To introduce you to our young researchers, we conducted a series of flash interviews throughout the 2022-2023 academic year, to which all our master’s and doctoral students and researchers were invited to respond. In recent months, we’ve been posting portraits on Facebook under the keyword #iRExFlashInterviews
In this fourth article in a series of four, we compile the various responses received from these up-and-coming young scientists to the question:
Do you think there is life elsewhere in the galaxy? If so, what is it like?
From right to left, top to bottom: Alexandrine L’Heureux, André Beaudoin, Anne Boucher, Ariane Deslières, Caroline Piaulet, Charles Cadieux, Charles-Édouard Boukaré, Chris Mann, Clémence Fontanive, Dereck Lizotte, Dominic Couture, Érika Le Bourdais, Etienne Artigau, Frédéric Genest, Giang Nguyen, Jared Splinter, Jonathan St-Antoine, Katherine Thibault, Keavin Moore, Kim Morel, Leslie Moranta, Lisa Dang, Loïc Albert, Marylou Fournier Tondreau, Michael Matesic, Neil Cook, Olivia Lim, Pierre-Alexis Roy, Romain Allart, Simon Delisle, Thomas Vandal and Vigneshwaran Krishnamurthy.
Pierre-Alexis: In my opinion, yes, there is life elsewhere in the galaxy. Now that we know planetary systems are common in our galaxy, it makes perfect sense to me to assume that there is life in other systems. Now, what would this life look like? I believe it would be very different from life on Earth; that’s the most precise answer I dare give!
Ariane: Of course! I think every astronomer hopes so. My scientific response is that it would probably be microscopic life. However, I’d love for us to find marine mammals with primate-like intelligence. Imagine a philosophical whale!
Jared: Given the size of the galaxy, I think life exists somewhere! While I think intelligent life elsewhere is less likely, it’s not impossible. Although we don’t yet have the ability to communicate with other forms of life, I hope that one day we can fulfill our dreams of space exploration, Star Trek-style!
Frédéric: Thanks to the thousands of exoplanets we’ve detected so far, we know a significant fraction of stars have planetary systems. Potentially billions of planets in just our galaxy! It’s hard to believe that we’d find life only on Earth. I believe there must be microbial life on several exoplanets.
Chris: I think the odds of finding intelligent extraterrestrial life are low, but with the vast number of planets in our galaxy, it seems almost certain that some form of life exists somewhere. And for the first time in human history, we have the technology to detect it. It’s very exciting!
Neil: I have no doubt that there must be life somewhere in the universe. The important question is how difficult it is for life to exist. The answer to that question will tell us whether life is widespread or very rare. Much of our exoplanet research is bringing us closer to answering that question!
Leslie: It seems egocentric to believe that Earth is the only planet in the Universe where life could have developed. Furthermore, I remain convinced that the discovery of extraterrestrial life would involve finding a form of life fundamentally different from ours.
Dereck: It seems statistically nearly impossible that we’re completely alone in the universe, especially if we’re talking about very simple life like bacteria. Other forms of intelligent life like ours, however, seem extremely improbable (though I’m not sure if that’s a good or bad thing)…
Dominic: I believe the emergence of simple microbial life is quite common in the galaxy, provided suitable conditions exist on an exoplanet. However, the emergence of more complex and especially intelligent life could be rarer, and humanity might be the only civilization existing in the current era of the galaxy.
Kim: I think we’ve somewhat won the life lottery, meaning we’ve had the immense luck for everything to align for life to develop on Earth. However, as with a lottery, while winners are rare, there are still many of them. So, I do believe there must be another place in the universe where life exists, but in a form different from ours, with a different kind of cell.
Olivia: I hope so! In addition to invisible microorganisms, I like to imagine there’s vegetation, animals, and other forms of life indescribable with our Earthling vocabulary elsewhere in the universe. But I have no idea if any of these speculations have any scientific basis!
