Why There Is Life On Other Planets

A copious amount of evidence has already been compiled, which all points toward life existing on other planets, from gasses on Venus, meteorites from Mars, water on other planets, and a very high probability of life.

One thing everyone knows is that water is an important part of life and life emerging. It is what allowed life to explode on our planet. Signs that life may exist on planets are liquid or solid water. Many planets in our own solar system have already been confirmed to contain water. These planets include Europa (a moon orbiting Jupiter), Mars, and Enceladus (a moon orbiting Saturn). Europa is covered in frozen water with red coloring, which could be from bacteria colonies. Mars has frozen water at both of its poles with evidence of vast oceans in the past, and Enceladus has been confirmed to have a very thick layer of ice covering a large ocean that surrounds the entire moon. Our solar system shows us that water is a very common substance in our universe which means there are many opportunities for life to emerge.

In 1996, Nasa retrieved a meteorite from Mars that landed in Antarctica. This one meteorite contained proof of possible life on Mars due to the existence of microscopic fossils of bacteria that were smothered in organic compounds (see image 1). The fossils in the rock showed scientists that life may have once existed on Mars, which shows how easy it is for life to emerge in harsh conditions. Some studies that have been done bring up the fact that the fossils may be created by other things like water, but those claims have not been proven to be true by any evidence and don’t explain the existence of organic compounds in the rock.

Another example from our Solar system that proves how easy it is for life to emerge in extreme conditions is the atmosphere of Venus. Scientists from the U.K. have found phosphine gas in the atmosphere of Venus, which is only produced by a few things, biological organisms, lightning, and volcanoes. Studies have shown that the amount of phosphine produced by the storms and volcanoes of Venus only produces about one-hundredth of a percent of the amount of phosphine on Venus. This only leaves us with biological organisms. Since Venus is such an extremely hot planet, some scientists believe that there may be an aerial form of bacteria living in Venus’ habitable upper atmosphere.

Along with the fact that many planets in our solar system are habitable, there is an estimate of about 66 sextillion different planets in our universe that could potentially host life. About 300 million could be habitable in our own galaxy, according to Nasa. Though this is an estimate and can’t be confirmed just yet, evidence from our galaxy and nearby galaxies show that there is likely a bare minimum of 66 sextillion habitable planets in our observable universe. Pair this information with the fact that water is very common in our universe, and you will find that the chances of life currently existing on other planets are very high.

Even though all the evidence we have on life existing on other planets is probability and likelihood, the chances are still very high. An example of something with low probability still occurring is the lottery, where everyone's chances of winning are significantly low, but you always hear about someone winning. Even though we might never see alien life for ourselves, the chances of life existing still remain high.