Evidence for the existence of extraterrestrial life

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

Despite the skeptical views of the public majority, alien life forms - advanced or at least simple - most likely exist somewhere in the vast expanses of the universe.

Moreover, many scientists agree that it is pointless to deny it. Of course, this does not mean at all that we are talking necessarily about some stereotypical gray aliens with big heads and eyes, kidnapping people. But even just in terms of numbers and statistics, somewhere in the Universe right now some cosmic microbe or "cosmic mosquito" is doing its usual daily routine. So let's look at 10 reasons why we can at least believe that extraterrestrial life does exist somewhere out there.

The law of large numbers

Even if the actual number of discovered planets is constantly changing, and in some cases even decreasing due to the lowering of the status of some celestial bodies and their becoming a rank lower, for example, in the category of dwarf planets, in a general sense, scientists agree that there are billions of worlds in space. solar systems and galaxies.

If we consider the Universe as a kind of infinite space, then from the point of view of mathematics, it is necessary to take into account the likelihood that in this infinite space there are the same countless number of planets. In addition, it also suggests that it will be very, very difficult to find something really worthwhile in this countless variety. The search scale is too huge.

If we assume that only 1 percent of these planets can be a habitat for life, then we get just an astronomical number of potentially inhabited worlds. Among this diversity, there may be a certain proportion of planets that are very similar to the Earth with its variety of inhabited species. In this case, we can say that there are even more aliens in space than we can imagine. But again, until science provides solid evidence, all such reasoning in society will always be considered far-fetched and premature.

Water is everywhere

If water is the key to life, then we have good news, because water is found almost everywhere in the universe. Again according to scientists. However, it is most often found in solid form, that is, in the form of ice. But again, not necessarily everywhere. In our solar system alone, there are several satellites of the planets where there is water. And with a high degree of probability, it exists there in liquid form.

Scientists still argue about the same Mars and the presence of water on it in one form or another, but as for other celestial bodies, like the same satellites of the gas giants Jupiter and Saturn, they just show all the signs of the presence of liquid water. Perhaps the most obvious of these is Saturn's moon Enceladus, which spews enormous jets of water vapor and ice particles from cracks in its icy surface into outer space. Among other things, this may indicate that geological activity is still taking place on the satellite, which in turn can contribute to the emergence and development of life.

Variety of species

Now science is mainly aimed at finding forms of life that would be similar to us, or at least those forms of life that required the conditions and elements that were present on Earth for the emergence and development. However, for some reason we ignore the option according to which life forms on other planets could appear and exist in completely different conditions and environments. So many others that these life forms would really seem unreal and alien to us.

There can be a great variety of options, again. Why not assume that somewhere in the universe, life exists in liquid or gaseous form? Or maybe life on other planets has a completely different genetic code and is based on completely different chemical elements and is able to exist in completely unbearable conditions from a human point of view.

Such assumptions are partially supported by the constantly increasing number of discoveries of the so-called extremophiles, that is, organisms that can not only survive, but also quite comfortably exist in very harsh conditions on Earth. They are also found in permafrost and even inside volcanoes. So why not assume that such organisms can exist in the same frozen environment of Mars or in the same fiery hell of Venus?

Could it be that we did not find aliens, not because they do not exist, but simply because we do not know what they will be? It is quite possible that alien life exists in such unexpected forms for us that we cannot even understand if this is life at all.

Rapid development of life on Earth

Again, speaking in relative terms, life on Earth and in particular humans appeared on the planet just yesterday. According to some researchers, such a dramatic emergence and evolution of living forms may indicate that this is not just a very strange coincidence. On the contrary, it may indicate that this can happen somewhere else in the Universe. In other words, perhaps we are not special at all, and our appearance is a normal reaction to planetary evolution.

Some believe that life existed on Mars a long time ago. This was when the planet still had a fairly dense atmosphere and had liquid water on its surface, like on Earth. Similar opinions are expressed towards Venus. Say, it also once looked like the Earth, but some large-scale catastrophic events gave rise to a powerful "greenhouse effect", which significantly increased the temperature on its surface and eventually turned into a lifeless space body.

Supernova rejuvenates the universe

Scientists say: if you decompose the human body into atoms, it turns out that its molecules are 97 percent composed of the same elements as galaxies in the Universe. In other words, we are all children of stars, no matter how loud it sounds.

Our Universe is full of countless cycles of death and birth of new stars, proceeding through a series of stellar explosions, called supernovae. Scientists believe the clouds of gas and dust used to form new stars contain organic molecules called the building blocks of life. These molecules are transported from one corner of the universe to another by comets and asteroids, until they ultimately fall onto planets and satellites that form around stars.

Despite the fact that scientists generally agree with the theory of the appearance of life on Earth thanks to comets containing these building blocks of life, they do not know where and, most importantly, when this process first appeared. The correct answers to these questions may be found in the data collected by the Atacama Large Millimeter-Wave Antenna Array (ALMA), the most powerful radio telescope network in the world. The fact is that ALMA has discovered the chemical signatures of life in the interstellar gas surrounding young stars in the constellation Ophiuchus, which is about 400 light years from Earth.

“This family of organic molecules is involved in the synthesis of peptides and amino acids, which in turn are the biological basis of the life that surrounds us,” explained Audrey Kootens of University College London.

Scientists believe the ALMA find supports our speculations about how life originated within our solar system. If this is true, then the appearance of other new stars may have already led to the emergence of other life forms somewhere in the universe.

