I knew it! Well, at least I presumed it.
I read in the paper a few days ago that there are billions of planets in the Milky Way Galaxy that are in the “Goldilocks Zone” – not too hot and not too cold.
Astronomers, using NASA data, calculated that there are at least 8.8 billion planets in our galaxy alone that could be habitable. 8.8 billion “throws of the biological dice.” That’s more chances than there are people on Earth that there is life somewhere else out there.
I’ve never been opposed to the idea that there are other worlds with other human-like creatures. In fact, I’ve always had this fantasy that God has several (hundreds, thousands, millions, billions?) experiments going on galaxy-wide. Which of my creations is going to make it work, is going to figure out that the secret to survival is loving and caring for every single living thing? I picture him up there applying different circumstances, different strategies for all of his planet creations, trying to determine which are the most effective in getting through to us. I have no doubt that God could be managing billions of lives on billions of planets.
And even if there isn’t a god involved, it certainly seems plausible that a cosmic number of these planets that are similar to Earth once had life, now support living creatures, or are nearing the time when life will emerge, when evolution will begin.
What are your thoughts? Is there life somewhere other than here on Earth?
A String of Pearls 
Nov 07, 2013 @ 22:12:44
That question always gets me. I’m leaving it as one of my “unanswerable” questions. 🙂
Nov 08, 2013 @ 05:57:54
Yep. So fascinating to think about though.
Nov 08, 2013 @ 07:15:51
It is!
Nov 07, 2013 @ 22:41:35
Trying to think of an appropriate answer. Yes, there are so many possibilities. Some where, some how, something is out there. I like the question posed in that song [(What If God Was One Of Us), “just a stranger on a bus, tryin’ to make his way home?]
Nov 08, 2013 @ 05:59:27
I like to wonder about how many different courses evolution could have taken with 8.8 billion tries.
Nov 08, 2013 @ 00:37:30
For sure!
Nov 08, 2013 @ 06:00:11
Wow – the most sure response so far! Thanks for responding.
Nov 08, 2013 @ 01:11:30
That’s a lovely idea – and I heartily concur with your thinking. I think it would be arrogant of us to assume that we are the only, the best, that the Creator (however one conceives of him/her) would only have populated this tiny planet. But, whoever else is out there, the great lesson we STILL have to learn is that we are connected, not divided – that divisions of race, creed and belief systems are created by MAN and not by the creator; that love is the answer and not hatred!
Nov 08, 2013 @ 06:03:22
Yes! I hope there are much, much wiser populations out there that have different histories with different routes and more advanced thinking and feelings and conclusions.
Nov 09, 2013 @ 20:01:50
Many people say it would be rather arrogant to think we are the only ones in this huge universe. I tend to agree with that—we are not alone.
Nov 09, 2013 @ 21:17:31
Not only arrogant, but how boring to not think about all the possibilities!
Nov 15, 2013 @ 06:05:07
I hope we aren’t or won’t be. I’d hate for every planet to have only humans in the future. There’s no fun in that~ 😉
Nov 15, 2013 @ 07:19:16
Right. And not much to learn from more humans. Although I sure am hoping that something human-like somewhere has figured out how to do it better than we have on this planet.
Nov 16, 2013 @ 05:03:01
That’d be really nice to see. 😉