Aliens Are Out There, Astronomers Tell Congress

If there are aliens out there, they likely passed by our planet, considered it an unsavory galactic truck stop, and kept going, continuing on their hunt for enlightened life. Aliens most certainly exist, according to astronomers at SETI in a recent appeal to Congress for more funding to search for extraterrestrial life. The question we should be more concerned about: why don’t they want to hang out with us? Are we not evolved enough?

Whether aliens have passed by Earth is still up for debate. What the astronomers are certain of is that there are other “earths” out there that could host intelligent life.

“In the last 50 years, evidence has steadily mounted that the components and conditions we believe necessary for life are common and perhaps ubiquitous in our galaxy,” Dan Werthimer, the director of the SETI [search for extraterrestrial intelligence] Research Center at the University of California, Berkeley, told the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology on Wednesday. He put the chances of alien life “close to 100 percent.” His written testimony has additional compelling reasons why SETI’s research must be funded.

“The possibility that life has arisen elsewhere, and perhaps evolved intelligence, is plausible and warrants scientific inquiry,” Werthimer said.

Seth Shostak, a senior astronomer at the SETI Institute, told Congress that the chance of finding extraterrestrial life in the next 20 years is high, but it all depends on the funding.

You can watch the full hearing here:

For more on the story, visit ABC News.

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