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Are we alone in the universe?
Perceptions by Gerry Warner
Another comet is approaching Earth.
Comet Lulin, named for the telescope observatory in Taiwan where it was first observed, is streaking through our inner solar system and can be seen to the east with binoculars just before dawn and will come closest to our home planet in February if it survives a swing by the sun in the next month or so.
Whatās unusual about Comet Lulin is that it has two tails, or at least it appears that way because itās approaching us on the same plane and that creates an optical illusion making it appear that it has a double tail. Do I understand all this? Of course not! But ever since Grade 4, Iāve been a bit of an astronomy nut and every time I hear about something celestial in the sky my ears prick up and once again I start thinking about the Great Cosmic Riddle ā are we alone in this vast universe or are we but one of inestimably, numerous specious of life scattered through interstellar space?
Why do I ever think about these things? I guess it beats thinking about Rob Ford or whether Stephen Harper will resolve the Senate scandal. But Iām not alone in doing this. Many of the greatest minds in history have grappled with the issue of our place in the cosmos and they havenāt resolved the issue either.
The conventional belief, of course, is that because of the enormity of a limitless universe there has to be other forms of life out there, anything from primitive one celled organisms to little green men that regularly visit Earth in order to abduct us. Then thereās the first book of Genesis, which is sufficient proof for millions that we are indeed unique and very much alone in the vastness of space. Excuse the expression, but this is one incredibly complicated can of worms that I hesitate to open. But as I said before, I think we all puzzle over this at one time or the other, so here goes.
Cosmologists tell us that the universe began about 13.7 billion years ago as a āsingularityā followed by a Big Bang that in a few seconds produced gravity and all the forces governing physics and in less than three minutes created all the matter thatās in the universe now or ever will be. At least thatās how one of my favorite writers Bill Bryson explains it in āA Short History of Nearly Everythingā which won the Aventis Prize for best general science book in 2004 and to which I say is what the hell is a āsingularity?ā
Then thereās Albert Einstein, generally considered the greatest scientist and physicist that ever lived and whose theories on how the universe and life itself evolved are still revered and accepted to this day. Well, you know what else Einstein said?Ā āTwo things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the universe.ā Kinda makes you wonder, doesnāt it?
Now Einstein was definitely not a Christian, at least in the conventional sense of the term. But once answering a Japanese scholar who questioned him on the existence of God, he said: āThis firm belief, a belief bound up with deep feeling, in a superior mind that reveals itself in the world of experience, represents my conception of God.ā
This has led some scholars to believe that while not a believer in the God of the Bible, Einstein did believe in a Creator responsible for the very laws of the universe that he did so much to explain. And, of course, one of his most famous quotes is āGod does not play dice with the universe.ā To me that certainly doesnāt make Einstein a Christian or a Jew, but makes him a believer, surely the most supreme irony about the man considered the greatest scientist in human history.
But back to the main topic. Did Comet Lulin pass any other civilizations on its way to Earth? I donāt pretend to know. But if Albert Einstein believed thereās a Creator itās some comfort to me to believe the comet may have encountered a divine spirit out there.
– Gerry Warner is a retired journalist and Cranbrook City Councillor. His opinions are his own.
