Are We Alone in the Universe

One of the most widespread questions today is, “Are we alone in the universe?” Believe it or not, you are in the minority if you believe that absolutely no intelligent life exists outside of planet Earth. Throughout human history, understanding the universe has been a continual mystery. The universe is believed to be at least 10 billion light years in diameter and contains a vast number of galaxies. Humans have only been around about 200,000 years and civilization, as we know it only 6,000 years. These numbers are relatively small considering that the universe has been expanding for 13 billion years. What’s more, a number of recent discoveries also strongly suggest that extraterrestrial life exists, either in our own solar system or beyond. Many people including myself believe that it is within our grasp to pull off a discovery that can change the world forever. Due to scientific research, experiences and evidence, knowledge-based predictions, and the size of the universe alone, I believe the ultimate question is no longer “Is there life beyond Earth?” but rather “Will we ever find it?”

At the moment, life on Earth is the only known life in the universe, but there are compelling arguments to suggest that we are not alone. Recent discoveries of planets similar to Earth in size and proximity to the planets' respective suns have sparked scientific and public excitement about the possibility of also finding Earth-like life on those worlds. We are all made of heavy atoms forged in the explosions of supermassive stars. This not only connects us to the universe, but also highlights the possibility of alien life. Still there are those who argue against the existence of any form of life outside of planet Earth. Many argue that the expectation of extraterrestrial life is built more on optimism than evidence. It is true that estimates of the prevalence of life in the universe suffer from a severe lack of data. Although, Fossil evidence suggests that life began very early in Earth's history and that has led me as well as many other people to believe that life might be quite common in the universe because it happened so quickly here. The testimony of thousands of reputable people, police, judges, military personnel, psychologists' patients, the hundreds of thousands of witness sightings and the substantial physical evidence (strange metallic devices doctors have pulled from actual peoples' bodies) all are considered not enough.  I think the same thing that grounds us, gives us the way we base our philosophies and perspectives on sometimes over steps its boundaries, and ignores things that would make us have to accept a complete paradigm shift.

It is highly unlikely that in the limitless vastness of the universe the humans stand alone. How often do you look up into the night sky and wonder just how many stars, planets, galaxies, and more are out there? Space has always captivated us. From scientists and philosophers to artists and poets (and pretty much just about everyone else, too), we all want to know what’s out there. Thinking about just how big the universe is can really put things into perspective. Counting the stars in the universe is like trying to count the number of sand grains on a beach. Although estimates vary among different experts, the general agreement is that there are at least between 100 billion and 200 billion galaxies in our universe. Think about that for a moment, and now throw in billions of stars in each galaxy! And for all we know, this number could very easily be in the trillions. Take the Milky Way Galaxy for example, which measures about 120,000 light years across, and contains up to 400 billion stars. Scientists estimate that at least 10 billion habitable Earth-sized planets exist in the Milky Way alone, but it’s important to keep an open mind about what type of conditions and environments some unknown extraterrestrial forms could thrive in. They all don’t necessarily have to be Earth-like; the conditions we deem necessary for life might be exclusive to life on this planet, or this type of planet. Given the estimation of the size of the universe, odds are we are not alone.

Any scientist will tell you that there are some very strong indications and possibilities that life exists on other planets. Scientific research shows that living organisms can survive in conditions much different than those present on earth. Today we know that there are literally thousands, if not millions of other planets, many of which may be very similar to our own Earth. Frank Drake, a notable astronomer, came up with an equation in 1961 for calculating the abundance of alien civilizations capable of communicating with us. When he plugs modern data into the formula, the number he comes up with is 10,000. That just includes the ones he thinks we can detect, once we get the right tools searching the right places. Aside from this, researchers examining data from NASA’s Kepler space telescope announced in 2013 that they believe the Milky Way Galaxy may harbor billions of planets that bear liquid water- a substance integral to the emergence of living things. Nonetheless, finding alien life would be a monumental step for science. Finding out that we aren’t alone out there, and there are extraterrestrial beings attempting to contact humanity, opens a world of possibilities and a variety of questions such as “What do aliens know?” or “How would we interact with beings from space?” imagine a moment where the world wakes up and realizes that its long loneliness in time and space may be over- the possibility we are no longer alone in the universe.

There are thousands of people out there claiming to have contact with extraterrestrial beings. This has played a large role in spreading the influence of extraterrestrial interest across the world. All of us seem to be naturally fascinated with the unknown, especially when it comes to space. It seems like human nature. Most UFO sightings and entity encounters are subjective experiences. Very few cases produce physical or physiological effects, but the ones that do are very intriguing. Most countries have reports of alien abductions. To date no one has brought forth conclusive footage in public domain but that time seems imminent. Whether you believe in alien abductions or not, the number of cases is staggering. Out of the tens of thousands of cases, only one has to be true for humanity to conclude that extraterrestrial beings do exist.  Numerous UFO sighting reports can be considered as a significant piece of evidence in favor of the existence of extraterrestrial life. What makes some of these accounts difficult to deny even for the strongest skeptics are claims made by reputable people, such as law enforcement, the military, pilots, and even astronauts. For example, in the early hours of December 14, 1994 in Trumbull County, Ohio, police were flooded by phone calls from alarmed citizens claiming they were observing an UFO in the sky. A policeman drove out to the area where the reports were coming from to put an end to what he thought was a hoax. But after he arrived at the place, he too had witnessed the UFO that supposedly lit up the entire sky and caused the malfunction of electronic devices within his patrol cruiser. That is just one example from thousands of reports made each year all over the world. It is true that we want to believe, but more than that we want the truth.