Are we alone in the universe? A question that most people have asked themselves at some point in their lives. A UFO enthusiast reflects on the topic and updates us on the facts that we have today.
Firstly, I must state that I am not a physicist or ufologist, just an enthusiast with an insatiable appetite for the unknown. I have researched the UFO phenomenon quite substantially for a number of years and habitually keep up to date on a regular basis. The existence of extra-terrestrial life is, to me, a given. Their visitations to this planet (or dimension) and the subsequent government secrecy and misinformation poses one of, if not the most mysterious and pressing issues facing humanity today. One would assume that were the intention of these visitations nefarious that a full invasion and enslavement would have already occurred. Therefore It is truly wondrous to imagine our society restructured upon the elevated values required for inclusion into an inter-stellar community. Forget about the rotten stains of our primitive culture; no more fear, famine, pollution or war.
For the moment however, as mathematics is the only language common to all human beings, I propose that numbers are the appropriate tool with which to continue our discussion. The sheer vastness of our cosmos has the ability to send our minds into overdrive and if we are not careful, to the brink of insanity.
Astrophysicitsts running a super-computer simulation at the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics claim to have calculated that there are 500 billion galaxies existing in the measurable universe and thus if you hold up a single grain of sand, the patch of sky it covers contains 10,000 galaxies. As for our own plot in the garden of space, we know that there are 300 billion stars in the (relatively large) Milky Way and estimate that it has existed for 13.2 billion years.
These figures are staggering when we consider the mainstream approximation that modern humans have only existed on our small planet ,orbiting our averagely sized, middle aged star (4 billion years old) for a mere 200,000 years. The magnificently large margins of space and time suggest that it would not really be a great leap of faith to conceive that many great civilisations, thousands or possibly millions of years more advanced than our own, have risen and fallen somewhere in the universe during the time before humanity as we know it even existed. After all, what are such beautiful facts if not bricks with which to build a palace of imagination?
In 1961 the SETI project (Search For Extraterrestrial Intelligence) held its first conference. During which, founding member, astronomer Frank Drake proposed an equation to quantify the probability of other intelligent life within the Milky Way Galaxy alone.
The equation was: N = R x fp x ne x fl x fi x fc x L
What does all that mean? Well… In this equation, N is the number of detectable civilizations in our galaxy. The other variables are described below:
•R is the rate of star formation in the galaxy
•fp is the fraction of stars that form planets
•ne is the number of planets hospitable to life (i.e., Earth-like planets)
•fl is the fraction of these planets on which life actually emerges
•fi is the fraction of these planets on which intelligent life arises
•fc is the fraction of these planets with intelligent beings capable of interstellar communication
•L is the length of time such a civilization remains detectable1
Although this equation is based on many different variables and has produced hugely varying outcomes, it is a very useful tool for coming to terms with the huge numbers at play. Drake’s own initial result was 12,000 civilisations. That does seem rather a lot but when we consider that the prominent cosmologist Carl Sagan actually arrived at a number closer to a million, it is really quite conservative. Let us for the sake of argument say that Drake and Sagan were completely wrong and misguided however and that there is only one civilisation in the Milky Way, our own. Consider that if only half of all galaxies have produced one planet with intelligent life, that still equates to 250 billion civilisations. Even more conservatively, if only 0.5% of all of the galaxies are currently sustaining just one intelligent civilisation each, then there are, as you read this, 2.5 billion other civilisations going about their lives in the universe.
Of course, all of these figures are only useful in trying to detect life in the space that we can measure and begin to comprehend. Let us not forget that we can actually only see and measure 4.9% of the universe, i.e. the things we can see and touch… known as Ordinary Matter. Almost 27% of the universe is made up of mysterious Dark Matter and the remaining 68.1% is a formless energy of no substance at all (Dark Energy). Myriad theories have sprung up around the implications of Dark Matter and their discussion would require an essay of their own. However, one prominent theory is that of the Multiverse; in short, parallel universes. In which infinite amounts of intelligent life, including replicas of ourselves living infinitesimally and/or inconceivably contrasting lives to our own, may be existing undetected within millimetres of us. Let us not get too bogged down in theoretical physics though. There is plenty of other evidence in this dimension.
The UFO phenomenon is a very real example. I do not doubt for one moment that many sightings are confused reports of aeroplanes, flares, satellites, planets, stars, drones and so forth. Without question however, there are frequently completely inexplicable objects appearing in our skies. They are reported innumerably across the globe and by an incredibly varied cross-section of society; from average people in the street to commercial pilots and police officers. Much testimony exists from military and commercial radar operators, unashamedly declaring their detection of huge craft travelling at speeds of up to 10,000 miles per hour and making simply “impossible” manoeuvers. The only point of contention with regards to this phenomenon is its interpretation. Are the reported crafts of extra-terrestrial origin? Or are they in fact part of secret terrestrial military programs? We must be conscious of the fact that these are not necessarily mutually exclusive phenomena.
On March 13th, 1997, arguably the most significant UFO sighting in history occurred. The event known as The Phoenix Lights is crucial for two reasons. Firstly because there were thousands of first-hand witness accounts. Secondly because it occurred at a time in history when many of those witnesses were able to photograph and video record the event. The footage itself is irrefutable. There were definitely seven orb-like lights at a relatively low altitude in a mile-wide triangle formation and they silently hovered over the whole state of Arizona. There is some dispute as to whether the lights were part of one huge craft or a collection of individual crafts. However, the footage is freely available on Youtube and it is abundantly clear that these lights were not, as according to the official explanation, military flares.
The debate surrounding conspiracy theories and government cover-ups is incredibly far reaching and complex. For serious discussion on this topic I would direct you towards an excellent organisation spearheaded by Dr. Steven Greer, by the name of The Disclosure Project.
Why, however, would anybody choose to cover up such amazing, potentially paradigm shifting information? As with all corruption, follow the money trail and you will likely find its root cause. Let us take for example two of the most powerful and profitable global industries, that of arms manufacturing and the oil trade. Total global defence spending in 2012 was a staggering $1.6 trillion. In the same year, the profits of the top five largest oil companies equated to no less than $120 billion. Unfortunately we live in a world in which perpetual military conflict and reliance on ecologically unsound and unsustainable fuel is inexorably profitable. Open contact and dialogue with a highly technologically and spiritually advanced extra-terrestrial race would likely bankrupt these industries immediately. It simply is not in the interest of those who wield the real power in our society for such potentially damming information to ever see the light of day
We as citizens of planet earth have the right to know exactly what is going on. My ultimate hypothesis in this regard however, is that it will not be the president of the U.S.A, sitting behind his desk who breaks the news to the world in a dramatic, historical, television press conference.
Intuitively I feel, like many others, that there is currently a gradual shift of consciousness occurring amongst our species; nothing particularly esoteric, simply a natural evolution. A shift that despite the ongoing atrocities of our “leaders, is moving us away from fear and subservience to a state of peaceful mindfulness. I believe that this shift is an ongoing process of species maturation. Currently we are at the level of a thoughtless, angry teenager, lashing out and trashing our house. There will inevitably come a tipping point during this shift, at which time the majority of humans will take responsibility for their membership of a unified species and incline towards nurturing the ideals of empathy, understanding and love. It is at this point I suspect, when we are adequately emotionally prepared, that we will receive some, perhaps only just a few, answers to the riddle of the cosmos. It is then that E.Ts will gradually make themselves known to us.
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