The question of aliens has been contemplated by scientists for centuries. The age old idea has had both the public as well as scientists baffled for years. But where does this idea really come from? Thousands of years ago it is believed that extraterrestrial life appeared on earth and helped the beginning civilizations. Caused by both a long string of UFO sightings as well as pop culture beginning to stir the pot for many americans, aliens were popular topic for many. The 2001: A Space Odyssey is an example of a film during the era that supported these ancient-alien theories. Erich von Däniken is considered the father of the ancient-alien theory after he published Chariots of the Gods? which really started the entire ancient-alien theory. So where is the alien theory today? With scientific advances being made all of the time, the idea that there is life on other planets is becoming increasingly realistic.
In an article written by Time magazine, the question of when the world will find is brought to the table. The article states, “In 2040, Americans plan to vote in a U.S. presidential election. Japan promises to stop using nuclear power. Britain’s Prince George will turn the ripe age of 27. And, as the interactive above demonstrates, the world is likely to find alien life.” To support such a claim the article turns to astrophysicist Frank Drake. Drake is known in the field of the search for extraterrestrial life for his formula he created back in 1961 called the drake equation. In this equation, you can supposedly find out how out just how many advanced civilizations there are in the Milky Way. The equation deals with probability. For example, if there are 100 billion stars in the Milky Way “20-50% probably harbour planetary-systems” and if even ⅕ of those systems could hold life on it “from 0% to 100% would actually go on to develop life.” Lastly the article makes another point of discussing signals. For instance, the earth has been around for 3.5 billion years yet our ability to use radio waves has been around for only a century. After thousands of years of these radio waves it becomes more likely that the extraterrestrial life form will inevitably see it.
Whether you believe in aliens or think it is a complete waste of time, it is important to keep an open mind. Like discussed in class doing things the same way, such as the field of medicine, can sometimes prove to be ignorant. I personally never have or really do believe in aliens or the idea of life on another planet. However, I do believe that it is necessary to continue to discuss the topic and possibilities of it.
http://www.history.com/shows/ancient-aliens/articles/ancient-alien-theory
http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/547303/NASA-Discovery-Curiosity-Life-Evidence-Mars
This is a crazy topic to think about simply because the universe is so large. There has got to be another existing life out there somewhere and I am sure scientists are working tirelessly to try and find it. I really like how you try and get the reader to keep an open mind even if they do not believe that various life forms exist, because it is very possible. I hope scientists can find some sort of evidence about this soon because I think it would be extremely cool to live through that.