Human-Like Aliens Probably Exist on Other Planets, Study Says

There’s a new theory that suggests aliens and life on other planets may not be a matter of “if” but rather “when.” Thanks to a new study by some researchers at Penn State University, there’s reason to believe that life isn’t something only Earth can lay claim to.

One of the longest-running explanations for why our particular planet is inhabited by humans is Brandon Carter’s “hard steps” model from 1983. That model cites the need for rare occurrences to result in the highly unlikely event that leads to humanity. These Penn State scientists, however, counter that by saying Earth didn’t have humans sprung on it out of nowhere.

“We propose an alternative model where there are no hard steps, and evolutionary singularities required for human origins can be explained via mechanisms outside of intrinsic improbability,” the report explains.

They say we came to be as a result of being “on time” and not because of “a series of lucky breaks to exist.” The paper’s lead author, Dan Mills, tells the New York Post “it’s only a matter of time” before life pops up on other planets as more of these celestial bodies develop conducive conditions to breed life.

Aliens Most Likely Exist on Other Planets

The idea of being “on time” as opposed to what some say is human life coming to be “late” takes a different approach at our origins. These scientists believe that “the pace of evolution on Earth is set by global-environment processes operating on geo-logic timescales.”

That basically means we were born when we were not because we were late or delayed, but because that’s simply “the window of human habitability” was recently opened in Earth’s history and not on the universal timeline.

Jason Wright, a professor of astronomy at the school, explains this once believed “long shot” concept as being something “predictable” as “global conditions allow.”

“Our framework applies not only to Earth but also other planets, increasing the possibility that life similar to ours could exist elsewhere,” he explained. In other words, another planet doesn’t need some phenomenon like the Big Bang to welcome humanity. Instead, all it takes is the natural progression of a planet to create the environment needed to support life.

I’m nowhere near an Area 51 truther or someone who passionately argues that life exists elsewhere, but I’m also not naïve to think that Earth is the only place where life can be. Is it really that far-fetched that somewhere out there there are some sort of people or alien-life form out there that are sitting on their couches watching some dumb “Real Housewives of Mars” reality show? I like to think there is.