Somewhere out in the cold, dark stretch of space, there are planets where life exists.

It’s an astronomer’s dream – or, possibly, reality. For centuries common people and scientists alike have pondered, and so I ask again: are aliens real?

According to Dr. Luke Davies, the universe is at least 46 billion light years wide and constantly expanding. This leaves an almost infinite amount of protentional habitats for alien life.

I brought this fact up to Mr. Boedeker, who teaches both Earth and Space and Honors Astronomy, and he noted that the immensity of the universe only adds to the probability of alien life.

So, the simple answer to this age-old question is most likely.

He quoted a movie he shows his classes, Contact, as a way to express his opinion, “The universe is a pretty big place. If it’s just us, what an awful waste of space.”

EHS senior Lexie Freese agrees based on what she’s covered in the first two weeks of Mr. Boedeker’s Honors Astronomy class.

“We learned that the universe is immeasurably vast and a person can’t even comprehend how large it is,” Freese said. “So, if we can’t understand size, then it kind of makes me think that there are other things humans can’t possibly understand, such as life on other planets.”

And, well, she’s not wrong. According to Mr. Boedeker, the concepts of space are sometimes so fascinating that he can’t sleep, thinking of the immense universe around us.

“If you just play out the numbers – just statistically, the likelihood that there’s something someplace should rule out (any doubts),” he said. “There should be something. ”

Think about the possibilities of life across the incomprehensible distance of the universe. It’s almost enough to keep you awake, like Mr. Boedeker.

Even if you don’t believe that an alien invasion is impending, alien life is undeniable when you think about the sheer size of the universe surrounding us.

“I think it’s foolish to believe that (we’re alone in the universe),” Freese said. “You have to be self-centered to think we’re the only living species.”