«It's unlikely they'll have anything resembling an alien with eyestalks.»
A leading British astronomer doesn't rule out the existence of alien life, but says he doesn't believe humans claiming to have been abducted or visited by aliens. Lord Rees of Ludlow says scientists cannot rule out the existence of aliens. He claims that most astronomers are willing to bet that life exists on some other planets.
< p>The possibility of alien life on other planets cannot be ruled out, according to a leading British astronomer, writes the Daily Mail.
Astronomer Royal and former President of the Royal Society Lord Martin Rees of Ludlow says scientists cannot say whether «unlikely» aliens.
Fans of UFO theories shouldn't rejoice just yet, however, as Lord Rees also says he doesn't believe stories of alien encounters.
Speaking on the Rosebud podcast, Lord Rees says it is unlikely that aliens exist in the way films and media portray them.
However, he says: “I think if you asked most astronomers to bet, they'd bet there are plenty of other planets on them.»
As the Daily Mail notes, the 83-year-old astrophysicist is best known for his research into quasars, a type of supermassive black hole that has helped disprove the «stationary state» theory of the universe.
However, speaking recently, the Astronomer Royal — which, as the Daily Mail explains, means he advises the monarch on astronomical matters — said the «most exciting» topic in astronomy is the search for extraterrestrial life.
Lord Rees says the existence of aliens is a «fascinating question» and that scientists «can't say whether it's likely or unlikely.»
But the Yorkshire-born astronomer still doesn't believe Earth has been visited by aliens, as this is shown in films such as Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
He says: «I get letters from people who think they have been visited or taken by aliens. I don't believe most of these claims. If aliens had gone to great pains to come here, they would have simply met one or two famous weirdos, maybe they made a circle through the corn and left again? This seems unlikely.»
Likewise, although Lord Rees says most astronomers would bet that alien life exists on some distant world, it will probably be nothing like what we imagine.
He adds: » It is unlikely that they would have anything resembling aliens with eyes on stalks.»
Some scientists believe that in our solar system we may one day find traces of alien life forms on Mars.
< p>However, as Lord Rees suggests, even the most optimistic scientists hope to find traces of microbial life only on Mars.
NASA's Perseverance rover is currently collecting samples from Jezero Crater, which is believed to be a dry lake bed.
The rover recently discovered layers of atmosphere in the crater's rock, supporting theories that cold, arid, lifeless Mars was once warm, wet and possibly habitable.
The mission to return samples from Mars is currently slowed by a lack of funding, but if samples do return, there is hope that signs of ancient life may be found in them.
Lord Rees, however, believes that signs of life can be found much further away, in the atmospheres of exoplanets (planets orbiting stars outside our solar system).
Despite their great distance from Earth and extreme Their dimness makes them difficult to study, exoplanets are considered the best candidates for the habitat of alien life.
“The most interesting thing is that with the help of the latest telescopes it will be possible to analyze the radiation of these planets,” says Lord Rees.
By detecting the faint light that passes through the planet's atmosphere, scientists can determine the chemical composition of these gases.
Lord Rees adds: “We could find evidence of vegetation on it, oxygen in the atmosphere and the like. That would be a clue.” to the fact that it may have a biosphere with light.»
Using this method, astronomers have already discovered a number of planets on which alien life may already exist, writes the Daily Mail. In May, NASA discovered a terrestrial planet 40 light-years from Earth that is in the habitable zone of its star, where liquid water, a key ingredient for life, may exist.
Astronomers now plan to analyze the planet, called Gliese 12 b to determine whether it actually has an atmosphere similar to Earth.
However, Lord Rees adds that scientists are only beginning to understand the chemical processes that lead to the emergence of life, which is a «big challenge» for future research .
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