The brightest object in this sky photo, in the upper left quadrant, is the star Vega.  Immediately below Vega are 4 lesser bright stars forming a parallelogram  that with Vega make up the constellation Lyra.
    1,196 light-years from Earth, deep inside the constellation Lyra, is Earth’s twin planet, Kepler 422b.   Scientists rate the conditions on Kepler 422b to be even slightly more conducive to habitation than Earth.  

    Scientist can’t state for a fact that life exists on Kepler 422b, but they are very impressed with the probability.  

    

     Kepler 422b is just one of a myriad of planets in our universe with conditions favorable for life.   It may be carbon based life as we know it.  It may be life based on a totally different paradigm.  Probably both exist.  Only egomaniacal hubris would allow a person to believe we are alone in the universe.  We’re not.  We’re not that special.  If the Universe were to have a theme song it would be along the lines of:

“got along without you before I met you

going to get along without you now”

    We’re just not so very clever and adorable that the forces that created us  decided no further improvements were necessary and threw away the template.    

      

     If your life is unique and has meaning, it’s because you make it so.

Carpe Diem!