Is Anyone Out There?

Greetings. Are we alone in the universe? 

The potentiality for extraterrestrial life forms is perhaps the most challenging and thought-provoking inquiry the human species has ever considered. As scientists have begun to slowly explore the incredible vastness of the universe, they have discovered that potential homes for extraterrestrial life forms are incredibly commonplace, numbering in the billions and billions, as the late Carl Sagan used to say. Astronomers have discovered terrestrial planets like Mars and the Earth, ice giants similar to Neptune and Uranus, and gaseous giants reminiscent of Jupiter and Saturn. Just a cursory scan of the numbers strongly supports the idea that extraterrestrial life is a reality, likely a common occurrence in the universe. However, since we have not discovered any extraterrestrial life forms as of yet, we cannot discount the depressing possibility that the Earth is the only place in the universe where life exists. Not a popular belief, but a possibility nonetheless. 

Do I personally believe that we are alone in the universe? Absolutely not. The sheer number of exoplanets that have been discovered makes the likelihood that we are alone almost, but not quite impossible. Not quite zero. It is a sobering thought; that in the immense space that is the universe, the Earth might be the sole oasis for life, the only place in the entire universe that had the environmental conditions present to allow for the evolution of life. Depressing, but possible. On the other side of the extraterrestrial coin, if the Earth is not the only place where life exists, where are our neighbors? Does extraterrestrial life exist in the solar system, or is it present in other solar systems too far away from our own to find? Perhaps such life is underneath our noses, very close to the Earth, but undiscovered as of this writing.

If extraterrestrial life exists, and if some of those same life forms have formed complex societies and civilizations, and evolved to attain a level of technological advancement, is it logical to assume that they might be searching the universe for life in the same manner as ourselves? To my mind, absolutely. Alien scientists would likely be conducting examinations of the universe, scanning the skies for alien life forms, which would include our own hominid species. Perhaps alien scientists have begun to broadcast signals into outer space in the hopes of receiving a response. Perhaps alien scientists have sent out robotic probes into outer space in a long term attempt to find extraterrestrial life. Seems logical. Seems reasonable, even likely. 

Turning back to our own "local" neighborhood, Mars. Ceres. Titan. Europa. Enceladus. The list is long and fascinating, all potential homes for extraterrestrial life. If we take the solar system as a template, then extraterrestrial life may be quite common in the universe, present on terrestrial planets, their moons, and other habitats we have not even thought of considering. Perhaps life exists in the planetary system orbiting Proxima Centauri, the closest star to our own Sun, or perhaps, the closest extraterrestrial life forms are millions of light years distant, never to be found, much less communicated with. I suppose our species will discover extraterrestrial life at some point, as long as we don't commit planetwide nuclear suicide, but perhaps not. If extraterrestrial life exists, but is too far away to find, then the human species may always wonder, may always ask: Are we alone in the universe?

Thank you for your time and consideration.