by Richard Serra

Created on: November 24, 2011   Last Updated: December 12, 2011

There is a lot of controversy among scientists about whether or not life exists on other planets. Life as we know it, would be one of the most fantastic discoveries should we find a planet that has those rare combinations of what it would take for life to evolve similar to what we have here on our own planet.

What about other forms of life? Could it be possible that life can take on an entirely different form of existence, totally unfamiliar to what we are use to? With all the mysteries of the universe, life of an entirely different type can be one of those mysteries, and to us, it may be something that is so different that it might not resemble anything that looks like it could be some kind of living organism, whether it be large, or microscopic.

A lot of thought has gone into the question of whether by accident, or by creation, life exits on other planets. Is there a galaxy in our own milky way that perhaps harbors a star much like our sun, and a solar system whereas there is a goldilocks zone for life to form?

Our planet certainly fits that extremely delicate balance, whereas every criteria for sustaining life is there. We may be just one planet in our very own galaxy, among trillions of other galaxies, that have that same criteria for life on at least one planet out of each galaxy.

But life as we are familiar with, I doubt it very much. Very low forms of life a definite, but for life as we have on earth would not be possible unless every single element that we have here, and the conditions as well, not to mention the perfect balance of our distance from the sun, and our moon, could we expect higher more delicate forms of life.

We know life exists in the hot springs in Yellowstone. We also know it exists in the most extreme conditions under the sea, where normal sea life would be scalded to death as a result of open vents in the ocean floor, that molten lava pours through these vents.

In the coldest regions we find life. But not like in the more milder parts of the world. So I'm sure life will eventually be found, but not in our life time. We just don't have the technology yet to be able to pin point where it may exist, nor the vehicles to reach there.

When it comes to theories, we all have ideas and theories. We trust experts in the field to provide us with answers. But an expert is no different than you or I when it comes to being able to answer the question of life on other planets.

As technology becomes more and more sophisticated, we can expect to have answers to just more than whether or not life exists elsewhere. By the year 2018, we will be launching a telescope that will orbit the earth one million miles out. Not your optical telescope, but one that detects light that normal scopes cannot see.

It will provide answers to all our questions that we are not sure of, with what we have now to answer them. The coming years will be exciting for those who thirst for knowledge about whether life exists elsewhere, or how it all began. Just hope some of us can be around to see it who may be at the last years of their lives.

Somehow, knowing the answers, kind of puts closure on it all, but then what?

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