LIFE THROUGHOUT THE UNIVERSE
What Can Science Add to This Debate?
INTRODUCTION
This paper discusses the possibility of life in the universe. It is not a discussion about UFOs or UAPs, whichever term you prefer. A UFO type of discussion would come under the topic of technically advanced life throughout the universe. There is the potential for an argument that accepting life throughout the universe infers that there is technically advanced life in the universe. But, for now, this is just a look at the question of life throughout the universe.
Recently, many papers and subsequent articles have talked about other civilizations or life in the universe. There was a recent paper regarding other civilizations, or life forms, living here on Earth with us: Aliens May Already Live on Earth, Harvard Researchers Say - Newsweek
Another paper talked about finding seven stars that have the expected physical characteristics associated with a Dyson Sphere;
Astronomers Are on the Hunt for Dyson Spheres | The Arizona Astrobiology Center
And then there is the June 25, 2021 U.S. Government report, "Preliminary Assessment: Unidentified Aerial Phenomena" Preliminary Assessment: Unidentified Aerial Phenomena 25 June 2021
There is also the Drake Equation: Are We Alone in the Universe? Revisiting the Drake Equation - NASA Science
And let us not forget one of the oldest modern science programs on other civilizations in our universe, SETI, Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence, founded in 1984. SETI Institute
Besides the scientific community's interest in life throughout our universe, there is also the government's interest and the public's interest. Congress has held whistleblower hearings on UFOs/UAPs and possibly recovered alien bodies and alien artifacts. Multiple websites and TV shows are dedicated to documenting and searching for UFOs/UAPs. Many famous and professional people have reported UFO/UAP sightings and experiences.
Currently, modern science does not have any confirmed majority opinions about other life in our universe. However, the above list of recent research papers and established organizations clearly shows that modern science, scientists, the U.S. Government, and the public have a specific interest in other life in our universe.
DISCUSSION
Many in the current scientific and physics professions will say that the previously discussed papers, observations, and experiences are not hard scientific proof of UFOs/UAPs. Given the legitimacy of the authors or agencies of the listed items, what would be considered hard scientific proof? However, as was stated at the beginning of this paper, this is not a discussion or argument for the existence or reality of UFOs/UAPs. It is a "first-step" discussion about other life within our universe independent of its level of technological understanding. And this is a topic devoid of debate in the modern scientific community.
NOTE: A species capable of traveling the universe corresponds with a specific type of life, a "technically advanced" form of life. Nothing about our universe requires all life to develop into technically advanced life. The possibility of technical understanding exists, but it is not necessary for life to exist. Many forms of life lived on our planet for billions of years before our currently technology-driven species existed.
Before discussing life in the universe, we should establish a definition of life. This is not an easy task for the simple reason that we have no clear definition of what "life" is. Given that this discussion involves the whole universe and the universe is a vast place, let's establish a simple three-criteria definition for this paper;
Survival. An ability to recognize a hazard and move away from it. Or to have such huge numbers and durability, allowing for survival through a catastrophe. Survival also includes sustainability.
Procreation. A species must have the ability to grow, pass along its genetic code, and continue moving forward as time goes forward.
Communication. A life form must be able to, at the very least, communicate with its species. This communication could be as simple as a notification of when procreation is possible.
For this paper, these are the three simplest evolutionary traits necessary to establish a long-term species that can avoid extinction.
Before we can go forward, there is still one piece that still needs to be added. What about the physical characteristics of life? Where did the physical things, such as chemistry and energy necessary to create a form for life to exist, come from? The five basic nucleobases responsible for the DNA and RNA of life, as we understand it, have been found on meteors. And over 80 different amino acids have also been found in meteors. Only 22 of these amino acids are associated with life on Earth as we know it.
This begs the question, Since we have found the basic materials for life on meteors in our solar system, isn't it logical to presume that the basic materials for building life as we see here on Earth are a standard part of the universe?
Another consideration is the types or kinds of life. That is, there are many varieties or species of life. Our planet is estimated to be about 4.5 billion years old. The earliest indication of life in the fossil records is about 3.7 billion years ago. The life associated with these early fossils blossomed into the species or varieties of life we have today. How many species of life are on Earth today? There is no specific number. But the estimated number of unique and distinct species of life is in the billions. This current estimated number does not include the previous species of life that have become extinct. It also does not include species of life that have yet to be discovered or evolve.
In other words, the first species of life to emerge on our young planet, which had the three criteria for life established above, grew into the vast number of species of life that we have on Earth today. This includes one species evolving from a basic life form into a "technologically advanced" species: "modern" humans. And who knows what kind of "modern" humans will exist in the next ten years?
So, how does life on planet Earth relate to life throughout the universe? It all starts at the beginning of the universe, the Big Bang.
Modern cosmology asserts that our universe is both homogeneous and isotropic. Homogeneous means that the universe's makeup is uniform or consistent. It comprises the same basic things no matter where you go in the universe. If I were to go to one side of the universe and pick out a big scoop of the universe, it would contain the same things and have the same physical properties as a scoop of the universe from the other side of the universe.
The second condition of our universe, isotropic, means that no matter where you are in the universe and where or how you look, the universe will always look the same. In other words, no matter what point you might travel to in the universe, what you see in any direction will look like what you see when you look up at the night sky from here on Earth. Now, granted, there might be many moons or more than one sun visible to you at some other place in the universe, but the point is those suns and moons will be like what we see here on Earth.
As for homogeneity, suppose for a moment that we take a scoop of the universe out of our Milky Way galaxy, including our solar system and Earth. This scoop of the universe contains all the normal stuff we expect to find. However, it also includes simple, general life as we have defined it. To maintain the condition of homogeneity within the universe means any other scoop out of the universe will also have to contain life.
