Space is one of the most fascinating things to think about. Researchers are constantly making new discoveries and observations that could one day change the way we think about extraterrestrial life. Let’s take a look at what scientists know about it that will blow your mind.
Billions of distant worlds
Scientists believe that over 40 billion planets exist in the Milky Way. All of these are potential homes for extraterrestrial life, and there are simply too many to count. It’s important to remember that we’re really only looking for one instance of alien life. Looking at the sheer number of distant worlds in the galaxy, anyone would think there’s a good chance that one of them features life that we are looking for. Astronomers have made many models regarding these types of statistics. How many worlds are there? How many years would it take for us to make contact? When you crunch the numbers, the odds that life exists outside of earth are surprisingly high.
Astronomical numbers
Source: ShutterstockIt’s hard to grasp just how large exponential numbers can get. A country is home to millions of people. Billions of us walk this earth. By the time you get past the trillions, you’re talking about grains of sand or molecules that form our planet. The bottom line is, when discussing extraterrestrial life, we need to consider mathematics as we know it. The distance between us and alien life might span an unfathomable number of miles or a ridiculous number of celestial bodies between us. When talking about astronomy and particularly alien life, we need to use an entirely different number system than usual.
Intelligent aliens
In the past few decades, more and more theories have suggested that aliens are intelligent beings on their own. The chance that they are simply hanging out on a distant planet is becoming slimmer and slimmer. Astronomers have suggested that aliens might be congregating at a location with food and water. This could take the form of a black hole or supermassive star. If this is the case, it would be extremely difficult for our telescopes to even detect them in the first place. Observing black holes is a near impossible feat with our current technology.
Inconceivable life forms
We often think of aliens as mindless creatures. At least that’s how many sci-fi films portray them as. For the intelligent aliens, they typically have super strength or speed. What we don’t conceive are aliens that have ascended past the realm of three-dimensional space and manifest themselves far beyond matter as we know it. That’s a crazy fact; foreign life could be all around us in the form of tiny particles or invisible sound waves. We don’t have the words in our vocabulary to describe this. Alien intelligence is not to be underestimated. Humans have existed for billions of years, but the age of the universe is much older than this. It’s unknown what has happened before us and what sort of progress life has made in other corners of the galaxy.
Life isn’t unfathomable
Right now, contact with aliens might seem completely unbelievable. We’ve never seen anything like that in our lifetimes and even the history of the planet. Extraterrestrial life is something straight out of a movie. It is certainly not something you’d find in your neighborhood. However, scientists firmly believe that this isn’t out of reach at all. It’s only a matter of time before a life form is discovered, what with the number of amazing discoveries every year. This is just to say that you shouldn’t wholly discount the possibility of aliens. In the 21st century, it’s best to keep an open mind when it comes to science and technology.
Lunar life
Source: ShutterstockAnother promising place to look for alien life is on the moons of planets instead of the planets themselves. In general, these moons feature many thermal vents and heat sources that prevent them from freezing. Extraterrestrial beings might be attracted to these warmer moons rather than a cold, isolated planet. At the same time, we don’t even know if all alien life requires warmth as we know it. Some aliens might thrive in subfreezing temperatures or even take on life forms invisible to the human eye. It’s a little scary to think about just how complex and advanced aliens could be compared to our primitive selves.
A discovery will lead to other discoveries
Once a discovery is made, the odds of stopping the research on extraterrestrial life are slim. Scientists believe that one life form will lead to another and even more incredible discoveries. The ultimate question is whether we are alone in the universe or not. If the answer is no, the chance of only a single other species of life is not very likely. Expect a domino effect if we ever do find foreign life. The thought of one type of alien being found after another is hard to even fathom. For now, it looks like we’re the only ones out there.
Many spatial bodies are unknown
With our current technology, it’s difficult for scientists to gain any information about certain spatial bodies such as black holes, nebulas and super hot stars. For all we know, there could be hordes of aliens hidden inside these objects in space. That’s a terrifying fact in itself, that we know so little about our universe when all is said and done. Extraterrestrial life could inhabit any part of the unknown no matter how far or near.
Some of these facts about extraterrestrial life are simply mind-blowing. While sitting here on earth, it’s hard to imagine the possibility of unknown life forms deep in the corner of our universe. In the next few years, there’s a good chance scientists will make even more incredible discoveries.
