Is There Another Earth Out There?

By Kathryn Miller
Summary: Pop Quiz: Why are we on Earth? Well, the most likely reason is because we don’t have anywhere else to go. If left to our own devices, like having an endless amount of money in the government – Ha. That’ll happen – and possibly more reincarnated Einstein’s, we would be building houses on Mars already. However, we don’t have this much power. Not yet. But someday, we will find a way to get to the other planets and eventually begin to use them – either for more space or resources – and make the world even more advanced. Though scientists aren’t entirely sure they can prove the theory that there is another planet like earth, they know there are other galaxies besides ours. So, naturally, this other galaxy will have a power source – something like the sun – with planets/moons revolving around it. If this theory is correct, we’re going to need more astronauts.
The reason we don’t just go find an uninhabited planet right now, stick the American flag there and begin another community is because of things that could affect the way we live. Firstly, it may be too hot or cold – or may change rapidly at any given moment, causing heart failures and/or death – to sustain human life. Secondly, we would have no atmosphere, meaning no protection from the Sun’s rays and no resistance to meteors. Going up there now is risky, and even with all of our technology, even with all of our brain cells put together, there is always a risk of something going wrong. But enough with the negatives. If we end up finding something out of the ordinary, it may be the biggest discovery since wall painting.
Impact: Though it may be a few centuries before we even discover this new planet, this could be huge for society. We are worried about over-population today as it is, so another planet would definitely be good news. I don’t suppose it’s possible right now to begin a search, but the more scientists paying attention to outer space for new findings, the better. All of this is just a theory, meaning it can’t be proved, but let’s say, in an epic epiphany, we find a way to travel between galaxies. This could be really helpful to us. And with everyone worried about overpopulation, and running out of renewable resources, people really want to believe we won’t crash and burn in the foreseeable future because of the above said. Since going to other planets and collecting information from other planets is not the same thing, people are pretty skeptical. “Prove it”, they say. But nobody can prove it. We just have to pray that it’s real, I suppose.
Critique: I honestly don’t know how we’ll be able to transport everything we have to another galaxy. We can’t even get what we have right now to the moon. BUT. I am not saying I could do better. And I am not degrading the work of many scientists all over the world trying to figure this stuff out so I won’t have to. I can’t even remember what I had for breakfast this morning, so I am in no position to be joking about scientists’ studies. But someday, this will be either a really giant step for man or a really big red mark on our record. I guess the world will just have to wait another millennia before we find out. (With how much I say we will have to wait for it, you can tell I mean it will take a while before we even have a name for this planet. I apologize for the repetition, dear reader.)

http://www.livescience.com/10369-science-breakthroughs-2011-bring.html