Humanity will encounter alien civilizations within the next two decades, a top astronomer told Interfax.
"The genesis of life is as inevitable as the formation of atoms. … Life exists on other planets, and we will find it within 20 years," said Andrei Finkelstein, director of the Academy of Sciences' Applied Astronomy Institute.
Speaking at an international forum dedicated to the search for extraterrestrial life this week, Finkelstein said 10 percent of the known planets circling suns in the galaxy resemble Earth.
If water can be found there, then so can life, he said, adding that aliens would most likely resemble humans with two arms, two legs and a head. "They may have different color skin, but even we have that," he said.
(Reuters)
