A Large, Lonely Universe

Photo of moon by Daniel Millhouse

Are we alone?

It's a question that man has asked for centuries. Whether or not alien-life exists or has existed at some point in the universe's history. Some people claim to be one hundred percent sure they know the answer while others are waiting for proof one way or another.

If we aren't, the consequences of finding this out can change mankind as we know it and how we view ourselves and our place in the universe. Politics, religion, military, science, and pop culture are just some of the things that would affected.

The thing is...what if we are alone?

I don't mean alone as in the only life in our solar system or galaxy. I mean in our universe; past, present, and the future. What if life on Earth was just some accident?

Throw out religion out of the equation for a second, not trying to demean it in anyway. Think about how large our universe is. The uncountable amount of stars, let alone the sheer number of planets and moons that have plenty of room to play home to various types of species we could only dream of.

If there is no other life in the universe, the universe is truly a lonely place. What's the point of a universe, especially one so large, if there is no other life to share it with? Yes, one species may play the monster to another species and try to destroy it, pillage the other species' planet, or enslave it, but ultimately, the existence of life on one planet alone feels empty.

The hope should be that there is other living species out there, even if we find that it has gone extinct or is not nearly as intelligent as we hoped for. It almost seems pointless to live in a universe so large, alone.

Hopefully, near-future NASA projects give us an idea if any life may have existed or possibly exists within our solar system, whether it's revealed by a rover on Mars or drilling into the ice of Enceladus to determine if life is alive in the ocean that is speculated to be underneath the surface.

If no other life exists in the universe and something catastrophic wipes out life on Earth, the universe would be a lonely and pointless place.

Halloween Asteroid to Buzz by Earth

Nine days from now, on Halloween night, our planet will be getting buzzed by an asteroid that will be flying nearby. Hurling through space at 78,830 miles-per-hour, the asteroid is expected to safely pass by Earth with no problem. The asteroid that is called 2015 TB145, will be as close as 300,000 miles from Earth, which is just a little farther that our own moon at 238,900 miles.

This particular asteroid is fairly large in size at 2,034 feet in diameter. In comparison, the asteroid that exploded over the Russian city of Chelyabinsk in 2013 was only 66 feet across before it disintegrated and caused a load of damage to buildings.

Now while NASA has informed us that this won't be a threat to the world, it wasn't discovered until three weeks before it is scheduled to fly by the planet. If this had be a serious threat to colliding with Earth, this wouldn't be enough time for us to do anything. Even the best prospective plans that scientists have come up with would require more advanced notice than three weeks. We would be doomed. I'm sure there might be a conspiracy nut or two that might be claiming that 2015 TB145 IS a planet killer and that NASA isn't being truthful with us.

Now what if this isn't an asteroid that will miss us? JPL scientists estimate an asteroid the size of a house, traveling at 30,000 miles-per-hour would be approximately equal to the power of the energy released from the atomic bomb that flattened Hiroshima. 2015 TB145 is traveling over twice as fast and is at least forty times larger. This is supposed to be the biggest asteroid scheduled to pass by Earth until 2027, so if this one passes, at least for the next twelve years, they won't be as big.

This only exacerbates the need for humanity to A) develop a way to find potential "Earth Killers" sooner, B) develop a way to destroy them when they are getting too close, C) and eventually find a way to colonize planets or other planetary bodies to preserve the human species.

While this asteroid will be flying close by and is over 2,000 feet in diameter, you'll still need a telescope to catch a visual of it on Halloween night. That is if you're not too busy passing out candy.

Photo Courtesy of NASA