Anne: I’m convinced that life exists elsewhere in our Galaxy. The challenge is finding it. I don’t think we’ll find “intelligent” life anytime soon, but certainly something equivalent to bacterial, fungal, or even plant life. I’d like to believe that somewhere in our galaxy, there’s another planet filled with the most exotic plants and flowers.
André: The galaxy is so vast that it’s inconceivable to me that life only happened by chance on a single planet among hundreds of billions. The real questions for me are: Can we detect this said life with today’s technology? And in 100 years? And in 1000 years? Will we ever be able to communicate with another intelligent species? I think we should never say never, but we’re still far from answering any of these questions. Exciting challenges for future generations!
Caroline: The past twenty years of exoplanet discoveries have revealed that most stars have at least one planet. With the hundreds of billions of trillions (!) of stars in the universe, I think it’s likely that there are a few other places besides Earth where conditions are right for life to emerge! I imagine that extraterrestrial life forms would probably not have much resemblance to the way aliens are portrayed in movies, which are very centered on life as we know it: it might just be life at the single-cell stage or a few cells!
Katherine: Yes, I believe there is life elsewhere in the galaxy! I like to think there are tiny bacteria living in a world of lava or perhaps a civilization more advanced than ours where the balance between the environment and life is respected. Whether intelligent or not, I believe life is very different from what we know here on Earth.
Étienne: To get a rough idea of what extraterrestrial life might look like, go snorkeling in the sea with a mask. Look at sea anemones, sea cucumbers, and jellyfish. I think the representation we have of a potential contact with an extraterrestrial civilization says much more about the humans who wrote the script than about potential extraterrestrials! Even those in the movie “Contact” have a language that’s way too clear. I’ll let you ponder what response you would give to a whiff of C7H9O2N blown your way… yet some living beings who share bits of DNA with you can interpret this message very well! If you want to see what encountering non-human intelligence looks like, watch the beautiful film “My Octopus Teacher.”
Romain: When we look at the starry sky, it’s hard to believe we’re alone in the Universe, and for good reason – the number of stars in our galaxy and galaxies in the Universe is so vast it’s incomprehensible. But knowing how life manifests on other worlds? Would there be more advanced life forms than single-celled beings? I don’t know, but assuming it might resemble something on Earth or what we can imagine would be a mistake. I prefer to believe that nature will always surprise us!
Michael M.: Statistically speaking, I expect that at least one of the hundreds of billions of other planetary systems in the Milky Way harbors life. Given the age of our galaxy, life could take the form of single-celled organisms or advanced civilizations.
If you want to hear other iREx astronomers discuss this important question, watch our video Y a-t-il de la vie ailleurs? from the Des exoplanètes et nous series (French with English subtitles available)
To read our astronomers’ answers to other questions, see the other articles in the series:
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The body of Ugandan Olympic athlete Rebecca Cheptegei — who died after being set on fire by her partner in Kenya — was received Friday by family and anti-femicide crusaders, ahead of her burial a day later.
Cheptegei’s family met with dozens of activists Friday who had marched to the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital’s morgue in the western city of Eldoret while chanting anti-femicide slogans.
She is the fourth female athlete to have been killed by her partner in Kenya in yet another case of gender-based violence in recent years.
Viola Cheptoo, the founder of Tirop Angels – an organization that was formed in honor of athlete Agnes Tirop, who was stabbed to death in 2021, said stakeholders need to ensure this is the last death of an athlete due to gender-based violence.
“We are here to say that enough is enough, we are tired of burying our sisters due to GBV,” she said.
It was a somber mood at the morgue as athletes and family members viewed Cheptegei’s body which sustained 80% of burns after she was doused with gasoline by her partner Dickson Ndiema. Ndiema sustained 30% burns on his body and later succumbed.
Ndiema and Cheptegei were said to have quarreled over a piece of land that the athlete bought in Kenya, according to a report filed by the local chief.
Cheptegei competed in the women’s marathon at the Paris Olympics less than a month before the attack. She finished in 44th place.
Cheptegei’s father, Joseph, said that the body will make a brief stop at their home in the Endebess area before proceeding to Bukwo in eastern Uganda for a night vigil and burial on Saturday.
