The universe is 13.8 billion years old. From what we can see, the universe is a sphere with a diameter of about 92 billion light-years. But it is still expanding to this day, and there is so much that we are not able to see. So, it is perfectly plausible that somewhere—in a world we don’t have access to—there are beings like us.

As of January 2022, the Voyager 1 spacecraft was about 14.5 billion miles away from Earth. The spacecraft discovered many new things that we previously did not know about our solar system, including, but not limited to, two new moons orbiting around Jupiter. And because of the Hubble telescope orbiting around Earth, we can see other galaxies besides our own. Spacecrafts like these continue to relay back pictures of our universe to Earth, allowing us to obtain new information every day.

However, these amazing discoveries that we have made over the years are minuscule when it comes to the vastness of the universe. The 14.5 billion miles that the Voyager 1 has traveled converts to not even one light-year. And when compared to the universe’s estimated 92 billion light-year diameter, it is almost sad to realize how little we have discovered. There are billions upon billions of light-years that are a complete mystery to us, so to assume that there is no other life in this universe besides on Earth is nonsensical.

Many people genuinely believe that life on Earth is a lucky fluke, a one-time occurrence in the entire universe. If aliens exist outside of our planet or solar system, people believe that we would have already discovered evidence of their existence. It is easy to imagine aliens as beings with advanced technology who would come to attack us like in the movies. But, the truth is, they could be just like us. There could be a planet like Earth with living beings in another galaxy, people who also don’t have the technology to explore deep into the universe. Or there could be extraterrestrials that do not require water, oxygen, and food to live. There was even evidence of water found on Mars, signifying that there could have been life there at one point. There are so many possibilities that have yet to be explored.

We know of, but haven’t even fully explored, 5% of the universe. The probability of there being some sort of life out there in the remaining 95% is immense. It will take time and innovative technology to reach the end of our search. But I believe that at some point, even if it takes centuries, we will find evidence of life on other planets. Perhaps they will even come to us.