"In your personal opinion, as an atheist, Christian, etc, is life possible on other planets and why?"

Question

Please answer for you personally and don't discuss other answers here.

Answer 1

It's certainly possible. The same laws of physics that govern the chemical processes that led to life developing here, are *most likely* in operation in the rest of the universe.

I say "most likely" because there are legitimate scientific theories that acknowledge a possibility that physical laws might be different under conditions that could occur elsewhere. Plus, without actually traveling out of our "local" neighborhood (say, a globe 100 light years in diameter), it's hard to verify what physical conditions and laws apply.

My personal, gut feeling is that it's so much a possibility as to be a near certainty.

Not only are various different types of life pretty likely, but several planets have been discovered orbiting other stars that have conditions similar enough to Earth's so that OUR type of life is likely.

So I think it's only a matter of time before we discover evidence of life elsewhere. Maybe even places in our own solar system, like the moon Europa around Jupiter, in the theorized warm ocean under its frozen ice surface.

Answer 2

Life is not only possible, it's impossible for me to imagine that there isn't any other life in the universe. However, I find the idea of interplanetary contact kind of far fetched because of the incredibly vast distances between objects in space. It takes light something like 4 years to reach us from the next closest star. So even at the speed of light the trips would take way too long. And of course, obviously I'm an atheist.

Answer 3

As an atheist, it's definitely possible. Given the right environmental conditions, self-replicating molecules could eventually evolve into life on other planets in the same way it evolved on Earth.

Then there's the 'panspermia' idea of Dr. Francis Crick, that life on earth was seeded by DNA drifting in from outer space. This would imply that there's definitely life on other planets...

Answer 4

The possibility is there.

We know that there are planets outside of our solar system, hundreds of them with more being discovered all the time.

The more we learn about other solar systems, the more we will be able to determine what % are suitable for life, then make a reasonable estimate to how many could hold life.

Answer 5

I find it hard to believe that in this big amazing universe that this is the only planet that life has arisen. I believe the mechanics that allowed life to form here are universal and statistically likely to happen elsewhere.

Answer 6

The numbers are in favor of other life, especially if you are watching the approach of Nibiru. There has to be other civilizations out there because to think that man is the only and ultimate life in the universe is intensly firghtening.

Answer 7

life on other planets is certainly possible - though i think we have strong circumstantial evidence that it is rare (we haven't found any).

i don't think one can say that it is statistically likely or unlikely. we don't know what the equations are, and even if we did we would not know what parameters to feed into them.

(i am an atheist).

Answer 8

Yes, you honestly would believe that we are the ONLY planet in the universe with life? I think not. Just common sense to me.

Answer 9

If it on this planet, why not any of the other millions of planets out there?

So, for this atheist, that's a yes (it is possible).

Answer 10

Sure, in an infinite universe there might be life on other planets as well as our own.