“We are in the final part of giving my daughter the last respect,” a visibly distraught Joseph said.
He told reporters last week that Ndiema was stalking and threatening Cheptegei and the family had informed police.
Four in 10 women or an estimated 41% of dating or married Kenyan women have experienced physical or sexual violence perpetrated by their current or most recent partner, according to the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey 2022.
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — A rare Bronze-Era jar accidentally smashed by a 4-year-old visiting a museum was back on display Wednesday after restoration experts were able to carefully piece the artifact back together.
Last month, a family from northern Israel was visiting the museum when their youngest son tipped over the jar, which smashed into pieces.
Alex Geller, the boy’s father, said his son — the youngest of three — is exceptionally curious, and that the moment he heard the crash, “please let that not be my child” was the first thought that raced through his head.
The jar has been on display at the Hecht Museum in Haifa for 35 years. It was one of the only containers of its size and from that period still complete when it was discovered.
The Bronze Age jar is one of many artifacts exhibited out in the open, part of the Hecht Museum’s vision of letting visitors explore history without glass barriers, said Inbal Rivlin, the director of the museum, which is associated with Haifa University in northern Israel.
It was likely used to hold wine or oil, and dates back to between 2200 and 1500 B.C.
Rivlin and the museum decided to turn the moment, which captured international attention, into a teaching moment, inviting the Geller family back for a special visit and hands-on activity to illustrate the restoration process.
Rivlin added that the incident provided a welcome distraction from the ongoing war in Gaza. “Well, he’s just a kid. So I think that somehow it touches the heart of the people in Israel and around the world,“ said Rivlin.
Roee Shafir, a restoration expert at the museum, said the repairs would be fairly simple, as the pieces were from a single, complete jar. Archaeologists often face the more daunting task of sifting through piles of shards from multiple objects and trying to piece them together.
Experts used 3D technology, hi-resolution videos, and special glue to painstakingly reconstruct the large jar.
Less than two weeks after it broke, the jar went back on display at the museum. The gluing process left small hairline cracks, and a few pieces are missing, but the jar’s impressive size remains.
The only noticeable difference in the exhibit was a new sign reading “please don’t touch.”
VICTORIA – The British Columbia government is partnering with a bear welfare group to reduce the number of bears being euthanized in the province.
Nicholas Scapillati, executive director of Grizzly Bear Foundation, said Monday that it comes after months-long discussions with the province on how to protect bears, with the goal to give the animals a “better and second chance at life in the wild.”
Scapillati said what’s exciting about the project is that the government is open to working with outside experts and the public.
“So, they’ll be working through Indigenous knowledge and scientific understanding, bringing in the latest techniques and training expertise from leading experts,” he said in an interview.
B.C. government data show conservation officers destroyed 603 black bears and 23 grizzly bears in 2023, while 154 black bears were killed by officers in the first six months of this year.
Scapillati said the group will publish a report with recommendations by next spring, while an independent oversight committee will be set up to review all bear encounters with conservation officers to provide advice to the government.
Environment Minister George Heyman said in a statement that they are looking for new ways to ensure conservation officers “have the trust of the communities they serve,” and the panel will make recommendations to enhance officer training and improve policies.
Lesley Fox, with the wildlife protection group The Fur-Bearers, said they’ve been calling for such a committee for decades.
“This move demonstrates the government is listening,” said Fox. “I suspect, because of the impending election, their listening skills are potentially a little sharper than they normally are.”
Fox said the partnership came from “a place of long frustration” as provincial conservation officers kill more than 500 black bears every year on average, and the public is “no longer tolerating this kind of approach.”
“I think that the conservation officer service and the B.C. government are aware they need to change, and certainly the public has been asking for it,” said Fox.
Fox said there’s a lot of optimism about the new partnership, but, as with any government, there will likely be a lot of red tape to get through.
“I think speed is going to be important, whether or not the committee has the ability to make change and make change relatively quickly without having to study an issue to death, ” said Fox.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 9, 2024.
