Event Description

“To declare that Earth is the only planet in the universe with life would be inexcusably bigheaded of us.”  

 
The discovery of about half a dozen planets around stars other than the Sun has triggered tremendous public interest. Attention was driven not so much by the discovery of extra-solar planets, but by the prospect of them hosting intelligent life. 

In any case, the media frenzy that followed was somewhat out of proportion with the events. Why? Because planets cannot be all that rare in the universe if the Sun happens to have a bunch of them. Even if they were teeming with buoyant aliens, the odds against these life forms being intelligent may be astronomical. 

Ordinarily, there is no riskier step that a scientist (or anyone) can take than to make sweeping generalizations from just one example. At the moment, life on Earth is the only known life in the universe, but there are compelling arguments to suggest we are not alone… 

Join Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson in the Search For Life In The Universe.