Scientists believe that we were closer than ever to finding proof of extraterrestrial life
and some even say that it’s “imminent”. One expert said that there have
been several clues over the last couple of decades that that point to
the real possibility of alien life forms.
Water has been discovered on Mars and chemical elements are located
throughout the universe, so there may be some type of life that existed
elsewhere even if it was just microbial. Carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen
are located throughout the cosmos, as well as amino acids “just like
those that make up every protein in our bodies, have been found in the
tails of comets,” said Cathal O’Connor who is a researcher and center
manager at the University of Melbourne.
The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is scheduled to launch into
space in 2021 as the replacement of the Hubble Telescope. Astronomers
are optimistic that the new telescope will be able to prove the
existence of alien life as it will be able to see 0.3 billion years
after the Big Bang happened to when visible light began to form.
The telescope will also be able to see a lot further into space,
meaning that it can measure the amounts of water, carbon dioxide, and
other elements that are present in the atmosphere of distant exoplanets.
They will additionally be able to tell how big the planets are and how
far they are from their own suns in order to determine if they could
sustain any form of life.
O’Connor wrote, “The James Webb Space Telescope, planned for a 2021
launch, will be able to take these measurements for some of the
Earth-like worlds already discovered,” adding, “Just a few years later
will come space-based telescopes that will take pictures of these
planets directly.”
He then discussed the possibility of alien life by writing,
“Following a string of remarkable discoveries over the past two decades,
the idea of alien life is not as far-fetched as it used to seem.
Discovery now seems inevitable and possibly imminent. Even if we never
find other life in our Solar System, we might still detect it on any one
of thousands of known exoplanets.”
The age-old question remains “Are we alone in the universe?” and
while everyone has a different view on whether aliens do in fact exist,
we may finally have the answer we’ve all been waiting for when the James
Webb Space Telescope is finally launched into space in 2021. I guess
we’ll have to wait and see.
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