Although there is no solid evidence on the existence of life on other planets, scientists are convinced that there is a life outside
Look at the sky at night, dotted with clomer stars and ask yourself: are we really alone in such a vast universe to be completely understood?
Probably not. The earth is a small point in a giant sea of billions of other points. How could we be the only lifestyle in this or in any other cosmic neighborhood?
What do we know about life outside the perfectly regulated environment that is the earth?
Many experts say that even without solid evidence on the existence of aliens, we must conclude that they exist.
Only our galaxy, the Milky Way – one of the approximately 200 billion of galaxies – contains about 300 billion stars. Our star, the sun, is the main source of life on earth.
Scientists constantly discover planets in orbit around these stars, also known as exopianets.
“We are quite convinced that there is life out there,” said Espaço Maggie Adin-Pocock scientist.
“It is purely a matter of numbers. It’s probability.”
The technology we have today allows us to examine these exoplanets in detail.
Scientists can see the chemical composition of these celestial bodies that orbit the stars using powerful telescopes to analyze the chemical composition of the star light that crosses them. This is called spectroscopy.
The important thing is to find a chemical composition similar to the composition of the earth, which would mean that there is, somewhere, perhaps thousands of light years away, an environment capable of supporting a life form similar to a life.
The signs are encouraging. “We know hundreds of potentially habitable planets,” says Tim O’Brien, professor of Astrophysics at the University of Manchester.
“It is almost certain that, by the next decade, or close to this, we will discover a planet that could even show potential evidence of life”.
Further tests were found here on Earth. The living organisms were discovered in places previously considered very hostile to host any form of life – without access to sunlight or heat, for example, in the deepest wells of our oceans.
In the past, it was believed that life could exist only on a planet that was a certain distance from its local star (due to radiation levels).
Finding life on earth that thrives in places where it was not considered possible to open the eyes of scientists to the possibility that the moons – not only the planets – can be able to support life.
This does not mean that they would host the stereotyped aliens of popular imagination, only life is possible.
Experts warn that although there are very high possibilities of existing life out there, it is difficult – perhaps impossible – today to know if it is an intelligent life.
“For most of the history of life on earth, life was very simple. In fact, they were billions of bacterial life,” explains O’Brien.
And it was a series of events that led to the development of multicellular life on our planet.
In order for an alien life to come into contact, it must be physically and technologically advanced.
Expected visitors?
If we are not alone, does it mean that we should wait for the visit of an alien life? It is complicated.
It is difficult to believe that no form of life has ever reached the point of traveling from interstellar distances. So how much do we know, why hasn’t it happened yet?
“Our biggest problem is that we have only one example of life and this life is life on this planet,” says Adnerin-Pocock.
But this is probably not a model for other places in the universe.
“If you live near a very active star, you can live under the ground … this does not mean that there is no intelligent life outside, but you may not have forms of transmission because it lives under the surface.”
Or it could simply be the fact that we do not speak the same language, scientifically, of course.
“We got used to using radiotelescent to detect signs of extraterrestrial civilizations since 1960,” says O’Brien.
However, there are so many different ways in which a lifestyle could send signs that we could never hear something behind.
And even if we are in the same tuning as another life in the universe, thousands of years may be needed to transmit messages and therefore reply in front of the great distances involved.
Through a new project called Breakthrough Listen of the University of California, scientists are looking for a million stars closer in the hope of communicating with something that can send messages on Earth.
They are also looking at the stars in the center of the Milky Way, 25,000 light years away.
This means that a message sent by one of these stars should travel for about 25,000 years before reaching us.
So if there is an alien life outside, thousands of years may be needed until we have some news.
A long way to go
The trips of intergalactic space from great distances are not even an option in the near future.
We managed to send radio waves to the speed of light, but this is only a radio wave that travels through the void of space.
However, no type of space vehicle is able to travel among the stars. If we want to send physical mass in the form of probes or people, it is a little more demanding.
And if our civilization is not yet able to do it, experts say that it is likely that our celestial neighbors are not. And even if they had technology to travel from us, we must consider the possibility they don’t want.
There is also a certain amount of cosmic luck – or a good Timing – involved. Perhaps it is difficult to remember how a short period our civilization has been on earth.
The land was life for over 3.5 billion years, but modern humans have been about 300,000 years ago. And considering that civilizations can disappear quickly, the contact window is quite narrow.
We cannot understand if the aliens have already visited our planet – what we can say, with a little more of certainty, is that they probably did not appear during the period that humans crossed the earth.
“If our civilizations do not overlap, we will never find aliens.”
Maybe they came for a long time, or they will arrive in the future, after human life is over. We will probably never know.
This text is based on The Infinite Monkey Cage by BBC Radio 4.
Source: Terra
Rose James is a Gossipify movie and series reviewer known for her in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the latest releases. With a background in film studies, she provides engaging and informative reviews, and keeps readers up to date with industry trends and emerging talents.
