Are we Alone in the Universe?

We exist as a beat in the complex cosmic fugue. We are the product of primordial fiat lux of life. We exist as a dot in the canvas of the universe. We exist as a frame in the grand spectacle of life. We exist as a surge on the cosmic cavalcade. We are but a pageant of evolution, the poltergeist of life that creep the silences of the far away universe. There is more life on our planet then ever expressed in the fiction. Life is slithering and sprawling in every nook and corner of our planet, beings die and new generations and species take their place. There are more things in heaven and earth than dreamt of in the philosophy. There are things at our exposal in the vast contemptuous ocean of the cosmos all we need is a telescope but are there beings too?

Are we alone in the universe? Our planet is teeming with life but is the life as we know of unique with our planet? All my life I have wondered of the life beyond the earth. All the countless 400 billion galaxies, planets, the exo-planets, the comets, the asteroids and the stars burgeoning in the universe, are there also life? Will the beings of other worlds resemble us? Or will they be astonishingly different? What is life in the shores of cosmos? Is our understanding of life complete or are there discoveries yet to be made which will entirely reform the way we contemplate of life and universe. The nature of life on earth and the quest of life elsewhere are the two sides of the same question: Who we are and are we alone in the universe?

542 Million Years ago the foundation of life was set on earth in a Cambrian explosion that saw the sudden burst of evolution of complex animal life on our planet. All living things on earth are made of organic molecules, a complex microscopic architecture around atoms of carbon, in the great space and dark between the stars there are also organic molecules in the immense clouds of gas and dust. The surface of the newly form planets and other celestial bodies in the universe is shrouded by these organic molecules. These organic molecules are not life but they are the stuff of life.

The first revolution in our quest to find life beyond earth was ushered in by the introduction of the telescopes in the 1600s. With the help of the incredible invention of the changing world, the astronomers namely Galileo Galilei standing on the shoulders of the great astronomers Nicolaus Copernicus and Johannes Kepler, opened up the mysterious heavens for the first time to serious scientific scrutiny. Building upon the works of Galileo, Sir Isaac Newton laid down the laws governing the motion of celestial bodies and for the first time cosmos was put forth people beyond the prejudice of dogma and mysticism. The second revolution is cosmology was initiated by the inventions of twentieth century modern telescopes.

Astronomer Edwin Hubble further revolutionized the way we gloated upon the stretched heavens. The third revolution is now underway with the surge of modern high-tech instruments, such as space satellites, lasers, gravity wave detectors, X-ray telescopes, and high speed supercomputers. We now have the most authoritative data on the nature of the universe and what it is made up. We have the best tools needed to analyze this data.

We are here, made of stardust. The first living microbial cell is believed to be brought to earth by a comet. Life cells are the product of years of grinding and baking inside the core of the stars. It gives us a clear indication that life as we know of exists beyond the stretch of our solar system; all that is lacking is the evidence. Today scientists hope to obtain more statistics to find something more substantial and more edifying. The most recent discoveries made today vehemently point to the optimistic view that extraterrestrial life does exist.

Astrobiologists are excited by the modern explosion of new planets discovered outside our solar system. Since the last decade of the previous century when the first planet was discovered orbiting around another normal star, now the number of Exo-planets has swelled to 200 and more are being discovered. Some of these exo-planets are incredibly earth like and lie within the habitable zone of their stars. 

The recently spotted Earth 2.0 is found to be only 20.5 light-years away in the habitable zone of its star and considered to be highly probable of supporting life as we know of.

Recent discoveries suggest that the solar system and broader Milky Way galaxy bourgeon with climate that could support life. Oceans of liquid water slosh beneath the icy shells of the Jupiter moons Europa and Ganymede, as well as that of the Saturn satellite Enceladus. NASA’s curiosity rover has found carbon-containing organic molecules and fixed nitrogen, basic ingredients necessary for Earth-like life, on the Martian surface. Kepler space telescope suggests that nearly every star is in the sky hosts planets-and many of these worlds may be habitable. It has also shown that rocky worlds like earth and Mars are more common throughout the Milky Way galaxy than the gas giants such as Saturn and Jupiter.  

Though still the evidence for life on planets and galaxies far away from our solar system or Milky Way galaxy is inconclusive. Researchers are working toward more intensive goals of realizing the first contact with the extraterrestrial life. NASA’s Mars rovers scheduled to launch in 2020 will search for signs of past life and cache the samples back to the earth; it also plans to land astronauts on Mars in the 2030s, which is supposed to be a key step in this regard.

Astronomers are to embark on the most intensive search for alien life by listening out for potential radio signals coming from advanced civilizations far beyond the solar system. Our universe is beaming with electromagnetic radiations and within spectrum outside the one of our planet we will be able to detect the signs of intelligent civilization far away. The world most powerful telescope, 50 times more sensitive than any other previous telescope which will also cover 10 times more sky,  in US and Australia launched in compliance with the leading physicists Stephen Hawkins will solely look for radio emissions to hunt the signature of intelligent civilization.  

Finally we may not be very far from our first contact with the alien beings in the outer space as predicted by NASA’s chief scientist Ellen Stofan who says, “I think we’re going to have indications of life beyond Earth within a decade and I think we’re going to have definitive evidence within 20 to 30 years”. What we need to think about is: Are we ready for such an excursion? Are we advanced enough to resist the contact with a hostile outer intelligence? Should we stop being a threat to each other and work out the greater possibility of our survival if and when we meet a civilization brewing inside the human tendency of awe and destruction?

                                                              

Refs: Space.org, Parallel Words by Machio Kaku, Cosmos by Carl Sagan