Back to the Beginning

        I have been able to study the phases of the moon, some of the constellations in the night sky as well as some of the aspects that make Earth livable. I have also looked at other places in the solar system that may harbour life. Before I had started to write this blog I did not know about the other planets. I mean I knew that there were other planets and their names but I did not know much else. I also took for granted the night sky and all that information that one can learn from it.  I was able to better appreciate the night sky, from the stars and their vast distances away from us to the moon and the phases that it goes through.  I was also able to gain an understanding of why we are the only planet in the solar system that has been able to develop intelligent life. We are unique in so many ways, from our place in the solar system, to our large moon and even to our magnetic field. It was all of these factors that allowed us to evolve. However, this understanding brings up some other questions like:

• ·         Are we the only ones in the Universe?
• ·         When will we find other life?
• ·         Should we look in our Solar System of concentrate our efforts on other stars?

Some of these questions have been asked by scientists and there is not a clear right or wrong answer for any of the questions. Drake, attempted to figure out if it was possible intelligent life to be elsewhere in the Milky Way or in the Universe. He derived the Drake equation which can show that there could be 10 other planets in the galaxy where life could evolve to as many as millions. This shows the uncertainty that these scientists face. There is also something called the Fermi Paradox. This tries to reason out the fact that if we think that there is life out there why we have not found it yet.  However, I have gained a better understanding of the fundamentals of astronomy that can give me the tools needed to be able to critically think about these questions.