07-05-2016, 05:27 PM
My pleasure, Vic. In all the years I've worked in astronomy I have yet to meet an astronomer that doesn't think there is life elsewhere in the universe. The problem is finding evidence of that other life. I suspect that may well come in the next decade or two though. It may not be intelligent life, that's unlikely during that time period, but some form of life instead. There are hints that suggest some kind of bacterial life might exist on Mars; methane has been detected when it really ought not to be there, but there might also be a geological explanation for that.