Everyone has the same question on their minds: Are We Alone in the Universe? However, very few people are thinking about extraterrestrial life in a scientific sense beyond the clichés of UFOs and aliens.
The exploration of planets beyond our solar system and the search for potential life on these planets are among the most exciting and intriguing fields of study in our time. So far, we have discovered nearly 5500 planets, with just as many candidates awaiting exploration. We believe that there could be around 300 million habitable planets in our galaxy alone! Finding signs of life on one of these planets is not a remote possibility. Space telescopes, observatories, astronomers and even astrobiologists are mobilized to find extraterrestrial life.
But why are we searching for life? Where in the universe will we find it? Will the cosmos ever surprise us? We may be closer than ever to answering one of the deepest questions of all time. This quest for answers has the potential to reveal crucial details about our place in the universe, our origins and how life emerges. Perhaps one day, the answer we seek will come from the field of astronomy: No, We Are Not Alone!