Alien Universe - 9781421410722

If extraterrestrials exist, where are they? What is the probability that somewhere out there in the universe an Earth-like planet supports an advanced culture? Why do so many people claim to have encountered aliens? In this gripping exploration, scientist Don Lincoln exposes and explains the truths about the belief in and the search for alien life.

In the first half of Alien Universe, Lincoln looks to Western civilization's collective image of aliens, showing how our perceptions of extraterrestrials have evolved over time. The roots of this belief can be traced as far back as our earliest recognition that there were other planets in the universe, and the idea of aliens has fascinated us ever since. The world was fooled in the nineteenth century during the Great Moon Hoax of 1835 and again in the twentieth with Orson Welles's 1938 radio broadcast, The War of the Worlds. And our continuing interest is reflected in entertainment successes such as E.T., The X-Files, and Star Trek.

The second half of the book deals with the scientific possibility that advanced alien civilizations do exist. For many years, researchers have sought to answer Enrico Fermi’s great paradox—if there are so many planets in the universe, and a high probability that many of those can support life, then why have we not actually encountered any aliens (apologies to those who are sure we have)? Lincoln describes how modern science teaches us what is possible and what is not.