By Gerry

I don't quite understand the problems some people have with the idea of extraterrestrial life forms. As of 1 august 2012, about 777 extraterrestrial planets have been detected in the vicinity of our solar system. These are almost all only Jupiter size planets because earth-size planets are generally too small to detect with current astronomical techniques. But that does not mean they do not exist. And this is just in our "astronomical vicinity". This means that the number of solar systems in the billions of stars in out galaxy is enormous, aside from the numbers of stars in the many millions of galaxies outside our own. Wikipedia has a well-balanced discussion on this very matter with references to appropriate sources. see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extrasolar planet It is of course quite probable that some of these planets also bear intelligent life-forms. And it is also possible that some are sufficiently technically advanced to utilize interstellar travel. So it is quite natural for "uberskeptics such as Dawkins and myself believe in the possibility of extraterrestrial life forms with interstellar travel capability. This is no new thought. It was even voiced by the American philosopher Thomas Paine more than 200 years ago, who also speculated on the likelihood of extraterrestrial life. So what is the problem with UFO sightings? All that needs be done is to sort the genuine ones from optical illusions and wild imaginings.