ExoPlanet Travel Guide

When was the last time you looked up in the night sky? I mean when did you really take the time to look up? Maybe it was around midnight on a warm summer night when you grabbed that lawn chair, folded it down and looked!

Do you remember now? What were you looking at? Did you ever wonder what is really out there?

You were looking at billions and billions of stars. Distant suns, if you will, many like our own, most very different.

When you were looking up did you ever consider that maybe someone or something could be looking back? Not just looking back at you in particular but maybe they or it was enjoying their own night sky just the same as you!

Wow, what a mind-blower heh?

Do the math sometime. Out of all those billions of stars out there, could our sun be the only star out there that has a planet orbiting around it teaming with life?

There just so happens to be a new breed of explorers living amongst us, they are a team of astronomical Indiana Jones' on a quest after the field's Holy Grail - another Earth-like planet.

So far they have discovered 313 known Exoplanets around nearby stars. Their names sound like science fiction itself: Upsilon, Kappa CrB, Iota Hor, 16 Cyg B, Epsilon Eri, Tau Boo, Mu Ara, Gamma Cep, TrES-1 and 304 others. The list of known exoplanets just keeps growing. Don't believe me? Then check out several Exoplanet websites like http://planetquest.jpl.nasa.gov/ and http://www.exoplanets.org to learn more.

"Exo" of course meaning from outside of our solar system. So far none of these exoplanets even closely resemble earth.

But what does this have to do with the possibility of someone or something looking back at you in the night sky. Because my friend, and let me be the first to announce this to the world: We are not alone.

I cannot prove this. No one can just yet. But someone, someday, will. Oh, and you will know all about it when it does happen. The news of this discovery will be all over CNN, FOX News Channel, ABC, NBC, CBS, PBS, BBC and hundreds more! No government cover-up here, no sir. It will be 24/7 news coverage for days, weeks and months to follow. The news will spread like wildfire and there will be no way from getting away from it.

Which leads me to my next question? How will our world change?

Might there be dancing in the streets or will there be mass fear? Either way, knowing that extraterrestrial beings exist or not changes nothing. We will still be setting our alarm clocks each night, going to work, picking up the kids, playing with the family dog and praying to our God.

The most important news story in mankind's history will be a culture shock for sure. It has happened many times in the past whenever explorers stepped upon a new land and were greeted by the native people.

It will happen again.

So the next time you are getting into your car, turn, look up and smile. Someone or something just might be smiling back.