The misplaced scientific manuscript of the former British prime minister about extraterrestrial life

"Are we lonely in this universe? In my opinion, not because there will be many other Suns in the universe and in these systems there are many other planets supporting life. The cause is many planets the way we are far away we may never know whether there are living things or plants. " That was the conclusion in a recently discovered study of former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill.

Churchill is one of the most important leaders in World War II, and is also known as a person with a passion for science. In the 1920s and 30s, he wrote several popular scientific reports on cells, evolution and nuclear fusion. He often went to see scientists, interested in developing radar technology and the British nuclear program during the war. And in the 1940s, he became the first prime minister to appoint his scientific advisor, then physicist Frederick Lindemann.

During the 1930s, Churchill wrote an article about his thoughts on extraterrestrial life . It is unclear why the lost piece of paper went to the Missouri Museum. Last year, astronomer Mario Livio discovered and analyzed for the first time what Churchill wrote. Livio said he was " dead " when he first read Churchill's 11-page article about the existence of alien life.

Former British prime minister Winston Churchill.

Churchill's article came to Livio quite casually when last year, in a study, he met Timothy Riley, director of the Churchill National Museum. Riley then showed Livio a few articles titled "Are we lonely in the universe?" Livio recalled: "In my research work, I really enjoyed this question. The more I realized, the more I knew that a great figure in history had talked about it."

Churchill drafted this article in 1939, when Europe was on the brink of war and then in the 1950s, he read it again. He probably wanted to publish the article in the News of the World in London and then to the 1980s, it was donated to the museum. In the article, Churchill stated his views on the existence of extraterrestrial life, meaning decades before the first alien planet was discovered in 1990.

The interesting point in Churchill's article is the way he approaches existence and scientific questions about life on other planets. The way Churchill put the issue very close to the views of current scientists on this issue. The head of England also offers some hypotheses that are considered an orientation to finding aliens to this day.

For example, Churchill stressed that water is an important factor for life on Earth and that finding water on other planets means being able to have life on it. He also said that life can only exist in regions with "the temperature between the freezing point and boiling point of water" - what we now call the habitable zone, an area around why the master not too close (too hot) or too far (too cold) to allow liquid water to exist on the surface.

Talking about the emotion when reading Churchill's article, Livio said: "After reading, I was even more impressed by the way he thought and solved the problem. In the past, he thought about alien life as it was. The way I think today: Science permeates everything in our lives today Many problems that the world is facing such as climate change, disease, poverty, . need scientists learn to solve and it will be better if it is a influential scientist or power ".