We're Not Alone, We're Just Lonely

Are there other forms of life in the universe?

This is not a question of faith, a hunch or a conspiracy theory for me. No, this is nothing but a math problem. To me and the thought processes I subscribe to, life is not so much a mystery as it is a consequence of many factors. When these factors come together at the right time, we get life. One of those factors is matter; atoms, the building blocks of physical existence. Looking at the elemental composition of our human bodies and comparing it to that of the universe, we start to see some similarities. Some of the most abundant elements in the universe make up 95% of our own forms: oxygen, hydrogen, carbon, among others. With this information, it is safe to say that the necessary elements upon which life can sustain are prevalent everywhere in the universe.

The wrench that many doubters like to throw in the cogs is the question of how life can come from non-life. How can inanimate elements turn into living, breathing beings? The process is called abiogenesis and it really isn't that miraculous. Of course, we didn't just materialize out of random elements just fusing together into complex living organisms. Even life here on Earth had to start simple; most likely from a simple protein, existing in just the right conditions, perhaps on the warm, geologically active ocean floor of early Earth. That protein, surrounded by elements of its own sustenance, thrived and changed over time, eventually taking on the characteristics of complex life.

The two questions to arise from that are: what are the conditions for life and do they exist elsewhere? I won't pretend to know the answer to the first one, specifically because there is no exact definition of the requirements of life. We may have evolved to be what we are because of the geological makeup of the Earth, but that doesn't mean that life can't exist on a different planet of different elemental proportions. There may be a planet with more gravity, less oxygen, or colder temperatures, but all that says to me is that if life were to exist on that planet, it would be a much different type of life than we have on Earth. When we look for life out in space, we're not looking for anything familiar.

Still, what are the chances that the conditions for any type of life are met? Using our own planet as a prime example, we know it can be done in the first place. The next step is to calculate the chances. A conservative estimation for the number of planets in the universe is around "a million trillion" planets. I'm not making this up either. When you consider the number of stars we have acknowledged in the known universe, 10^21, (also understanding that there are plenty in the unknown universe), then consider that each star has the potential to be at the center of its own solar system with planet satellites, you can imagine an average of 3 planets per star. Let's also not forget about moons for each planet, which each have the potential for life. The number of potential environments in the universe is astoundingly high; so high that the possibility of an almost earthlike twin planet existing somewhere out there is numerically certain. This certainty brings into question the next factor.

Our universe is about 14 billion years old, and I don't need to tell you that is a long time. The Earth itself is measured to have existed for only a third of that age. Thinking about this, there are many other planetary lifetimes that fit into the universal timeline. This is to say that if we're wondering if life exists, we should also ask if life has ever existed in the past or will exist in the future on other planets. At this point we are multiplying our possibilities by infinity, or at least by 3. Now that we've considered all of the factors that go into life existing elsewhere in the universe, we can see that as we examined the factors, the theoretical probability actually got higher. The more we consider, the more chances we have to say, "Yeah, life probably exists elsewhere in the universe." There is one more question remaining though, and it is perhaps the most important question to ask.

Will we ever encounter these other life forms?

My answer is two-fold. There is a small chance that we will discover some basic forms of life on the satellites in our solar system. If we manage to get onto the surface of another planet and really probe around, there is a possibility we can perhaps find a microbe or two. I am not crossing my fingers. As far as finding other intelligent life in the universe, I am sad to say that I don't believe the human race will survive to experience actual contact. When you consider the methods used to detect the universe around us, it is improbable that any advanced life form, no matter how technologically advanced either of us is, is in sustainable traveling distance. The nearest star to our solar system is over 4 light years away. When you consider that Mars is about 40 million miles from the Earth and it took the Rover 7 months to get there, if we traveled at the same rate to that star, it would take us around 360,000 years to get there. So yeah... contact? Not happening.

We're not alone, but we're definitely lonely.

(As a disclaimer, I would like to point out that this is not some crackpot theory. Neil deGrasse Tyson, a popular astrophysicist and Director of the Hayden Planetarium at the American Museum of Natural History, holds an identical view.)