Remember Steven Spielberg’s blockbuster film, “ET”?

It told the tale of a gentle alien who wound up stranded on Earth. Lost and alone, he obtained unlikely aid from a boy named Elliott. Eventually, the alien managed to reconnect with his fellow space travelers and made a safe journey home.

When staring up at the night sky, we’ve all wondered whether we’re alone. After all, the number of stars in just our own Milky Way galaxy is estimated to be anywhere from 100 Billion to 400 Billion.

Surely there must be someone for Elliott to befriend out there.

Well, recent research from the University of Nottingham published in The Astronomical Journey has drawn a line in the sand and given us a number:

36.

More or less.

Of course, the study makes a few assumptions in coming up with this.

First, they assume that intelligent life establishes itself on other planets pretty much the same way as it did here on Earth.

Next, they figured that it would take just about 5 Billion years or so for that intelligent life form to show up and get to the point where they could start sending electronic signals out into the void, just like we’ve done for decades.

(ET’s probably enjoying old “I Love Lucy” reruns now as we speak.)

Before you jump to any conclusions about this being the answer to all the flying saucer/ancient alien notions, they did throw a bit of caution on that idea. Given the vastness of space, odds are the average distance to any of our equally civilized neighbors is about 17,000 light-years.

Not quite a trip around the block.

While it’s fun to wonder what’s out there, it’s also fun to have a retirement plan in place that allows plenty of time to explore the space down here on Earth. Just give us a call at 513-563-PLAN (7526) or book online to set up something that’s truly out of this world.

Regards,

Nikki Earley, CFP®