The Mystery of the Extraterrestrial Life in the Universe (2025)

2014

Remember that famous “I Want to Believe” poster of an Alien Spacecraft in Fox Mulder’s office in the famed TV series “The X Files”? The classic question of “Are we alone in this universe” has fascinated us for generations. According to the Hubble Space Telescope’s findings, there are at least 125 billion+ galaxies in the universe, and at least 10% of all sun-like stars have a system of planets, and there are billions of stars with planets orbiting around them in the universe. And, even a billionth of these stars have planets that support life, then, there are around 6.25 billion life-supporting solar systems in this universe alone!Let’s understand the logic behind the possibility of extra-terrestrial life forms in this following way: everything that we know of this universe, are known to exist in numbering more than one, like for example, we know for a fact that, there are more than one stars, (more than one) galaxies, (more than one) black holes, (more than one) nebula, (more than one) solar systems, (more than one) planets, (more than one) comets, asteroids, quasars, pulsars, and so on. Therefore, if everything in this universe exist in numbering more than one, then, why there should be only one planet in the universe like that of earth, a planet that is perfect for the sustenance of life? If the very natural order that built and sustained this universe, where all that exist (and ever existed), thrive in billions and billions in number, then shouldn’t there be more than one planet like that of earth in this universe, the very cosmos where everything is in their millions to billions to even more?Truth is, concerns over extraterrestrial life forms are as much spiritual as they are scientific. And, this book aims to prove that, the possibility of extra-terrestrial life is very much real and WE ARE DEFINITELY, ABSOLUTELY, AND CERTAINLY NOT ALONE IN THIS UNIVERSE!!!

The Search for Extraterrestial Life

2007

The Copernican principle holds that there is nothing special about our solar system and hence other stars in our galaxy should have their own solar systems that resemble our own. Our own solar system contains four small inner rocky planets (Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars), two gas giant planets (Saturn and Jupiter), and three ice planets (Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto). SETI expectations were built on the assumption that most other solar systems should be veritable carbon copies our own. As such, the discovery and characterization of extra-solar planets was expected to be the crowning vindication of the hopes and expectations of SETI astronomers. The fi rst offi cial detection of an extra-solar planet came in October 1995 with the detection of a Jupiter-sized object orbiting about the star 51 Pegasi about 50 light years away from us. This confi rmed for the fi rst time that planets do indeed exist outside our solar system. Since that time, over 100 planets have been discovered orbitin...

The Uniqueness Hypothesis - Why There is Only One Place in the Universe With Biological Life

2009

In the 21st century the majority of humans including most of the scientists are convinced that there is extraterrestrial life somewhere in the Universe. But recent findings in astronomy, astrobiology, geology and chemistry have progressively melted down the probability of biological life beyond Earth’s ecospheres. Contrary to the Copernican humiliation Earth appears more and more to be a unique place in the Universe for it was only here where the emergence of life took place. Furthermore, the primary abiogenesis only occurred once in the lifetime of our planet. This process is neither understood nor accessible to simulation or recreation. What are the philosophical, religious and political consequences if we adopt the Uniqueness Hypothesis – the only one conclusive with modern epistemology and today’s scientific knowledge?

Extraterrestrial life: unfolding the mystery

2016

We are not completely able to determine if there are, indeed, life-forms outside our planet, yet we may not neglect the fact that there could be extraterrestrial life things considering how big the universe is. There are countless planets, starts and galaxies, so there is enough room for us to believe that life outside earth is possible. Hence, taking into account that life in other planets is possible, we may agree that since there are numberless galaxies there might be planets with suitable conditions for life and that certain living beings can live in and adapt to different and/or extreme conditions in specific areas on Earth and outside it.

Extraterrestrial life in light of recent planetary science

Bulletin of the American Physical Society, 2016

The evolution of life in the Universe: are we alone?

Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union, 2006

In his book Plurality of Worlds, Steven J. Dick (1984) has chronicled the millennia of discourse about other inhabited worlds, based upon deeply held religious or philosophical belief systems. The popularity of the idea of extraterrestrial life has waxed and waned and, at its nadir, put proponents at mortal risk. The several generations of scientists now attending this General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union at the beginning of the 21st century have a marvelous opportunity to shed light on this old question of habitable worlds through observation, experimentation, and interpretation, without recourse to belief systems and without risking their lives (though some may experience rather bumpy career paths). The newly-named and funded, multi-disciplinary field of astrobiology is extremely broad in its scope and is encouraging IAU members to learn and speak the languages of previously disparate disciplines in an attempt to answer the big picture questions: ‘Where did we ...

The Search for Life in the Universe

2016

On the plurality of inhabited worlds: a brief history of extraterrestrialism

International Journal of Astrobiology, 2006

This paper delineates the cultural evolution of the ancient idea of a plurality of inhabited worlds, and traces its development through to contemporary extraterrestrialism, with its foundation in the physical determinism of cosmology, and its attendant myths of alien contact drawn from examples of British film and fiction. We shall see that, in the evolving debate of the existence of extraterrestrial life and intelligence, science and science fiction have benefited from an increasingly symbiotic relationship. Modern extraterrestrialism has influenced both the scientific searches for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI), and become one of the most pervasive cultural myths of the 20th century. Not only has pluralism found a voice in fiction through the alien, but fiction has also inspired science to broach questions in the real world.

Are We Alone in the Universe?

This article explores some ideas about the scientific plausibility of the existence of life, intelligent or not, outside of our planet.

Invited Pesek lecture: Exploration rather than speculation–assembling the puzzle of potential life beyond Earth

Acta Astronautica, 2012

Intelligent Life Elsewhere in the Universe

Astronomers' Universe, 2016