Are we alone in this mighty universe that is so big and mighty beyond human imagination? This is one question humans have been trying to answer for years. Considering the vastness of the universe, several space experts believe that alien life could be thriving somewhere in distant space bodies. According to these experts, planets in the habitable zones could be potential candidates in discovering extraterrestrial life.
However, popular physicist Brian Cox believes that humans might be the only intelligent species, at least in the Milky Way.
Alien existence highly unlikely in Milky Way
According to Cox, the probability of alien life thriving in the Milky Way is highly unlikely. He also asserted that humans could be the only civilization in our galaxy.
Cox made these remarks during an interaction with Rot Magazine.
"You can confine the argument to the galaxy, to the Milky Way, because we're never going to contact anything outside that and nothing's ever contacting us from different galaxies. But in a galaxy, there are 400 billion stars and more planets than that. I think there are no civilizations out there," said Cox.
Humans could be alone in Milky Way
Asserting humans are the only intelligent species in our galaxy, Cox added, "So I'd say that if we are the only civilization in the Milky Way now, then Earth is the only island of meaning in a sea of 400 billion stars. So that is either frightening or, well, at the same time gives you a sense of our value. I would say the universe is meaningless without life."
Earlier, SpaceX founder Elon Musk had also shared similar thoughts. Musk once claimed that humans are the only conscious beings in the universe. The South African billionaire also added that humans should use this conscience to emerge as a multi-planetary species.
