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The scientific community is largely in agreement on the fact that life began here on Earth about three and a half billion years ago. In a universe ruled over largely by entropy, it is inane to say that any set of circumstances could be completely unique. The primordial constituents of Earths atmosphere gave way to the building blocks of life, as could and in all likelihood has happened elsewhere in the vastness of space and time. Since the dawn of mankind, we have looked to the stars in search of answers, and one question has always been prevalent in our thinking: are we alone? It is ingrained in our culture, with science-fiction spreading rampantly through the world of novels and television alike. Such fare as The X-Files and blockbuster movies like the new Star Wars films keep our eyes to the sky.
This search for extraterrestrial life can be a huge waste of resources on our part, but there are many reasons why it can be worthwhile, and many ways to make it more resource efficient. The first place to look is within our own solar system. A key aspect of life as we know it is water, so that is the first thing we look for. On our neighboring planet, Mars, researchers are now finding evidence that water existed or even exists still. This may not mean little green men, but it could very well mean the existence of microbial life. Although what we are most interested in would be intelligent life, any life beyond our own planet would be a huge step forward, and Mars seems like the top candidate.
Following the discovery of this evidence, NASA is keen on sending more missions to the red planet, possibly even a manned mission some time in the future. Another celestial body of great interest to mankind in our own little cosmic neighborhood is Europa, a moon of Jupiter. Europa's surface is covered in a layer of water / ice up to one hundred kilometers thick. Deep beneath the surface the kinetic motion of the core of the moon keeps it warm enough for liquid water, which could possibly harbor life. Intelligent life, however, requires a lot more than a subterranean ocean on a frigid block of ice, which is why the search must extend beyond our little solar system.
This is where an organization like SETI (the search for extraterrestrial intelligence) comes into play. As they put it, the mission of SETI is to explore, understand and explain the origin, nature and prevalence of life in the universe. An organization like SETI makes it possible to gather together funding and scientific talent in one place and focus the studies on that which is deemed most important. Through such SETI-run programs as SETI@home, ordinary people can get involved by downloading a screensaver that utilizes the computers processing power to sift through the reams of data collected by SETI while the owner of the computer is not using it. SETI@home has taken the financial burden off of the research institutes because they no longer need as much processing power on site.
About one hundred and thirty five extrasolar planets have been discovered thus far, but their discovery is no longer nearly as startling as it was when the first few were found. Researchers are finding more and more that planets like those in our solar system are not a particularly uncommon feature throughout the galaxy. These extrasolar planets are found primarily by tracking the fluctuations in radial velocity, called the wobble method of finding planets. Much like a see-saw at a park with a heavy adult near the center and a much lighter child near the end, planets revolving around stars exert only the slightest pull, but it is enough to make the star wobble slightly off center. With such a method, it is easier to locate planets that are many, many times larger than Earth, but recently there have been planets found that are as small as Neptune, approximately fourteen times the size of our own planet.
These planets are much more similar in makeup to our own than the gas giants that have been discovered in the past, and are much more likely to harbor life. A recent article on Seti's website by senior astronomer Seth Shostak postulates that we are not alone as intelligent life in the galaxy, and in fact we may be the youngest of the sentient species. Our star, Sol, is very young in comparison with most of the galaxy, which is far beyond its most fertile era. Ten billions years ago the galaxy was spawning stars at a rate much, much faster than it is today or when Sol was born. Life on Earth is only three and a half billion years old, so isnt it possible that some time in the thirteen billion years that the galaxy has been spinning that another form of life arose somewhere, reached its peak and even died out? We have no data on how long technologically sophisticated societies last, as we are the only sample on record.
We certainly have examples of how a society could obliterate itself with the proliferation of technology, so it is not beyond the realm of possibility that there have been many societies just like ours that have completely wiped themselves out. So is it a waste to keep looking for them? Well weve been technologically capable of interstellar contact for about a hundred years, and were still around, so its safe to say that even if some societies self-annihilated, others are thriving in peace. They may be incredibly advanced, or they may be only on the brink of technological breakthrough like us. We will never know unless we continue to search.
Throughout the infinite expanse of space and time, it is virtually impossible for anything to be completely unique. Therefore, it is a safe assumption to say that life exists beyond the confines of Earth. After answering the question of does life exist, what remains is to discover where it is and how advanced it is. This is why, even though it is possible that we are far removed from any other life in the universe, it is a beneficial use of our resources to continue our search for life in the cosmos.
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Research essay sample on Space And Time Intelligent Life
