Are We Alone in the Universe?2

by Damon Martin

Scientists from the University of California Santa-Cruz and the Carnegie Institute of Washington have announced the discovery of a planet a scant 20 light years away from Earth that could theoretically be habitable since it has all the characteristics of a planet that could support life.

Gliese 581-g is the latest planet discovered by scientists studying the Red Dwarf star called Gliese 581, which resides in the Libra constellation. The team’s findings were strong enough for them to declare the new planet livable by Earth standards. As many scientists state when dealing with extraterrestrial life, where there is water there could be life. Gliese 581-g has all of the necessary factors to create and sustain water, as well as an atmosphere similar to what we have on Earth.

Professor Stephen Vogt, a member of the team that discovered Gliese 581-g, admits that they don’t know for sure if the planet currently has any life forms growing or living on the surface, but he is confident enough to make a very educated guess going as far as saying, “that chances for life on this planet are 100 percent.”

Gliese 581-g falls into the rare category of what scientists refer to as a “Goldilocks” planet. Yes, the same Goldilocks from the Three Bears story – the term is used to describe a planet that is not too hot or too cold, but just right. Orbiting just 14 million miles from its sun, Gliese 581-g circles the Red Dwarf star every 37 days, but due to the much lower heat output of the Red Dwarf as opposed to the Sun, it’s estimated the temperature on the planet ranges between -25 degrees to 160 degrees Fahrenheit.

The discovery of this new planet of course also raises several philosophical questions, especially regarding “intelligent design” and the idea that Earth is a special planet based on its habitable conditions. If Gliese 581-g is indeed a livable planet, then the unique nature of Earth isn’t nearly as unique. It’s always been somewhat arrogant to believe that Earth was the lone life-sustaining planet in a universe filled with millions upon millions of stars with planets circling them.

Does this mean that E.T. is going to land on Earth tomorrow? Probably not. But famed cosmologist Stephen Hawking believes that aliens would almost have to exist based on the sheer number of planets and stars existing in the universe. “To my mathematical brain, the numbers alone make thinking about aliens perfectly rational,” Hawking said during a recent documentary on The Discovery Channel. “The real challenge is to work out what aliens might actually be like.”

Hawking also warns that although the curiosity about life on other planets intrigues many people, the reality of the situation may be much different: “If aliens ever visit us, I think the outcome would be much as when Christopher Columbus first landed in America, which didn’t turn out very well for the Native Americans.”

Gliese-581 g is a significant scientific discovery, but it’ll likely be beyond our lifetimes before we figure out exactly what is able to live, or is living there. And since Gliese-581 is over 20 light years away for earth, with current space technology it’d take over a thousand years for us to travel there. So will first contact with Gliese-581 g’s possible residents be more “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” then “Independence Day”? It’ll likely be generations before we have a definitive answer.