Astrophysicists have questioned whether stars, like the sun, can migrate great distances in our galaxy, the Milky Way. If the sun has moved far from where it was formed more than four billion years ago, the entire notion that there are parts of galaxies which are more conductive to supporting lives than others could change.

In an interview with The Times, astronomer Victor Debattista, an expert on galaxy formations, said it was “inconceivable” for him that there was no life outside earth.

“I am willing to bet money that there is life in the solar system and we will discover it in the next 10 to 20 years.”

However, he added, this did not mean that it was intelligent life, and he did not know what the answer to that was. “I would say that the chances of finding life on Mars are not so remote,” he said.

He continued that life does not necessarily live on the surface and breath oxygen. “We know that there is life underwater that doesn’t need oxygen at all. There is fauna by the volcanic vents underwater that doesn’t need oxygen. All these sort of things lead you to believe that eventually we will find life somewhere else.”

See also:

http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20090413/local/life-on-mars-and-the-birth-of-galaxies