Is there life in Outer Space?

  

I am willing to bet all of us have thought of this question at least once, one way or another. I’ve thought of it endless times and I am not ashamed to admit it. When the sun goes down, we see this whole other night sky: dark, intriguing, full of stars. It’s fascinating how the solar system works. Until 16th century, people actually thought the sun revolved around the earth and they thought Galileo was crazy for pointing out otherwise. Perhaps that pointing out that the earth, in fact, revolves around the sun and so do other planets that form our little family has opened up endless possibilities for the humankind. Thank you Galileo!

It was my brother who got my curiosity into the outer space. He would show me through the telescope on a dark starry night: the craters on the moon, the rings of Saturn, mars and what was visible of stars far, far away. He would make me draw in my head the different constellations in the sky as he pointed them out. As a little girl, I was in awe. We had this book called Skywatching. It had the photo of Galileo on the cover. I would look up the different constellations and their stories. The little girl in the 3^rd grade wanted to become an astronaut later in life.

Of course, I found that dream wildly unrealistic for myself later in life, but I didn’t lose my interest in the stars and space. The big bang theory and the beginning of the universe itself has always been questionable with the existence of God. Isn’t it interesting how one event caused everything afterward and what and who we are today? That we are made of stardust? That we are floating amidst space in the energy of a mere burning star that provides us everything. I recently started reading “The Hitchhikers guide to the Galaxy”. It is this story of how the earth was destroyed and a fellow person of the earth and an alien hitchhike their way into space on other spaceships. One of the most famous books of all times, Douglas Adams creates this world where you get lost in aliens, spaceships, alien terms and so much more. And once again, it made me wonder: what if there really is life in space?

I’m open to the idea that there could be. Think about it; we are one planet in one solar system in a galaxy with so many other solar systems in a universe with who knows how many galaxies. Why isn’t it possible that there could be life out there? Why isn’t it possible that another planet out there is just the right distance from its parent star and has all the right conditions to born and groom life on it?  Perhaps we will not be able to get a hold of them for many, many years still but life out there is very much possible.

Keep an open mind and look up into a dark night every now and then. When I was in the 8th grade, my parents and I stayed over at a resort in Pharping. I was in the room right next to theirs. I got ready for bed and turned off the lights. Sleeping at a new place took me some time, so sleep did not come early that night. But I was surprised to look up at the ceiling and notice a window there. It gave me a view of the countless stars in the dark night. I was looking back in time. So many stars that are hardly all visible from my home due to the light pollution. But out here, nights are divine. Out here, you can talk to the stars and make conversations with them. Then and only then, when you look up at the stars on clear dark night into the space out there, into the infinity out there, will you realize that the universe is much much bigger than we can ever anticipate and that you are just a small part of it.