Extraterrestrial life is hypothetical life which may occur outside of Earth. Such life might range from simple prokaryotes to intelligent beings. There could be as many as 40 billion Earth-sized planets orbiting in the habitable zones of Sun-like stars and red dwarfs in the Milky Way.
About Extraterrestrial life in brief
Extraterrestrial life is hypothetical life which may occur outside of Earth and which did not originate on Earth. Such life might range from simple prokaryotes to intelligent beings and even sapient beings, possibly bringing forth civilizations far more advanced than humanity. The science of extraterrestrial life in all its forms is known as astrobiology. Since the mid-20th century, active ongoing research has taken place to look for signs of extraterrestrials. Some encourage aggressive methods to make contact with intelligent extraterrestrialLife. Others argue to do so may give away the location of Earth, making an invasion possible in the future. There could be as many as 40 billion Earth-sized planets orbiting in the habitable zones of Sun-like stars and red dwarfs in the Milky Way, 11 billion of which may be orbiting Sun- like stars. The nearest such planet may be 12 light-years away, according to the scientists. The chemistry of life may have begun shortly after the Big Bang, 13. 8 billion years ago, during a habitable epoch when the universe was only 10–17 million years old. Sufficient quantities of carbon and other elements, along with water, might enable the formation of living organisms on terrestrial planets with a chemical make-up similar to that of Earth. About 95% of living matter on Earth is built upon carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. About 29 chemical elements play active roles in living organisms, with only six living organisms living upon carbon and hydrogen. It is also conceivable that there are forms of life whose life is a liquid, such as methane, ethane or propane.
There is also research in assessing the capacity of life for developing intelligence. It has been suggested that the complexity of life itself is reflected in the number of potential niches which a planet contains, and which in turn can be computed from its niches. The Drake equation speculates about the existence of sapient life elsewhere in the universe. The concept of alien life, and particularly extraterrestrial intelligence, has had a major cultural impact, chiefly in works of science fiction. Many have piqued public interest in the possibilities of extrater terrestrial life. One particular concern is the wisdom of attempting communication with extraterrestrial Intelligence. Some argue that it would be improbable for life not to exist somewhere other than Earth. A study published in 2017 suggests that due to how complexity evolved in species on Earth, the level of predictability for alien evolution elsewhere would make them look similar to life on our planet. One of the study authors, Sam Levin, notes that they are made-up of a hierarchy of entities, which all cooperate to produce an alien. We can even offer some examples of what these mechanisms will be. The scientists predict that at each level of the organism there will be mechanisms in place to eliminate conflict, maintain cooperation, and keep the organism functioning. The authors suggest that this hierarchy of organisms will be made up of different levels of intelligence. The authors conclude that the potential for alien life to develop on Earth can be estimated from the information density of a planet.
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This page is based on the article Extraterrestrial life published in Wikipedia (as of Dec. 09, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
