Aliens - Are they out there?

Someone once mentioned this:

The only thing I have to add to this topic is it is pretty ignorant to think we are the only planet with life. I don't believe or disbelieve in aliens. I will believe when I see with my own eye's but until then will keep the mentality that there maybe life out there.

I don't think it's ignorant, and I'm with a small minority that feels there is no life outside earth.

I'm a Biology Major, going into Microbiology soon, and life is very sensitive.

People talk all the time about how life thrives where we think it shouldn't, but you notice even these creatures needed things that are VERY hard to obtain elsewhere.

The size of the planet, whether it's near a sun, presence of water, the atmosphere, Oxygen-Co2 level, all are things we take into account.

People have thought from the start that we'd have found life by now, because of the Trillions of Stars there are, but when we studied the conditions on the few planets near those stars, as well as the size of the planets, we all seemed to lose hope.

I've lost all hope, and i feel we will never find intelligent life outside our own world, i'd love to find it just as much as anyone here, it would be great to wake up and see the papers saying Aliens have landed at white house and are holding talks.

I'd be thrilled.

But from what i know thus far, Life is too sensitive a thing to be generated, and that Earth is One of a Kind.

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Someone replied back to my comments:

I think it's extremely egocentric to think that ours is the only planet with life in the universe. While it's true that there are nearly countless of factors that have to be "just right," our universe is absolutely vast, and our abilities to search through it for life have begun to expand only recently. We can in no way say that just because nothing has been found among the centimeters that we have searched (in the scheme of things), we can make any sort of conclusion on the subject.

Besides, there's an incredible difference between finding alien microbes on a planet within a distant solar system, and hearing "The aliens have landed!" in your local paper.

I hate that cop out... "Our Universe is Vast"

MOST OF IT is just empty space lol

The only parts we are looking for is a particular type of star, with a particular type of planet, a particular Distance away, with a particular atmosphere, and you get the picture.

When you do that.

I say we have maybe a Billion or Less candidates, then when you get REALLY intrinsic, you have maybe 1 million or so candidates.

These numbers are pure speculation on my part, they are here just to show you my comparison of Given and Result.

IF you truly look at how many planets have candidates for life, you will see the number isn't as big as you think.

So no.... the universe being BIG or even HUGE, has nothing to do with this, it's the Planets we're looking for.

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I continued with this post after some dissension from my view still remained in the forum:


Extraterrestrial life boggles the mind, and yet now people are thinking it as common as Gravity.

What can i say that hasn't already been said,

Well i can say this, the one thing we failed to mention was the size of the Planet, Regardless if the planet has Water or not, or even looks exactly like earth, if it's size is too big... then we lose.
Too much gravity and that will ruin the chance for any life to form.


And distance from the Star is another KEY factor in determining Life, If you notice, Earth is Precisely the Perfect distance away from the Sun, for life to grow.

We notice planets like Mars who are a bit off, and even with the presence of water, we do not see life, or signs of it.

We see planets closer such as Mercury and Venus who are too scorching hot for any DNA, RNA, or Single celled organisms to survive.

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So just with those two factors alone:

Size of planet, and distance from the sun, We probably cut the majority of candidates for planets with life.

And EVEN if it passes these 2 tests, we still have to take into account the CO2-Oxygen factor, as well as presence of water, as well as a myriad of other circumstances.


I had to analyze life twice a week for 2 hours, and the complexity of it IS marveling, and i understand we have Found life in the arctic, and in Deep sea vents; i mean i've studied it lol.

But There are soo many factors that are just unavoidable for life to get around.

I think we have a one of a kind Gem here, this Earth.

Anyone who disagrees with me, i challenge them to find me one other planet like this, thus far we've found close comparisons, but no clear matches.

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People continued dissenting but even more extremely so i was basically forced to post again to get the opposite viewpoint some attention:

I hope you guys have read my last posts about why the size of the universe doesn't potentially matter.

It could be tiny, or 100 light years long, all that matters is the number of potential candidates for life.

You all keep saying that the numbers are so high, high enough to guarantee life.......

It's like me saying, there are so many oxygen Atoms, that one of them must turn to gold when put inside a brown paper box.

It just doesn't work, Putting an oxygen atom in a brown paper box will not make it turn to gold.

Below a quote from a person holding onto false hope:

But...... There are SOO many oxygen atoms, you couldn't have possibly tested them all, the number is just sooo vast.
And who knows what oxygen atoms are capable of, our understanding of them has changed many times over the years.

Who are we to say we know all the inner workings of Gold and what it's about, I truly believe that an oxygen atom can be turned into Gold in a brown paper box, you just need the right atom.

You see what i mean, it's all speculation, and false hope.
I hoped too at one time.... i admit... i was actually completely sure, that is until a took a few more classes in College and it dawned on me.

We know what it takes for life to survive, we've tested it, and if we want to find life elsewhere, we need certain factors in the making of the planet.

Thus far we've found no planet with all the factors we need for life, and that's a fact.
Even missing one factor, such as distance from the Star, will ruin the whole planet.

Saying life can thrive on Mercury, or Mars, is again false hope, we've seen the devastating effects of nearness to the sun as well as the effects of planets whose vicinity has been too far from the sun.

And having Water alone on a planet isn't the end all be all, because as we know Mars has Water, and yet there is no life.

I don't mean to burst your bubble, or my own, I Want intelligent life, ANY life, it doesn't matter to me.

But i also want World Peace, and I know both are equally unlikely.

~~Phoenix