Is there life outside Earth? The biggest question of humanity still has no final answer

DNVN - Throughout history, humans have constantly looked up at the sky with a lingering question: are we alone in this vast universe? This question not only appears in the imagination, religion or philosophy, but is also a serious research topic of modern science.

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The universe we live in is so vast that it is almost impossible to imagine. The Milky Way alone – our galaxy – has over 100 billion stars, and each star may have multiple planets orbiting it. Across the entire universe, it is estimated that there are trillions of planets. With such a huge number, the possibility that Earth is the only place with life seems inconceivable.

Scientists are currently focusing their search for life on planets in the “habitable zone” around stars – where temperature conditions allow liquid water to exist, a key factor for life. Some potential candidates such as Kepler-452b, Proxima Centauri b or the planets in the TRAPPIST-1 system are of particular interest. However, to date, there is no clear evidence to confirm the existence of life beyond Earth.

Not only are we looking for creatures like us, but scientists are also hypothesizing about completely different forms of life – perhaps without water, oxygen or light, and able to survive in extreme conditions. This opens up the possibility that life could be hiding beneath the surface of Mars, in the underground oceans of Europa (a moon of Jupiter), or Enceladus (of Saturn).

There have been strange signals from space that have raised hopes among scientists. A typical example is the “Wow!” signal recorded in 1977 – a 72-second radio wave whose origin has yet to be explained. Although the signal has not been found to repeat itself, it remains one of the most remarkable traces of the possibility of extraterrestrial intelligence.

Although humanity has launched spacecraft, sent messages into space and continuously scanned the sky to "listen", the answer to the question "Is there life outside Earth?" is still open. But in such a vast universe, hope is never extinguished.

Perhaps the only thing that is certain is this: the search for extraterrestrial life will continue – until one day, we hear a response from the depths of the universe.

Thanh Lam (t/h)

Source: https://doanhnghiepvn.vn/cong-nghe/co-su-song-ngoai-trai-dat-khong-cau-hoi-lon-nhat-cua-nhan-loai-van-chua-co-loi-giai-cuoi-cung/20250419030628011