13 Reasons to Believe [in UFOs]

Reasons to Believe

http://nymag.com/selectall/2018/03/13-re...-real.html

Scientists now think every one in five or six planets might be habitable, based on two general criteria: They’re rocky, and they reside in a region of the star’s orbit called the “Goldilocks zone,” where it’s not too cold and not too hot, but just right to allow for liquid water to form on the surface. And where there’s water, there can be life. Extraterrestrial researchers and enthusiasts are most excited about these seven:
Proxima B: The closest exoplanet ever discovered is also a potentially habitable world in its own right, if the intense stellar winds don’t make it barren. It’s not totally inconceivable we might be able to actually send a probe and study it directly this century — even travel to it ourselves one day.
TRAPPIST-1 System: The red dwarf at the center of this possesses a whopping seven planets in its orbit — three of which reside in the Goldilocks zone, but all of which seem to possess some degree of potential habitability — and they’re so close to one another that life on one planet could quickly spread to another.
LHS 1140b: This wouldn’t be a planet we could colonize. It’s almost seven times the mass of the Earth and 40 percent larger, making it a “super-Earth.” But its mass means that it would retain a thicker atmosphere capable of keeping it warmer and more comfortable for life than most other places.
Ross 128 b: One of the best chances we have so far at finding life on another planet. It orbits an inactive red-dwarf star, meaning it’s likely not being bludgeoned by solar radiation. And we’ve detected strange signals emanating from the nearby host star — signals that perhaps have intelligent origins?
Mars: Mars has water, as we’ve known since 2015. Although the planet looks like a barren wasteland these days, there’s little reason to write off any chance we might find aliens residing in some cavern or crevice.
The Ocean Worlds (Europa, Enceladus, Titan): Many of Jupiter’s and Saturn’s moons show signs of possessing a liquid ocean underneath the surface.
GJ 1214b: Nicknamed “waterworld” by scientists; signs of potential clouds give us some hope the planet has an atmosphere.

Reasons to Believe

http://nymag.com/selectall/2018/03/13-re...-real.html

I'm a little doubtful of a description of the "Goldilocks zone" merely requiring a temperate, rocky planet with some water. If, by aliens, we mean an advanced civilisation then I would assume a living environment of similar rich, life-supporting ecosystem to our own. Our home truly qualifies as a Goldilocks planet, not because of a few but because of many complimentary factors. Therese are just some of the more critical:

• Right distance from a stable sun
  
• Right size
  
• Not just the presence of liquid water but the right amount of water: 70% of the surface
  
• A moon of just the right size and distance to have a huge positive influence on the living conditions
  
• A tilt in the axis to allow seasonal weather
  
• A water cycle enabled by plate tectonics and atmospheric weather systems
  
• A stable solar system with, in particular, Jupiter to act as a "sweeper" preventing constant bombardment of the inner planets
  
• A magnetosphere and ozone layer to protect life from harmful radiation
  
• Leaving aside the possibility of design, some say that the odds against life forming at all are so great that it must be rare, if not unique, in the universe.
  

It seems that it is not just the presence of each of these factors but the combination of them that makes our Earth a Goldilocks planet. Nor is it enough to predict that life could get started anywhere with just a few of these conditions met. What we are talking about is an advanced civilisation which could only arise from a complex and diverse biosphere. 

Of course, if some kind of design or teleology were allowed, we are in a different discussion entirely.