General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: I've been fretting more and more about the Fermi Paradox [View all]WestMichRad
(1,318 posts)For emphasis, take the enormous size of just our own galaxy, more than 105,000 light years across and containing 400 billion stars and probably many more planets than that. And there at least 200 billion galaxies (per consensus several years ago) in a universe that spans billions of light years.
In our lifetimes we can only observe a small sample in time of what has happened out there. Easy to miss something because we weren't looking at the right time.
And you're right, other galaxies are so far away that they effectively are completely isolated from us. At least, with our current knowledge of physics.
It seems inconceivable that conditions favoring the right chemical soup to generate life can occur nowhere else but here. I agree that the universe is likely to be teeming with life.
Communicating with an alien is nontrivial, though, when we have no knowledge of even what we're trying to communicate with. Think of proven communications like porpoises using sonar, or trees using mycorrhizal fungi to communicate with other trees in a forest. Fungi appear able to communicate with electrical pulses. Deep ocean fish can communicate with light.
We have no idea what we're trying to communicate with! They could easily be using something other than radio for communication, something that we can't detect from this distance.
It could be a long time before we confirm life elsewhere. We need to take better care of our own home!