A NASA scientist has weighed in on the debate of whether aliens are real, and it seems like she's pretty convinced that they are.
Most of us will have pondered whether or not we are alone in the universe and as Arthur C. Clarke said - both are equally terrifying.
That being said, that thought has paved the way for some amazing movies, although a lot of them involve the aliens being not so friendly.
While the rest of us stew over UFOs, a prominent NASA scientist has boldly declared that alien life "absolutely" exists.
Dr. Michelle Thaller recently addressed a captivated audience at an exhibition in New York, where she delved into the tantalizing possibilities of extraterrestrial life.
Dr. Thaller's perspective challenges conventional expectations by suggesting that the search might be closer to home than we realize.
"I definitely think we'll find life on another planet," Dr. Thaller proclaimed confidently to The Sun. "I think that in our own solar system, we’re quite close to it, but once again we don’t have that 100 percent thing."
Dr. Thaller pointed to Mars as a particularly compelling candidate, citing intriguing chemical patterns that, if found on Earth, would likely be attributed to life.
"On Mars, we see chemistry that on Earth if it were here we would say is due to life," she explained. However, she acknowledged the need for caution: "But the question is, how well do we understand Mars and are we being fooled by something?"
Still, Dr. Thaller emphasized that other planets within our galactic neighborhood should not be hastily ruled out. Surprisingly, Venus – a planet enshrouded in a suffocating atmosphere that has thwarted past exploration attempts – is emerging as an intriguing prospect.
She expressed astonishment at the prospect: "I never expected Venus." She went on to elaborate: "Venus is now one where we see something in the atmosphere that looks very much like it could be produced by bacteria.
"We see possible signs of life in the atmosphere of Venus, and possibly underneath the ice in the icy moons of Jupiter and Saturn."
She proposed the idea that our solar system might teem with microbial life, underscoring the need for definitive confirmation: "We just have to get that 100 percent certainty to say that we found it and we don’t have that yet."
Recent discoveries have further fueled speculation about the potential for life beyond Earth. Saturn's moon revealed essential elements required for life, yet scientists remain cautiously circumspect before making any definitive proclamations.
"That’s the thing, we’re waiting until there’s nothing else it could possibly be because can you imagine the kind of trouble we’d get in?", Dr. Thaller noted.
Maintaining a measured approach, she added: "We don’t have absolute proof yet. Do I think there’s life out there? Absolutely."
Maybe the aliens will make themselves known to us soon...