Regarding isotropic, let's say you travel to the Big Dipper Constellation. This location is seven stars ranging from 58 to 124 light-years away. To narrow things down, let's say that we travel to the middle of the Big Dipper, which is about 90 light-years from Earth. When we look back in the direction of Earth, we will not actually see life on Earth, but life does, in fact, exist on Earth. Since the universe is isotropic, if we look in another direction from our position in the Big Dipper, it will look the same as when we looked at Earth. Although we did not see life on earth, it was there, which means there should also be life in this other direction we are looking at. Furthermore, there should be life in any other direction or way that we are looking at from the big dipper. This will be true for any other place we may look from in the universe.
Homogeneous and isotropic means that no matter where you go in the universe, it will be made up of the same stuff, have the same physical properties, and look the same no matter how or where you look. In other words, all parts of the universe have to look and be like the part of the universe that contains Earth and its life.
The details of the Big Bang and the creation of our universe are fascinating in their own right. However, only the basic conclusions in this paper are necessary for this discussion. What we need to know from the current leading theory of the creation of our universe is that the Big Bang is the moment when our universe as we know it, see it, feel it, and understand it begins to form. From quarks to atoms to molecules to particles to stars and planets, they all exist because of the Big Bang. But, just before the instant of the Big Bang, during what is known as the inflationary period, our universe was nothing but pure energy. The Big Bang allowed all the energy in the inflationary period to form into our universe today.
A significant amount of complexity is associated with the processes involved in building our universe. From the instant of the Big Bang until now, the only essential function occurring within our universe has been building. From creating the materials to make the universe to the actual building of the universe as we see it. Other than galaxies, stars, and planets, there is nothing new or different anywhere in the universe, and the universe's future does not hold anything new or different from what we see now. The previously discussed conditions of homogeneity and isotropy clearly show and prohibit any change in our universe. From the Big Bang until the end, our universe is set in building only more of what we see and know of today.
So, where did the instructions for turning pure energy into the building materials of stars, planets, and everything else in the universe come from?
Since the instant of the Big Bang, the state of the universe has been directed toward building the universe as we know it. This means that the blueprints and instructions for all of our universe building had to be a part of the energy in the inflationary period that occurred until the instant of the Big Bang. In other words, how to build our universe from energy was part of the energy in the inflation period. What good is all of the energy from the inflationary period if there are no instructions, that are a part of the energy, for how to turn this inflationary energy into the building blocks of matter, and life as we know it.
For further information on the building of the matter that makes up everything we see and know of in the universe, see The First Second After the Big Bang a New Perspective for 2024; https://medium.com/@philofysks/the-first-second-after-the-big-bang-a-new-perspective-for-2024-3f540b0d765c
The energy of the inflationary period did not go only into building the matter necessary for our universe; it also went into creating the matter necessary for life in our universe. That is, the inflationary energy not only went into building the atoms that eventually became all of the galaxies, stars, and planets of our universe, but this inflationary energy also had instructions on how to make the atoms, which contain the instructions for allowing life to form in our universe. This would be the previously mentioned five basic nucleobases and over 80 amino acids that are part of all life in our universe. As stated in this paper, these basic nucleobases and amino acids that start life are on meteors. And meteors exist throughout the universe. In other words, the building blocks for life are just as much a part of the universe as the building blocks of matter.
A quick side note: Only 22 of the 80 amino acids known are necessary for life as we know them. This means that a huge number of amino acid combinations are available to form a vast diversity of life in the universe.
Current theories for the beginning of our universe also include a quantum physics aspect associated with the energy of the inflationary period. Nobel Prize-winning Physicist Murray Gell-Mann is credited with first putting the following quote in writing in one of his papers; "Everything that is not forbidden is compulsory." This quote from Gell-Mann was initially associated with particle physics, but over the years, this quote has been used when discussing quantum theory. Additionally, "what is not forbidden is compulsory" has become an axiom for modern physics. *The origins of this quote are unknown, and another version of this quote is associated with the legal profession.
Concerning life in the universe, if nothing prevents the building blocks for life from being part of the energy in the first instance of the building of our universe, then life must be a part of our universe.
CONCLUSION
Life is extraordinary, and it is unique. Our universe is also exceptional and unique. Since we, as the human species, became aware of our existence, we have asked questions about life and where it came from. We have believed that life was confined to our own planet and our universe was simply one large empty expanse of space with some matter strewn about, void of any life but our own. However, over the past few years, our general view regarding life in the universe, technologically advanced life, has begun to change. Also fueling this change in the view of life in the universe is the discovery of over 7000 planets around other stars
Going back to the previous discussion of Homogeneity and Isotropy, these two concepts showed us that there had to be planets around other stars before the discovery of these other planets. Within the past few years, our advances in technology have reached a point where we can discover these other planets. However, based on our understanding of the universe's homogeneity and isotropy, we could have and should have, easily known that there were other planets around other stars. And we should also have known that some of these other planets will have life.
Our universe is estimated to be 13.8 billion years old. Technologically advanced life did not simply appear with the snap of the fingers at some point in time during the aging of our universe. Rather, like the universe itself, it had to be built up, constructed, and evolve from the basic building blocks of life within our universe. This is the part of our maturing universe that science still needs to look at, that life itself is part of our universe? As discussed, if we accept the homogeneous and isotropic argument along with the basic inflation and Big Bang concept previously discussed, then life is an essential element of our universe.
As Murray Gell-Mann stated, "Everything that is not forbidden is compulsory." The existence of our species of life and every other species here on our planet clearly shows that life in the universe is not forbidden. Furthermore, all life on our planet clearly indicates that life on a planet orbiting a star is allowed. When the other associated aspects of applicable physics are considered, the only possible conclusion is that our universe was designed for life to prosper.
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