by C.M.Pratibha, I B.Sc. Physics
Aliens. Green, small bodies, big wobbly heads with giant black orbs for eyes. This is probably the image you get in your mind when you hear the word, alien. Thanks to Hollywood (insert Independence Day series here), we expect them to be hostile, scary, extremely advanced in technology and a threat to our planet. Since childhood, we have been programmed to believe that aliens are these sinister beings adamant on universal dominance.
Many people dismiss the idea of “intergalactic visitors” as they believe it’s too far fetched or too weird to be true. ‘Conspiracy theories’, they call it. Maybe because of how they are projected in movies, their existence hardly seems possible, or a part of the real world.
E.T. by Abirami, I B.A. SociologyYou can't not believe in extraterrestrials, or E.T. for short. I mean, come on! This is a really big universe with billions of galaxies that contain billions of planetary systems. We have already discovered many planets in the ‘Goldilocks Zone’ -- a zone which is the precise distance from a star that enables it to sustain hydrocarbons important for life. There has to be at least ONE planet in this gigantic universe, that could sustain life like it is here on earth. They may not look like us, but I don't see why they couldn't exist -- at least microbial life.
Stephen Hawking himself believed in them, but obviously did stress the fact that we need to be prepared for ‘alien invasions’; that’s sensible and it's always good to be protected, but I believe we shouldn't always be scared of them.
This is why I like movies like Steven Spielberg’s ‘E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial’ and Denis Villeneuve’s ‘Arrival’. These movies showcase scenarios where aliens aren't as hostile as we presume them to be. The aliens in the movie form a bond with the main protagonist. Even series like Star Wars and Star Trek have humans collaborating with other aliens to build a community extending across the universe. Watch them, and you will actually like aliens if you were scared of them before.
We have already discovered traces of water on Mars and on the Moon. Saturn’s moon, Enceladus, is mostly water. Who knows, we may discover signs of life in our own Solar system before we discover them in other galaxies. Searching for life has become a part of interstellar travel now. We are voyagers trying to expand our reach in this universe. Ironically, when we do inhabit other planets in the future, we become the ‘aliens’ we feared so much.
So I say we keep an open mind and when they do come give us a visit, look for signs of their hostility. If they seem friendly, which I hope they would be, we welcome them to our beautiful planet, create an alliance and explore the dimensions of this universe together.
May the Force be with you, and live long and prosper.