Why Astrophysicist and Carl Sagan Institute Director Says Alien Life Announcement Could Be Imminent

For the prestigious astrophysics and founding director of Carl Sagan Institute of the Cornell University , Lisa Kaltenegger , life discovery tests alien They are getting closer to the light and this will probably happen in a few years.

The Austrian scientist, 47, is a pioneer and expert in the search for habitable worlds in the cosmos a field of study that has historically generated fascination in society. Throughout his career, he has distinguished himself by the search for biosignatures, which are signals suggesting that life exists in the atmospheres of exoplanets. He has also worked with NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA).

But what is the reason for your belief that evidence of life on other planets will soon appear?

In a recent interview with The telegraph the author of the book Alien Earths: Planet Hunting in the CosmoYes suggested that his belief that life outside our planet could be heralded in the coming years is due, in part, to advances in a powerful instrument that could help find biosignatures . This is the space telescope. James Webb .

“We have the James Webb Space Telescope, which has been in space for about a year. “We are living in a golden age of exploration, with thousands of other worlds just around the corner that we can now really explore,” he told British media.

But there is also another situation that has further fueled the enthusiasm of the leader of the Carl Sagan Institute : planets orbiting the red dwarf star Trappist-1 located about 40 light-years from Earth, and which are being studied to determine if they are potentially habitable.

The discovery of this system took place in 2017. Since then, further research has revealed that the planets are rocky and could be twice as old as our solar system.

“The James Webb Space Telescope is currently observing these planets,” Kaltenegger explained. Then he added: “We have a chance of finding the gases on these worlds and finding out if they contain biosignatures in, say, five to ten years.” .

It takes a long time to arrive at these discoveries, given that even with the characteristics of James Webb, it is not easy to create a clear image of a planet due to the light interference emitted by that same star. Despite this, astrophysics places its hopes in this discovery.

“If life is everywhere, it may be in this system. We may have to look at 100 systems before we find life, or even 1,000,” he says. “But it may also be that we only need to look at one system.” In that case, explain, The announcement of the existence of intelligent life “could happen within a few years” .

Of course, Kaltenegger is clear that there are other scientists who do not believe much in biosignatures as proof of the existence of life in the cosmos, because they propose that it is not possible to reject the idea that chemical processes generate the same composition of gases. In this context, he considers that “careful examination is the greatest strength of science, because it eliminates erroneous answers.”

“However, I believe that right now we have a combination of biosignatures, the combination of oxygen and methane, and that under specific circumstances, if the planet is in that habitable zone, we have no other explanation than that there is life,” he said in the interview.

Kaltenegger is enthusiastic about the idea of ​​looking for signs of life on planets orbiting other stars, but also because there is a scientific approach to this study. This is precisely why is at odds with popular UFO theories and evidence presented of alleged sightings in various parts of the world.

According to the expert, UFO hunters appear because of “the excitement of trying to find life in the universe,” but often the data on the observations are not enough to reach a satisfactory conclusion. “If there is a spot on a photo, it is interesting, but …,” he emphasizes.

In the same vein, the Cornell University astronomy professor also referred to the words of David Grusch a former U.S. Air Force intelligence officer who testified before Congress in 2023 that there was an alleged secret UFO recovery program and that the country was in possession of ships of extraterrestrial origin. His book, Kaltenegger said, was written with that in mind.

“When I see this (testimony), honestly, what I think is, ‘Oh my God, I wish this were true.’ It would be a lot easier if aliens came here. Because looking for the chemical composition and the gas as a biosignature is difficult, even with the biggest telescopes we have.” the expert assured the Telegraph.

The scientist reiterated that this is why the scientific approach is important in the process of searching for evidence of extraterrestrial life outside Earth, and gave an example that, in health matters, it is about asking for a second opinion from another professional.

“It’s funny how some people stop thinking like that when it comes to someone trying to sell them proof of alien life.” he argues.

Kaltenegger also gave his thoughts on X and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk’s plans to build a colony on Mars. From his point of view, it would be “incredibly difficult” to live there.

“It’s a completely different stage of exploration than what we’ve done before; even at the North Pole, you can breathe. But I think if someone wants to do it, it would be very interesting. “I think there are great benefits to space exploration,” he concluded.