Life Out There

Ever since humans have known that all the stars out there are suns somewhat like our own, the question has posed itself: Is there life out there? All types of people—writers, scientists, sky gazers, religious thinkers—have wondered if we’re maybe not alone. The answer to that question—it will likely come some day—will have a profound impact on our worldview.

I sit in the outdoor tub and gaze deeply into the night sky. I see many stars—both faint and bright, individually and clustered. The longer I gaze at them, the more I wonder about them. How many of them, like our sun, provide their neighborhood with life-encouraging energy and warmth? How many have planets circling them? How many of those planets might be temperate and friendly enough to support life? How many of those stars have been around long enough and are stable enough to have allowed life the required time to evolve into sentient beings? Are there planets out there, upon which someone might be gazing in my direction, wondering if life exists elsewhere?

No one to date knows the answers to these questions. It’s not clear when—or if—we’ll know, but we get closer every day. Astronomers are making impressive strides in discovering other solar systems. Just a few years ago we had no idea of either the presence or prevalence of planets around other stars. Now we know that dozens of them do—and we’re just getting started on the hunt!

It’s not too difficult to spot a monster planet around a nearby star—although even that feat was beyond astronomers until recently. (Most sightings are accomplished by noting a brief and periodic dimming of a star’s light, as a planet moves in front of it.) It’s far harder to spot smaller, Earth-sized planets—but the technology is getting there quickly. In the next few years we’ll have those sightings.

Returning to the question of life out there: every planet we discover increases the odds that life did not originate on Earth alone. The more common we find planets to be—and that seems to be the direction we’re headed—the more likely it is that life is out there. We know there are billions of stars in a typical galaxy and billions of galaxies. How many planets does this imply? That sheer number alone suggests that Earth is not the only planet to have hit the jackpot of life.

But for now, we don’t know. I find it exciting that we get closer to an answer every day. When it comes (if it does) it will shake up a certain segment of humanity. Not me… I’m ready. In the meantime, I’m content to lie back in the tub, gaze deep into that star field overhead right now, and muse on it. I wonder if any being is looking my way.