by ALIEN life will be discovered on a planet outside of our solar system within the next 30 years according to the man who helped to discover the first exoplanet and who recently scooped a Nobel Prize for his work.
Swiss astronomer Didier Queloz, 52, made the prediction in London after receiving the prestigious accolade.
He told the Daily Telegraph: “I can’t believe we are the only living entity in the universe.
“There are just way too many planets, way too many stars and the chemistry is universal.
“The chemistry that led to life has to happen elsewhere. So I am a strong believer that there must be life elsewhere.
“Life doesn’t just mean a green man coming to you. Life started way before animals were crawling the surface of earth.”
Professor Queloz discovered the first planet outside of our solar system alongside colleague Dr Michel Mayor who also received the Nobel Prize in Physics.
Together, they discovered 51 Pegasi b at the University of Geneva in 1995 – the first time that the existence of a planet orbiting another sun other than our own was confirmed.
Professor Queloz also helped to significantly improve the Doppler technique of detecting exoplanets. This is when the light from a distant star dims at regular intervals as a planet passes between it and our telescopes.
Since then, thousands of planets have been discovered orbiting alien worlds, many by Prof Queloz.
He believes the discovery of alien life will happen in the next 30 years because within that time frame scientists will develop the necessary equipment to be able to detect distant life.
Pictured above are Professor Didier Queloz (left) and Dr Michel Mayor at La Silla Observatory in Chile.
