Planet Earth has been around for 4.54 billion years, give or take an error margin of 50 million years, according to scientists' estimates. Researchers have analyzed and dated rocks in the Earth's crust and calculated sea levels to glean answers to the always fascinating mystery of when our planet was formed. With advances, radiometric dating was introduced as a tool for geologists. This method enabled them to calculate how long it took elements to decay and thus guesstimate the age of rocks. 

Fossils found in rocks are an imprint of the past. There is an ongoing dispute about when the first life forms were found here. In Western Australia, tiny filaments were discovered in rocks that were estimated to be 3.4 billion years old and scientists think those could be fossils. But researchers in Quebec and Greenland have found rocks with microbes from at least 3.77 billion years ago. It makes one realize that our life spans are simply blips on the radar screen. 

A Harvard University scientist, Dr. Avi Loeb, believes we have neighbors who have visited us. The professor, who is Chair of the Harvard Astrophysics Department, has written a book “Extraterrestrial: The First Sign of Intelligent Life Beyond Earth,” released on January 26. Dr. Loeb probes into the origin of a piece of debris that hurled through our solar system in 2017. The professor lays out the argument that this was not a random rock swirling around but a piece of technology sent by neighbors- i.e. aliens.

Dr. Loeb has said that some scientists find his theories "ill-conceived." He wrote, “But the most egregious error we can make, I believe, is not to take this possibility seriously enough.” Even though Dr. Loeb's hypotheses go against mainstream views, it does not mean they might not be accurate.

So what happened? In October of 2017, we got a 'visitor' unlike any seen before. Scientists were not able to determine if the spear-like rock traveling at a fast speed was a comet, an asteroid, or an ice chunk. It was called ‘Oumuamua,' which translates to 'scout,' by Hawaiian scientists who viewed it through the Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System. As they could not put the discovery into a known category, scientists called it an “interstellar object.”

The notion that Oumuamua was not your run-of-the-mill comet was based on research Dr. Loeb did. The object's dimensions were highly unusual (5 to 10 times as long as wide) and so was its brightness (tenfold to any object previously viewed)--plus it traveled at speeds not seen before. Dr. Loeb thinks Oumuamua could be a navigation tool designed by a far-away civilization. He told the NY Post, “Some people do not want to discuss the possibility that there are other civilizations out there. They believe we are special and unique. I think it’s a prejudice that should be abandoned.” 

Perhaps controversial; but I want to believe there is something beyond -- a more civilized civilization.