How big is space? Well to answer that question, scientists say that space is infinite. On top of it, the cosmos is still expanding, and this expansion is constantly sweeping away the cosmic objects farther from us. In such a vast universe which consists of several hundreds of billions solar systems like ours, we definitely cannot be alone! The most distant planet we have ever discovered is a whooping 6 trillion (6,000,000,000,000) human years away! Also, it is believed that our universe consists of more than 70 quintillion planets. Now you’re telling me that out of the 70 quintillion planets (70,000,000,000,000,000,000) in our universe not a single one of them hosts a life form? That can’t be right. After all, we have only explored and seen 5% of our universe- that too presumably! Who knows what’s out there?
The Goldilocks Zone
Scientific breakthroughs have been hinting at the presence of ‘others’ out there in the universe. In 2013 a planet called Kepler-62e was discovered. This planet is said to be 60% larger than our earth and a vast majority of the planet is said to be covered by ocean. Who can negate the possibility of life existing in such a place? And Kepler-62e is only one of the many planets discovered with earth-like characteristics. These planets are all in the ‘Goldilocks zone’ just like the Earth, meaning that the distance between the planet and their star is just right. So, the planet is neither too cold nor too hot. Hence, they can support life. As technology evolves and we continue to explore the universe, I am confident that we will eventually discover extraterrestrial life in this universe. Then, we will be able to say confidently that we are not alone.
UFOs
On the 19th of October 2017, Astrophysicist Robert Weryk was reviewing stellar images. That is when he saw a bright dot moving four times the speed of a normal asteroid. It was going more than 2 hundred thousand miles per hour. He and his colleagues began tracking the bright flame from other observatories. The scientist noted that the brightness varied, often by a factor of ten. Another thing that confounded the scientist was that instead of swinging around the sun on an elliptical path, it was zipping away more or less in a straight line. Weryk and his colleagues were sure that the bright blue dot that was seen was a form of extraterrestrial life. And, the good news is that this was not the only one of the UFO sightings.
Between the period of 1986-87, three UFO sightings were reported across Sweden and America. All three of the sightings were described as a “flying saucer” with two of them being reported within a gap of 2 weeks. An earlier sighting that had happened in the year 1947 in Washington, USA had garnered a lot of interest. It was reported by a businessman who, while flying his private plane, claimed to have seen a group of nine high-speed objects. A lot of research has been going on since. With all the evidence, it is difficult to negate that there are ‘aliens’ out there. Thus, it makes complete sense to say that extraterrestrial life exists somewhere in that vast infinite space.
Extraterrestrial Life
Ever watched a movie about aliens? There are just so many! Guardians of the Galaxy, Aliens, Edge of Tomorrow, ET, Star Trek, etc, are just some examples. In the vast majority of alien movies, aliens are portrayed as white skinny creatures with a large head and evil eyes flying around in a metal saucepan. The chances of aliens looking that stereotypical are slim. They could be 6 feet tall or even microscopic. They may look like us or they may not. For all we know they could look like anything. After all, the earth is estimated to have 8.7 million species of plants and animals and all of them do not look similar. Who knows how many species of aliens there are in each habitable planet and in what shape or form?
Talking about differences, maybe extraterrestrial creatures don’t need the same survival atmosphere that we do. Maybe some aliens don’t rely on oxygen, food, or water. Maybe they feed on dust, maybe they feed on gases that are found on their planets. Who knows? So, there is every possibility that they are out there, in some strange place, looking for us, just like we are looking for them.
With technology evolving every day, our exploration of the ‘great unknown’ out there continues. It is just a matter of time when we discover life on another planet. Till then it is only right to think that extraterrestrial life exists in this vast unknown. I am sure any intelligent person will agree with me that in the 70 quintillion planets that have been estimated in this universe, we cannot be the only ones. Some or the other kind of extraterrestrial life definitely exists. When I lie down at night and look at the stars shining above, I can often see some star winking at me and saying – You are not alone out there! Hence, I know that we cannot be alone, what do you say?
Writer : Jiyah Nair
Grade : 7 (Year 2024)
Place : Sydney, Australia
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