We are too invisible against the background of space

Skeptics of the theory of the existence of life elsewhere in the universe often argue that the Earth is unique in its kind. Supposedly, it is the only planet in the Universe where there is life. Some agree on the uniqueness of the Earth, but do not always agree on the reason for this uniqueness. If you look at our solar system as a whole and do not take into account the Earth, then it actually seems completely lifeless. Or at least devoid of intelligent and technologically advanced civilization.

So why not assume that among all the variety of already discovered and even greater variety of worlds not yet found by us, located in the habitable zones of their stars, there may be at least one planet where some intelligent and even very technologically advanced civilization lives, but at the same time, for her, our solar system may seem completely uninhabited? Maybe this is where our uniqueness lies? Maybe we're just too invisible against the background of everything else?

But what if right now some extraterrestrial intelligence is observing our system, sees in it some kind of blue planet, but it does not attract him in any way, since by his standards it is included in the group of lifeless, according to his standards? In addition, why should we rule out the possibility that this intelligence is now observing our planet, but, like us to a greater extent in relation to other exoplanets, hesitantly makes an assumption about whether there is anything living on this blue ball? At the same time, he cannot answer this question exactly, like us, because he lacks evidence, knowledge, or simply the required level of technology.

Asteroids, meteorites and comets

Many scientists at different times (as well as now) were convinced that extraterrestrial life could get to the Earth (and any planet in the Universe in general) riding on some asteroid, meteorite or comet. This hypothesis received substantial support at the end of the 20th century, when, after analyzing the cosmic bodies that fell on our planet, scientists made an amazing discovery.

Probably the most noteworthy incident occurred in 1984 in Antarctica, when scientists discovered a meteorite from Mars, later dubbed ALH84001. After his research, experts made a loud conclusion - life once existed on the Red Planet. In 1996, during the analysis of the object, fossils of once living microbial forms were found in its internal structure. At that time, this was the most compelling evidence that at least the simplest life forms could once inhabit the surface of Mars. Can we conclude from this that life still exists on our planetary neighbor? And couldn't she somehow evolve during this time? Several rovers and orbital probes are currently looking for answers to these questions.

If you count how many different comets and asteroids fell on our planet … In general, who knows how many microbes eventually climbed out of them and assimilated within the ecosystem of our planet. The most famous case of a meteorite falling to Earth is rightfully considered the event that occurred in 1908 in the vastness of Siberia and later called the fall of the Tunguska meteorite. For some reason, it seems that if the researchers of that time had the opportunity to study the place of the fall with the help of modern modern scientific instruments, then people would have expected many interesting and very important discoveries.

Life is not limited to planets

Of course, not only planets are considered by modern science as a potential habitat for various life forms. Take, for example, our solar system. Some scientists are so convinced that some of the planet's satellites can be populated by at least microscopic organisms that they almost personally want to fly there and prove it to everyone.

As noted more than once in previous articles, some of the satellites of our gas giants have all the signs of the presence of geological activity, the atmosphere and even the presence of water in liquid form. Therefore, with the opportunity to explore in more detail the distant boundaries of outer space, we will probably be able to find satellites more suitable for life than their native exoplanets.

Hints in our past

Supporters of the theory of paleocontact believe that evidence of the existence of aliens is seen in some ancient monuments of terrestrial culture: rock paintings, sculptures, legends and epics of the past.

In addition to ancient scriptures, which either indirectly or almost directly, according to the supporters of the theory, hint at the visit of alien beings to our planet, a lot of emphasis is placed on some unexplained periods of human evolution. In particular, we are talking about a not entirely clear process that allowed some pathetic amoeba to practically instantly (by cosmic standards, of course) develop such a complex, multifunctional and effective organ as the human brain.

If it turns out that extraterrestrial intelligence really somehow influenced the course of human history, then this will not just prove the existence of aliens. This will prove that we have much more in common with our space neighbors than many would think. This will lead to the fact that we will have to reevaluate everything we knew about our collective past.

Testimony of "witnesses"

No, get it right: most of the stories about the alleged encounter with UFOs and even aliens landing in the fields and stealing livestock and even people are nothing more than the delirium of crazy, deluded, or simply too suspicious individuals. Almost all UFO sightings can be scientifically explained. And what is impossible, again, is the subject of science, which simply has not reached the level to do it. At the same time, scientists do not hesitate to admit this.

Nevertheless, such statements have accompanied the history of mankind for more than one hundred years. They come from a wide variety of people, ranging from banal swindlers striving for fame and fortune (someone writes books about "events", after all), to quite decent people who risk their reputation very much by telling such things.

Again, as science popularizer Neil DeGrasse Tyson once said, if you happen to find yourself on an alien spaceship by any chance, whatever you see there will be an invaluable subject of evidence for the existence of intelligent extraterrestrial life. It is not enough for science to say that you saw something. Throughout the history of its existence, it has repeatedly proved that the testimony of witnesses is the lowest form of evidence. Therefore, once you are on an alien spaceship, do not rush to make your legs from there. Better try to divert their attention from yourself and grab any thing that comes to your hand. Even that thing over there looks like a cosmic ashtray. Because these are the forms of evidence that scientists are interested in.

But are absolutely all such stories really just an object of imagination, misunderstanding and delusion of people? Or is there a fraction of actual contact cases among them?