets being discovered everyday isn’t it a little narcissistic of us to believe that we are the only planet that can sustain life. With movies like Star Wars, and Star Trek the thought of extraterrestrials are becoming more mainstream. However there are still many people who don’t believe.
Over a 1950 summer lunch at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, the great physicist Enrico Fermi asked his colleagues an unexpected question – “Don’t you ever wonder where everybody is?” Laughter went around the table as everyone immediately knew that he was talking about extraterrestrial intelligence [1]. If life arises fairly commonly, as Fermi believed, it follows that there should be advanced civilizations with the desire to visit and colonize Earth close enough to do so. However, there is no incontrovertible evidence of aliens on Earth, either now or in the past. This is called the Fermi Paradox. The lack of observational evidence for extraterrestrial intelligence is known as the ‘Great Silence.’[13]
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.
Is there such thing as life outside of Earth? The building blocks of life are carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen. Those ingredients condense to form all living things, new stars and even new planets! So, who’s to say those ingredients didn’t form other life on other planets? Think about how vast outer space is. There are millions and millions of other planets, stars and galaxies! It’s not that far out there to think that there might be other life in space, in fact, some people even have stone hard evidence that supports the idea of “aliens”. I personally believe there is such thing as extraterrestrials, and I believe they have visited earth before. As a child, I remember my dad and I would sit around all afternoon watching alien documentaries or shows about people hunting aliens and searching for UFOs. When it comes to aliens people have so many questions; have aliens been to earth before? Are they currently living on earth? Are they controlling us? Does the government know? If so, are they hiding it from the public? There are so many questions you can ask but, in order to answer them, you have to
There are numerous of different movies, books, and TV shows on how humans think aliens interact, look similar to, and what the media portrays aliens to be like. Occasionally, most will stumble across news articles with a variety of related headings about aliens, UFO’s, or recent known abduction stories. Every person has their own theories and or thoughts on these basic questions: do aliens exist? Could the government be covering up real life “space ships” or encounters? Countless folks have claimed to witness or have fanciful stories that have fascinated countless while several others are turned away. There are Videos, pictures and pieces of physical evidence to support nearly all of these stories. Even more alarming,
One of the greatest unanswered questions of humanity is: “Are we alone?”. This question has intrigued the earliest philosophers and is currently being tackled by today’s scientists. If intelligent life was discovered there would be excitement within the scientific community; however, it would most likely be devastating for mankind because if humans know extraterrestrials exist, they will know humans exist. The consequences of discovering intelligent extraterrestrial life are life threatening to humanity if we are not more powerful than the extraterrestrials. H.G. Wells’ The War of Worlds shows the threat of extraterrestrials through a variety of reasons. Firstly, the extraterrestrials can be searching for resources or a place to settle if their
Over the years there has been questions that people are asking if we are alone. Scientists have been seeking evidence of extraterrestrial life in the past half century. There have been many sightings of unidentified flying objects (UFOs) seen by the people around the world. Scientists state that intelligent extraterrestrial life almost certainly exists.
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.
Many people who live on Earth are close minded to what is really out there in the universe. They cannot even begin to fathom the vastness of it and how Earth is just a tiny little speck compared to everything else out there. From the planets to the stars and out towards the edge of the unknown, we can only see what science provides us with. From this, we know that we are nothing but a tiny planet located in a solar system of millions in a galaxy of many more in the universe.
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.