As reported by news agencies yesterday, a study of data from the Kepler Space Observatory suggests that there may be 40 billion Earth-like planets in the Milky Way Galaxy that orbit their suns within a zone that could support life. Conducted by a graduate student at the University of California in Berkeley, this multi-year analysis is the latest estimate based on reams of data from the Observatory, which was launched by NASA in 2009.
While this data may seem shocking to many, there are at least 300 billion stars in the Milky Way Galaxy, which is one of an estimated 200 billion galaxies in the Universe; some of the larger galaxies contain more than a trillion stars. Based on those numbers, there are surely trillions of Earth-like planets in the Universe; if only one in a billion supports intelligent life there are, at minimum, thousands of civilizations out there, most of which are far more advanced than our own (after all, our home star is only 5 billion years old while the Big Bang occurred 13.7 billion years ago).
One would think that such data might give pause to those who espouse rigid, traditional religious beliefs. Are we a chosen species or are we but one of thousands of intelligent civilizations that inhabit our massive, ever-expanding Universe? At the very least, this scientific data should encourage us to approach that question with an open mind (and with more humility).
