Frank Drake, in the early 1960s, came up with an equation (called the "Drake Equation") that calculated the possibility of extraterrestrial life. He determined that there was a possibility of 100,000 to 1,000,000 extraterrestrial civilizations in our galaxy (the Milky Way) alone. With so many complex and huge solar systems across the galaxy, the Earth cannot be the centre of the universe. Because if it is then what is the purpose of the rest of the huge universe?

Water is the main source of life on Earth. Taking a clue from this, European scientists, using ultra cold orbiting telescopes, have discovered unimaginable volumes of water in inter-stellar space. This discovery raises questions about life elsewhere in the universe. Scientists were astounded to find water in the freezing atmosphere of Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune and Saturn (and its moon Titan). They have even identified a cloud of water, less than a light year across, in the constellation Orion.

A year after the US dropped its Pathfinder lander and its rover on the Martian surface, some scientists claimed that Mars could have some sort of life. There is evidence of an ancient world that was warm, wet and possibly hospitable to life long ago and a dry rocky world that has changed little in about two thousand million years. About three thousand million to 4.5 thousand million years ago, there was fast flowing water which deposited some boulders on the Martian surface which the Pathfinder recorded and beamed back to earth.

Many people believe that research on UFOs and aliens is not intellectually respectable and there are those who think that making myths the basis for research is unscientific and only leads to mystical speculation.

As a researcher once remarked: "If they exist, they have shown little willingness to cooperate with human investigators. There is even evidence suggesting that they deliberately try to keep humans in the dark about their activities and nature." But then a large number of human-alien encounters have left hard evidence - photographs, instrument readings that have recorded the flight of UFOs and human experiences that has been scientifically examined. Based on those evaluations Dr Walther Riedel, once chief designer and research director at the German rocket centre, said: "I am completely convinced that they (flying saucers) have an out-of-the-world basis."

This statement was based on four vital observations: "First, the skin temperatures of the ships operating under the observed conditions would make it impossible for any terrestrial structure to survive. The skin friction at those speeds and at those altitudes would melt any metal or nonmetal available; second, think about what the centrifugal force, in a few minutes of the high acceleration at which they fly and manoeuvre, would do to the crew and their blood; third, there are many occurrences where they have done things that only a pilot could perform but no human pilot could stand; and fourth, in most reports there has been lack of visible jets. Most observers have reported that such ships have been without visible flame and no trail. If it would be any known type of jet, rocket, piston engine or chain-reaction motor, there would be a very clear trail at high altitude."

The Earth has and still undergoes anomalies which have neither been justified by historical standards nor explained by science. The one-mile long carving of a human-like face on the surface of Mars and the presence of nearby ruins of a pyramid and city strongly suggest that at one point in time, there could have been some ties between the Earth and Mars.

Alan Alford is of the view that as the pyramids and the Sphinx at Giza, Egypt, have been dated back to around 10500-8000 BC, it proves that a highly advanced but unrecorded civilization existed at that time. The exact alignment of the Giza pyramids to the three stars of Orion's Belt reflects the interest of that culture in astronomy. This is also supported by the findings at Stonehenge, where it has been established that wooden totem poles, dated as far back as 8000 BC, are a sort of astronomical marker, a forerunner to the stone observatory built in 2700 BC.

The school of thought which believes in the existence of extraterrestrial is of the view that these wonders were built by people from some other planet who were advanced enough to have travelled to Earth and make it their station. After gauging these structures in relevance to the history of the evolution of man, it just does not seem possible that they could have been constructed by humans. It's not just the astronomical aspect alone which supports this thought but also the aeronautical advancement influencing such developments. The best evidence in this respect can been seen at Baalbek, Lebanon, where a huge platform was constructed in ancient times with stones weighing hundreds of tons - an accomplishment very difficult to duplicate even today with all the modern technology. Mythology links this sacred site of Baalbek with the sun god Helios, who parked his chariot on this platform. There are the Nazca Lines in Peru, properly visible from the air, which also tells of a similar legend. All these structures and their similarity to the ones on Mars lead to the question whether the aeronautical technology of the gods included space travel. In 1976, an American author, Zecharia Sitchin, gave proof that the gods were indeed space travellers and also that the Earth was once visited by the Anunnaki (literally meaning "Those who from heaven to earth came").The evidence as to where these aliens came from continues to point to the mysterious Planet X, the tenth planet of the solar system. Despite various governments' attempts to disregard its presence, many astronomers believe that it exits because of the anomalies that have been recorded in the orbits of the outer planets. Due to its highly elliptical 3600-year orbit, it has not been possible to visually confirm the existence of Planet X. In his book The Twelfth Planet, Sitchin deciphered an ancient clay planisphere from the British Museum, which presented a route map of the people from Planet X to Earth. Their journey through the solar system to the earth was commemorated in an ancient Babylonian ritual called the "procession of Madruk." It was only after thorough research that Sitchin realized that Babylonians had named Planet X as Madruk, and after that he was able to decipher their route map.

Contrary to popular belief, there is no evidence to suggest that any of the Egyptian pyramids were meant to be used as tombs. The dating of the Giza Pyramid to 10450 BC brings in the possibility that all the later pyramids were poor copies, made by the pharaohs after discovering that food and human bodies don't decay in them. John D. Miller, in his article on The Pyramid of a fallen god, concludes that: "The Great Pyramid is undoubtedly one of the oldest structures in Egypt... there is no record in Egypt itself of any gradual development of architectural knowledge and skill. How did this exquisite technical knowledge and skill displayed in this vast structure suddenly make its appearance in this mysterious land? We might even ask the further question, which, indeed has been asked before. Though the Great Pyramid is in Egypt, is it of Egypt?"

It is interesting to note the connection between the five-sided pyramid on Mars and the Great Pyramid at Giza. Alan F. Alford in one of his books has demonstrated how its chambers, passages and shafts could have formed the functional component of a hydrogen gas power generator, fuelled by water after being split into its basic elements. It has now been scientifically proven that Mars also had abundance of water in the bygone era. So it is possible that both the pyramids of Mars and Earth were huge energy devices with multi-functional purposes.

Pyramids stand out in a lot of ways and have astounded scientists for ages, allowing research to focus on them. But besides, this wonder, many parts of the world are sprayed with remnants of alien or strange people. A mysterious rock carving near Navai, Uzbekistan, estimated to be 3000 years old, has images of men wearing respirators. Could the object with rays be a space rocket? Then, in the ancient cave painting in the Prince Regent Valley in Kimberleys in Australia, a figure wearing a helmet with antenna is shown - an alien? Nearly all myths and folklore are full of tales of flying objects. Even if it were all pure imagination, they would have had to get the notion from some where. The story behind the rise of Dalai Lama and where he got his powers from also talks of extraterrestrial transferring their knowledge to humans.

We live in a three dimensional world with time being termed as the fourth, but why should we suppose that any living being in any other planet has to be in these dimensions only. Maybe there are more dimensions, complimenting their existence in their world. The probabilities are endless.

In spite of all the research, first hand experiences and beliefs about the existence of extraterrestrial, there is one aspect that confounds me. Why is it that the people in the subcontinent mostly encounter jinns, the presence of which is verified in the Holy Quran, and those living in the West mostly encounter aliens and their ships. There have been media reports suggesting that various governments, with the USA topping the list, have been trying to hide and cover up the presence of extraterrestrial from the public. It will probably take some more time and more public reception and participation to determine the truth. If there are extraterrestrial, then we have already lost a lot of time by not accepting their presence. There's truth waiting to be discovered outside the circle of our compact lives. If only we would open up to the possibility that we might not be alone in this huge universe.