At some point in time, most of have asked ourselves, in this vast, continuously expanding universe, are we the only civilization out there? Are we the only planet with life on it? Every other moth we hear some news about how Kepler or another telescope may have discovered a planet with potential of having life on it. Even poor Mars has not been spared; now knowing for sure that Mars has water, the question of E.T. (not the cool alien from the movie) or rather any life form existing on other planets has been raised ever so often.

Firstly, let’s get the definition of extra-terrestrial out of the way.  Extraterrestrial is a definition for something outside the earth or its atmosphere. Following this definition, we can even say that if we take the defining point of earth’s boundary as how high the aero planes fly, we still find atmospheric microorganisms. But obviously, when we say extraterrestrials, we picture little green men. But for the most part, currently most research organizations are primarily focused on not finding ‘little green men’ but rather organisms, microorganisms, bacteria or even water to help establish a proper view.

But then, what are the odds of having life out there, not bacteria or organisms that can be seen under a micro scope, but rather life form like, ‘little green men’ or reptiles or birds? The universe is still expanding and we estimate it has been over 13.7 billion years since the big bang and the Solar System is thought to be 4.5 billion years old and humans have existed as a genus for only a few million years (NASA). That is still a very long time. According to the best estimates of astronomers there are at least one hundred billion galaxies in the observable universe (Physics.org). So is it not possible that there is a galaxy somewhere out there that has very similar conditions to our own solar system, with a planet similar to earth? Well…sort of.

“A newly-published NASA and Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) study is asserting that roughly 92 percent of habitable worlds have yet to be created” (Wood). There you go, NASA just poured cold water over all of us stargazers who look up at the sky and go into deep thought. But it can’t be helped. But don’t lose hope. What this just means is that we just have a head start on the civilizations that have yet to develop. Like I said, Kepler and other telescopes suggest that there a lot of planets that are in a suitable or habitable zone of a star and are fairly common. I did say that the Universe is estimated to be 13.7 billion years old, and us ourselves being a few million years old as a genus, then why aren’t there others like us?

It’s because when we look at the age of the universe, it is still fairly youn
g. It is estimated that the last star won’t burn out for around 100 trillion years. That’s a very very very big number. In consideration to that we, as a genus, haven’t existed that long. “A paper on the study asserts that before its end, the Universe will create roughly 10 times as many planets than there are now, and that this proliferation indicates that there is at least a 92 percent chance that ours will not be the only advanced civilization to exist in the universe before its end”(Gizmag). So there is hope, we may not be able to see it, but maybe the distant generations would. We just might a civilization where caption Kirk goes out and saves a primitive civilization from extinction, or a hitchhiker’s guide to the galaxy. That is, if we don’t self-destruct first.

“How Old Is the Universe?” WMAP- Age of the Universe. Ed. NASA. NASA, n.d. Web. 22 Oct. 2015. <http://map.gsfc.nasa.gov/universe/uni_age.html>.

“How Old Is the Universe?” WMAP- Age of the Universe. NASA, n.d. Web. 22 Oct. 2015. <http://map.gsfc.nasa.gov/universe/uni_age.html>.

NASA. “How Old Is the Universe?” WMAP- Age of the Universe. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Oct. 2015. <http://map.gsfc.nasa.gov/universe/uni_age.html>.

Physics.org. “How Do We Know How Many Galaxies Are in Our Universe? | Physics.org.” How Do We Know How Many Galaxies Are in Our Universe? | Physics.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Oct. 2015. <http://www.physics.org/facts/sand-galaxies.asp>.

Wood, Anthony. “New Study Claims That the Vast Majority of Earth-like Worlds Do Not Yet Exist.” New Study Claims That the Vast Majority of Earth-like Worlds Do Not Yet Exist. Gizmag, n.d. Web. 22 Oct. 2015. <http://www.gizmag.com/nasa-study-earth-like-worlds/39978/>.