<i></i> <i></i> <i></i> 3<p>Are we alone? This is a question that has baffled scientists, students and astronomy fans all over the world alike. With many sightings across the globe, eyewitness accounts, pictures and videos circulating over the internet and rumors going around, the interest in extra-terrestrial has taken national level significance in many developed countries. National space programs such as NASA are engaged constantly in answering this question among others and claim we will have a definite answer within the next 30 years. Though we can’t speed up time, we can make up our mind and adopt a stance. So, do aliens actually exist? Here are some reasons that are just out of this world! (Pun intended).</p> <h2>10. Little life on little rocks</h2> <img src="https://cdnone.netlify.com/db/2017/10/word-image-1701.jpeg"/>Wikipedia <p>On separate ‘scattered’ occasion over the course of the past 4 billion years, planet earth has had its fair share in encountering meteorites. Be it a rain of these rocks, small pelts or simply dust that settles, meteorites have often landed on Earth. Interestingly, upon closer inspection of a certain piece of meteorite called Nakhla, scientists made a shocking discovery! What they say was what appeared to be small helical coil and strand-like structures, kind of like human DNA! This wasn’t taken academically and it was declared that this DNA-like structuring could possibly be due to Nakhla having encountered any materials in the ground when it crashed into the Earth. This claim was quickly denied by scientists though, who identified small and fossilized bacteria upon closer inspection, the likes of which does not exist on planet Earth. So, was it an extra-terrestrial life form? Despite its microscopic size, seems like it was!</p> <h2>9. The ‘WOW’ signal</h2> <img src="https://cdnone.netlify.com/db/2017/10/word-image-1703.jpeg"/>Wikipedia <p>Exactly 40 years ago in 1977, Ohio State University’s Big Ear radio picked up rather strange signals. In operation since some time to scan the skies for intelligent life forms outside of the Earth, the Big Ear kind of did what it was made for, which shocked everyone. Working in a very complex yet interesting manner, a ‘0’ reading translated to meaningless noise whereas a ‘Z’ meant there was a strong radio signal incoming. Something similar happened one August day in good old ’77 when Dr. Ehman, who was in charge of the radio and recording the readings at the time, noticed something very unusual. He recorded a reading that measured as ‘6EQUJ5’, from a part of space which was completely empty! This soon drew scholarly attention towards itself and researchers were though able to point out that it was undisputedly emanating from the Sagittarius constellation, there seemed no reason for it to exist. One thing is certain though – it was surely interstellar.</p> <h2>8. NASA Cover-ups</h2> <img src="https://cdnone.netlify.com/db/2017/10/word-image-1705.jpeg"/>Wikipedia <p>When it comes to having a good-sized inside scoop on all things alien, it comes as no surprise that the very hardworking people of NASA know their stuff. Hence, NASA is the world’s leading and most credible source of news about anything regarding space. However, there’s a lot of logic backing the argument that NASA would have many incentives to hide this information from us. With preventing an upheaval of society, guarding future tech and being the firsts to make ties with the Space bros just a few of them, there have been times where NASA has stayed in the grey. One of such times has been the random live feed disruption that is allegedly done on purpose. Apparently, every time a UFO flies into view, the cameras transmitting the live feed from the International Space Station stop working. While some call it co-incidental and some call it intentional, there is no one true answer. Another example is that NASA officials such as retired astronauts especially, have actually admitted to alien encounters! Sounds spooky, doesn’t it?</p> <h2>7. Millions of exo-planets</h2> <img src="https://cdnone.netlify.com/db/2017/10/word-image-1707.jpeg"/>Wikipedia <p>NASA launched a surveillance satellite in 2009 to explore the depths of space. This was the mark of the beginning of a new era – one which would bring with it the knowledge of potential neighbors floating on the rock like ours through space (Led Zeppelin fans rejoicing). The thing is, the surveillance satellite has reported and recorded the existence of many exo-planets in the habitable zone of our galaxy. 22 billion of them. All of them are close enough to the sun to be habitable and all of them may show signs of intelligent life if explored further. This is interesting because if our galaxy alone has 22 billion potential ‘Earths’, can we even imagine how many more would exist in other galaxies? This is further supported by a recent research which states that it has been found that for every star, there is at least one planet. Just think about all the diverse alien life-forms that could potentially exist!</p> <h2>6. Strange radio bursts</h2> <img src="https://cdnone.netlify.com/db/2017/10/word-image-1709.jpeg"/>Wikipedia <p>Here’s something that will blow you away! (Pun intended). Ever since 2001, radio receivers all over the world have been reported to have received small radio messages travelling from afar, that last a few milliseconds but erupt with really high energy. How high you ask? Well, to put it in words, the same as the sun emits in a month! These blasts or bursts are very baffling and of the 10 studied, it has been calculated that the signal source originates 5.5 billion miles from Earth. Scientists were smart (shocker) to shrug off any claims that these may be from stars, and proved that there is only a 5 in a million chance that they come from a star. They instead come from an intelligent and calculated source since the difference in the wavelengths of the beginning and end of each bursts varies by a multiple 0f 187.5. Is this an alien civilization trying to make contact with us? Are they saying that we should learnt the 187.5 table of multiples by heart before they arrive? Hopefully, we’ll find out soon!