one simple question? are we alone in this universe?

Answer 1

That is highly doubtful.

"There are more stars than there are grains of sand on all the beaches of the planet Earth." -- Carl Sagan

Answer 2

The only realy answer any of us is able to give is 'Maybe', followed by a noncommital shrug.

The chances of another life form existing are slim (incrediably so), and the chances that the other life form is intelligent is even slimmer, and the chances that this intelligent life form has the technology to contact us is the slimmest of all.

(Actualy, that last statement isn't quite true. The idea that an advanced, intelligent lifeform would WANT to contact us is the slimmest of all).

In the words of Bill Waterson's cartoon, Calvin "The only evidence for intelligent life is that it hasn't tried to contact us".

Answer 3

The Universe is very large and most likly there is life out there. Though you need to take into consideration that the life may not be in a complex form, it might be something simple like a bacteria. Aliens do not have to be all white with large black beady eyes.

Answer 4

Our galaxy alone has 200 billion stars, and it's only one of many galaxies. There are dozens of sunlike stars just within a few dozen light years, many of which may potentially have planets with complex life. There's no hard evidence of extraterrestrial intelligence, but the sheer size of the universe makes it statistically very unlikely that humans are the only intelligent species in it.

Answer 5

Interesting question and certainly not a simple one. It seems arrogant to me for people to think that Earth is the only planet in the universe to contain sentient beings. But so far, we haven't encountered any other life forms as we know them.

Answer 6

Not even remotely possible... it's pretty likely life, if not common, is abundant. There are even signs that Mars once held life. And we know of some life forms on Earth that could likely survive on Mars NOW, even as hostile as it is today. The interesting thing about finding evidence of former life on Mars isn't the life itself, now almost certainly extinct, but the suggestion that life is likely to exist wherever it can exist in the Universe, assuming it did independently arise on Earth and Mars.

Of course, asking "are we alone" can mean several things: are the only life ever in the Universe? The chance of that is so remote as be unworthy of consideration. Are we the only life NOW in the Universe. Also virtually impossible... however, there's no way we'll know about virtually all of the potential life in the Universe -- it's just too distant.

Astronomers have been looking for extrasolar planets for a relatively short time, and found over 200 already, most very large ones (like Jupiter, or larger still)... and at least in part, because large ones are more common (we think) and easier to find (dramatically larger mass). So we do know planets are abundant, and even found around stars previously not even considered (red dwarfs, for example).

There are several problems in ever meeting other life forms. First one is, how possible is interstellar travel? For humans, the answer is "not very", at least based on what we know of physics. If we built the best starship we could based on today's science (forget about the practicalities of cost), it would takes decades to reach interesting planets... and we don't yet know enough about extrasolar planets to have found any excellent targets for exploration.

However, an older species with a longer life span wouldn't have either of those issues. The problem here is that the Earth/Sol system isn't in a particularly interesting part of the Milky Way galaxy. So they would certainly explore more toward the center of the galaxy, were they out looking for other life.

It's possible, as in every "Space Opera", that there's a much better way to travel around in space. We don't have that today, but it's good to be humble and realize that humans have only been launching things into space for 46 years. We've only understood physics beyond the level of Newtonian physics for slightly longer. We're certain to know a whole lot more about physics, space travel in 100 years, 500, 1000, etc. So "can't" may apply to today's world, but it's unimaginative to expect that to be a permanent condition.

Another big question is one of intelligence... only intelligent beings think about leaving their planets; only really intelligent ones are likely to get to before they die off, though war, natural disaster, plague, etc. As a species, we've dodged a few big ones so far, but we're not there yet, not assured we'll live as a species long enough to go exploring. But if we're looking for peers, it will be harder still.

You need the right set of conditions for intelligence to evolve. In a world that's too comfortable, it's unlikely to be necessary. In a world that's too harsh, it's unlikely that any species would devote that much expense to intelligence. So it's far more likely that we first discover something basic, perhaps microbial life somewhere else... and perhaps many times over, before higher forms are found.

And it all assume we're looking, or they are. Certainly there's a value to searching for alien life, but the expense of sending starships out just for that would be crazy. So that's unlikely. Far more likely is that, sooner or later, humanity expands off the earth, and eventually, to the stars. If we don't colonize space, humanity will eventually die off completely, whether due to disease or disaster or war. We know we're alive here, and life is certainly OUR gift to the universe.... just don't expect it to be unique.

Answer 7

If we are alone then I would have to say that the Universe set it's sights rather low and settled for very little

Answer 8

I would guess there are many different opinions on that question. I like to think we are not alone. Imagine what else could be out there... it could be mean though. Regardless, I believe in aliens. Some of them are already living amongst us now.

Answer 9

We don't know. Simple as that. Anyone who says they know is mistaken. We have to live with some uncertainties in life which is an irritating biatch. This is one of them.

Answer 10

All imaginable possibilities exist. Anything you imagine already is existing in the reality of that thought, because you can 'see' it in your minds eye. The reason why you cannot imagine yourself dead without a semblance of consciousness is because that is not possible. Can you imagine any other being 'out there'?