Aliens.

That one word brings forth thoughts of beings from outer space and extensive worlds of space. People prefer to view aliens as the sentient types, meaning that they are like humans in intelligence, but what if aliens were more simple, like bacteria?

This begs the question: is Earth truly the only planet that supports life in the universe?

One of the most important factors for life on other planets is that the planet is in the Habitable Zone and has water. Astronomers have discovered thousands of planets in our galaxy that fall within this location and possibly contain liquid water, which means that these planets check-off one of the most important boxes for life.

“Water needs to be around, so that’s a good starting point [for life],” says biology teacher Cynthia Ezzard.

TV shows like ‘Star Trek’ and video games like ‘Subnautica’ have shown an impressive amount of possible alien life forms that entertain us, but is there truly life like these aliens, or would it perhaps be simpler? Would we find more bacteria lifeforms or more complex ones?

“Our likelihood of finding a bacteria-like organism would be way higher,” said Ezzard.

We have continued to search for planets throughout our galaxy, and among those discoveries are Kepler-452 b and TRAPPIST-1 e. These two planets were located in the Habitable Zones of their stars, so could they harbor life?

“Probably with more study and using different technology,” says Ms. Ezzard. “We might be able to ascertain if there is some kind of organism living there.”

What would life look like if it was on other planets if it truly is out there?

Life would evolve according to the environment it lives in. For example, if there was a more aquatic environment on a planet, then life may evolve to be more like what we would see in the oceans of Earth, though physical appearances most likely will be different.

“I believe that there is alien life out there because the universe is so broad and of great size,” said freshman Ellen Jordan. “There are endless possibilities.”

For now, we may not know if life truly is out there. Perhaps one day when we have adequate technology, we can finally answer the question: are we alone in the universe?