In my own mind, however, the wide prevalence of multiple stars is an overwhelming hint in support of this theory. Our biggest telescopes cannot resolve planets at the distances even of the nearest stars, so no direct confirmation is yet available. On this basis, most stars would possess planetary systems, and the number of habitable planets in our galaxy would be tremendous. The most widely held theory of stellar formation would predict the formation of planetary systems to be a natural consequence of stellar evolution. The situation today is vastly changed in these respects.

This was a relatively undisputed point since no scientific data existed to bridge the gap between non-living and living materials. Religious belief said, furthermore, that life was a gift bestowed by God. Since such a precise near-miss of two stars would be an extremely rare event, it followed that there would be very few other planetary systems in the universe and, indeed, perhaps this was the only one. The most widely accepted scientific theory as to the formation of the solar planetary system held that it was a result of the near collision of two stars.

The chief reasons for this were a combination of scientific theory, scientific knowledge, and religious belief. Up until a few decades ago it seemed very improbable that intelligent life existed anywhere outside of the solar system. Therefore, I present the problem in current perspective, as I see it. In my own mind, I find it difficult to side with the flying saucer advocates, but the almost total impossibility envisioned by most scientists also is disturbing. The flying saucer advocates claim, of course, that the scientific viewpoint is nonsense, and that there is overwhelming evidence of such beings. This is due primarily to the presumed unsuitability of conditions upon other planets to support life as we know it. The consensus of scientific view says, with quite good reasons, that the possibility of running across an alien intelligent race in our solar system is negligible.

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