Is there anybody out there? (Image: Lynette Cook /SPL)
THANKS to the Kepler Space Telescope, we know the galaxy could hold as many as 30 billion planets similar to our own. The next generation of eyes in the sky, such as the James Webb Space Telescope, slated to launch in 2018, will search the atmospheres of such exoplanets for signs of life. Some think it鈥檚 just a matter of time before we find out we鈥檙e not alone. In April, . If she is right, how will we deal with the news?
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What we detect will make a big difference to how we react, says , a former NASA historian and current astrobiology chair at the US Library of Congress in Washington DC. Any discovery that is less obvious than little green men landing during the World Cup final is likely to be met by years of questions and examination. , a planetary scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who is searching for another Earth, agrees. It will probably take time to confirm any initial findings, she says. 鈥淭here may not be an 鈥榓ha鈥� moment.鈥�
A chemical imbalance in an exoplanet鈥檚 atmosphere could be a sign of microbial activity. But an indirect result such as this will probably have only a short-term impact, says Dick. The apparent discovery of Martian nanofossils in meteorite ALH84001 in 1996 led to a media frenzy, and even US congressional hearings, before the furore died down in the face of increasing scepticism. Most now think that the meteorite does not hold the remnants of ancient alien life.
A decoded broadcast from intelligent aliens would be altogether different. 快猫短视频s and governments would have to assess whether the message was threatening and what, if anything, should be sent as a response. It would pose a challenge to certain religions too, says Dick. 鈥淒oes Jesus have to be a planet-hopping saviour to all ETs?鈥� Some people might see intelligent aliens as saviours themselves, giving rise to new religions. Others may simply celebrate them as species that overcame their provincial squabbles to explore the universe.
In the longer term, even slight evidence of extraterrestrial life would spark a quest to understand the universal principles of biology, says Dick. We may find answers to questions such as: does life arise wherever the conditions are right, or is it a freak accident? Are there other types of genetic code? Does life always require carbon or water? Is Darwinian natural selection a universal, or are there other forms of evolution?
Perhaps most significantly, it would be the decisive blow to the idea that humans are the centre of the cosmos or the reason for its existence. Instead, we would be forced to acknowledge our place as just one tiny branch of a vast galactic tree of life. 鈥淚 hope that people will find a new sense of peace and an understanding that we are not alone,鈥� says Seager.
Read more: 鈥�10 discoveries that would change everything鈥�
This article appeared in print under the headline 鈥淲hat if鈥� We find ET?鈥�
