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When it comes to considering what aliens might look like, the
human imagination has long stood in for science. Sci-fi
authors, Hollywood directors, and T.V. make-up artists are
responsible for how the average earthling envisions aliens,
having brought to life all manner of fictional
extraterrestrials for our avid consumption. Yet recently, as
scientists have begun to uncover clues to the origin of our
universe and life on Earth, the topic of alien life has
crossed over from the realm of fiction. Many scientists now
speculate that life on other worlds is not only possible but
probable, raising the odds that even intelligent life might
exist elsewhere.
So what would a real alien look like? Nobody knows, but most
likely it would not resemble any being we've seen before. Even
the strangest movie aliens (let alone the myriad humanoids),
with their symmetrical bodies, blinking eyes, and dexterous
appendages, are merely clever twists on life found on our
planet. Experts agree that our humble imaginations may not
have even scratched the surface of the wild possibilities for
actual ET life. As digital artist Cameron Mckechnie notes,
"Aliens could exhibit colors not in our spectrum. Aliens could
look like coke bottles, or could be composed of magnetic
forces undetectable to the human eye. They could be just a
strange smell in the air. They could be completely digital and
look like beautiful strange fractal chaotic swirls. Who
knows?"
Someday we may discover an exotic aquarium beneath Europa's
icy surface or a populated extrasolar planet. Until then,
however, we'll just have to rely on human-imagined ETs. To
flip through a
photo album of some of
the most memorable, if mundane, aliens we've known so far,
click on the image at left.—Lexi Krock
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