Could There Be Life Elsewhere?
There have been many stories about extraterrestrial life, or aliens, made up over the years. ‘Are aliens real?’ is one of society’s most debatable topic. People either believe in aliens, or they don’t. There is a lot of evidence supporting the possibility of life in space, but there is also evidence against it. Despite all of this, scientists still haven’t discovered life somewhere other than Earth. However, they will keep searching. We have the technology to dive deep into other worlds and see what they are comprised of, to explore other parts of the solar system, and discover new galaxies. The universe is expanding, and it seems unreal for Earth to be the only celestial body that houses life.
Defining ‘Life’
Scientists who are searching for life somewhere other than Earth aren’t just looking for the green, humanoid, aliens with large eyes (they might, but that doesn’t necessarily define an alien). Life could be anything ranging from a microscopic species of bacteria, to something much bigger or humanoid. If anything, scientists have looked at places with life, but haven’t seen them yet.
Where Are Some Good Places to Look?
Scientists have been looking for aliens for a long time. Over that time, they have discovered many places that could house extraterrestrial life. One of the main places to look for life would be somewhere with water. Water is one of the main things that keeps us and life on Earth alive. Life can’t exist without water. Scientists are hopeful for celestial bodies that have water or ice because there might be life there. They could also potentially be like Earth and be able to keep humans alive. Of course, some alien life might be able to survive without water. However, some of the best places to look for life have water. Triton, for example, is one of the best places to look for extraterrestrial life. It is one of Neptune’s moon and is geologically active. It also has ice (from water) on it. Ganymede, another moon, has a saltwater ocean underneath the surface of it. This could possible house life because it is all water. Titan is the largest moon orbiting Saturn. It has rivers, seas, and other bodies of methane and other substances that could be a home to different species. Mars is also a good place to look for life. It used to have water on it, and there could be water ice on it still. There are also many exoplanets that have been discovered that are like Earth. If we live off of the resources in Earth, then other life on planets like Earth could possibly survive on exoplanets like Kepler-62f or TOI-700d.
The Universe is Still Expanding
As we know, the universe is still expanding. With more space in the universe comes more possibility for more life. Of course, we haven’t discovered and studied all of the universe yet, only about five percent of the universe. It’s so vast that life on Earth being the only life in the universe seems unreal. The idea of us being alone is more insane than extraterrestrial life.
What Do You Think?
So what do you think? Could there be life in the universe other than on Earth? Are aliens real or not? See the Credits and Further Reading to learn more. Also, if you are interested in this topic, please research more about the possibilities about extraterrestrial life, see what has been discovered already, and learn more about places with that could house life. Or, if you don’t believe in aliens, you could pull arguments against the possibility of extraterrestrial life. However, the question still remains, is there life on Mars? (haha, please tell me I’m not the only one who gets this pun: https://youtu.be/AZKcl4-tcuo).
Credits and Further Reading: