Earth.

A word that means soil, ground, and home.

A word that instills a sense of belonging or loneliness within us.

Some may perceive our earth to be a place filled with beautiful sights, sceneries, and locations, such as these:

And others, may perceive earth to be an infinitesimally small spec in our infinitesimally large universe, a place that holds no more meaning than a single particle of dust.

 

 

Could there possibly be any balance between these two perceptions: one that seems to be a happy ignorance, and the other a gloomy pessimism?

There is scientific speculation that supports the hypothesis that life on earth is intended- done with a purpose- regardless of its relative size against our vast universe.

Here are two of the requirements for life to exist according to Las Cumbres Observatory

• Life can only exist in a Habitable Zone

The rarity of our placement in both the solar system and our Milky Way galaxy is quite extraordinary. Let’s begin with our placement in the galaxy.

At the center of our galaxy lies a supermassive black hole that “eats” stars. If our solar system were located any closer to the center, we would be at risk of being destroyed by our black hole. However, the alternative is not much better. If our sun were too far away from the center of our galaxy, it probably would not have been able to form the heavier elements that are necessary for life (such as carbon).

In relation to other stars in our galaxy, we are also in the perfect location. If our sun were in the spiral arms, we would be at risk of colliding with newly forming stars- it would be over crowded. However, we are in a quiet zone…

 

In the center of our galaxy, there lies a supermassive black hole that is forty billion times the mass of our sun. According to Japanese astronomers, our black hole “awakened from slumber” with a “large X-Ray burst about 300 years ago” . This is something that had the capability to wipe out all life. However, because our galaxy is a spiral galaxy, the burst avoided the disc of stars surrounding the black hole, successfully avoiding earth, and instead burst outward and downward into space.

 

Our planet also happens to be in one of these habitable zones in relation to our sun. It’s in a location that’s not too hot, and not too cold, but just right- (which has also been nicknamed the “Goldilocks Zone”)

• Life can only exist if it has a planet that “cleans up” asteroids.

Because we have large, gas giants in our solar system, earth is less susceptible to large asteroid impacts. These gas giants have a greater mass and therefore have a greater gravitational pull on these stray asteroids, so they almost serve as protectors for life on earth.

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Life on earth is very unlikely. We are placed in such a position in our galaxy that happens to be the type that protects us from black hole electromagnetic bursts, that happens to be in its habitable zone away from clustered, new birthing stars, that happens to contain a planet that has carbon-based life and water, that happens to be located in a habitable zone for its star system, that happens to be protected by gas giants.

We are also placed in such a way that allows us to best observe and learn about the Universe. Our moon is so perfectly sized that when we have eclipses, we can view our sun’s corona, which we wouldn’t be able to view without eclipses. Also, our specific location in our galaxy is the only place that best allows us to observe and learn more about our the black hole in the center of our galaxy. 

Our earth and our solar system are perfectly placed to ensure that life exists, which means that we are perfectly placed, and perfectly intended.

 

Thank you for reading- until next week-

keep searching.