I, for one, have always been convinced that there must be life on other planets...planets millions of light years away from us, their inhabitants simultaneously wondering about our existence. What with the innumerable galaxies (likely more than 100 billion in the observable universe, thanks Wikipedia) and the existing (unprovable? in either direction) possibility of other universes...how could we be alone? I just find it unbelievable that Earth is the only planet to harbor planetary habitability, and I think most people actually agree.
We may find an answer to this question in the near future, at least about just how rare Earth-like planets are. I find this idea fascinating and terrifying at the same time...I honestly don't want to find out that the chances of extraterrestrial beings are slim to none. Alone in the universe(s)? Now that's a bizarre thought.
NASA has launched a new mission to search for "not-too-cold, not-too-hot, Goldilocks zones around stars where liquid water can exist" by monitoring 100,000 stars for three years, specifically looking for shadows of small planets orbiting these stars...planets small enough that they are not evidenced by the wobble effect (detecting the presence of a planet by observing the to-and-fro gravitational tug it gives its star as it orbits).
Exciting stuff, eh? Read all about it in this article from the NY Times: In a Lonely Cosmos, a Hunt for Worlds Like Ours. It's entirely likely that the subject will capture you and send you off into a little Wikipedia learning binge...it did for me, anyhow.
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the thing that is interesting to me is that we need to believe that life can only exist within the parameters it occurred here on earth. Marine biologists are finding more and more organisms that survive in low oxygen zones and in extreme temperatures. why can't another planet that is hotter or colder with or without liquid water harbor life? what if extraterrestrial lifeforms breathe arsenic?
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