</p> <h2>5. Ancient evidence</h2> <img src="https://cdnone.netlify.com/db/2017/10/word-image-1710.jpeg"/>Wikipedia <p>Sure it sounds like a stretch but hey – if aliens have actually been visiting good old Earth, why have they started to do so now? If you’re thinking KFC is the answer, you might be on to something, but not quite! The first and thing we turn to is ancient hieroglyphs from of course, ancient Egypt. Made somewhere between three and four thousand years ago, these works can in some preserved places depict space ships, helicopters and even fighter planes. However, scientists at some instances say these are illusions and not what we’re making out to be since due to aging, maybe some hieroglyphs have overlapped. While the internet is full of hoaxes, other convincing examples include a famous medieval tapestry from France depicting the Virgin Mary. In the background of the painting can be seen a man looking up at the sky at something that resembles a UFO in a rather modern iteration. Why would anyone draw something that doesn’t exist at a time when we least expected it to? Maybe it’s real!</p> <h2>4. The Black Knight</h2> <img src="https://cdnone.netlify.com/db/2017/10/word-image-1711.jpeg"/>Wikipedia <p>We see you D.C. fans adjusting in your seats, but calm down guys – false alarm. The Black Knight is a mysterious satellite that has been orbiting the earth we fear, since longer than we know. Detected as back as 1899 by the sheer brilliant Serbian inventor Nikola Tesla who picked up signals from this satellite in a series of recordings, the Black Knight has existed since even longer before. 13,000 years actually, when humans hadn’t even sent any satellites of their own into space. During the pioneering Mercury Mission, similar signals were received by Ground Control at NASA and astronaut Gordon Cooper reported seeing green lights from an unidentified object the same time. A more recent example though is when the crew of operation Endeavor in 1998 captured images of what is known as the Black Knight from space as it neared low Earth. However, many renowned space researchers and scientists have titled any such claims to be completely untrue and some even say Endeavor’s picture is actually of a thermal blanket. Could this be a possible cover up? (Pun intended).</p> <h2>3. Life can survive anywhere!</h2> <img src="https://cdnone.netlify.com/db/2017/10/word-image-1712.jpeg"/>Wikipedia <p>Have you ever heard of extremophiles? Well, these are creatures that can survive in any living condition you throw at them. High pressure conditions or being super cold, these creatures outlive any situation This is super interesting because quite some time, scientists have been trying to recreate space-like conditions in the laboratories by taking a sample of air from earth and subjecting it to space conditions. Turns out, when the pressure and temperature is that of space, earth’s air becomes something more basic and exists then in a compound rich in Carbon, Oxygen and Nitrogen – the basic necessities for accommodating life on Earth. What’s more interesting is that as per research by sampling, the most abundant elements in the vacuum of space are – you guessed it. The same three that are the basics for sustaining life! This is more so the case as we get closer to the surface of the said planets. Hello? Anyone there?</p> <h2>2. Even in our own backyard!</h2> <img src="https://cdnone.netlify.com/db/2017/10/word-image-1713.jpeg"/>Wikipedia <p>Another key element of sustaining life is water. Think about it – you do need it to survive, but so do animals and plants too. Since we’re unsure of what life-form the aliens embody, we don’t really know what else they need except of course, water. What if we told you though, that there exists water even in Jupiter’s moons? Oh yes! Jupiter’s moons have a very large water content under their crust, so much so that scientists are actually calling the Milky Way a soggy place, since it has much more water than all of Earth’s water combined. Does it house any life though? Perhaps that’s the real question!</p> <h2>1. Mars – our neighborhood in space?</h2> <img src="https://cdnone.netlify.com/db/2017/10/word-image-1714.jpeg"/>Wikipedia <p>The speculation of whether life exists, or at least once did on Mars, is centuries old and doesn’t have any definite positive or negative answer. Thanks to NASA’s Curiosity Rover though, the answer is not too far from reach. An interesting find regarding this is the high concentration of Methane gas on the planet, which is mainly a result of exhalation. Most Methane in Earth’s atmosphere exists as a waste gas that is produced as we breathe out, so could someone be doing the same on the Red planet? The answer is unclear. Curiosity however did report that the levels of Methane depleted in weeks, a strange and uncomprehend-able sign!</p> <p>So, what do you think? Is there life on other planets? Do UFOS really do zoom by the Earth more often than not? Think the Martians have tried contacting us these many times by now? Perhaps we really can’t say conclusively at this point in time, but we sure hope to have answers soon! What’s your stance? Let us know!</p> <i></i>