The Fermi Paradox
Before we get into the many possibilities and theories about the universe as a whole and what resides within it, let's try to understand what the Fermi paradox actually is. The Fermi paradox, named after the founder of the theory, Enrico Ferm, a physicist, is a simple yet complex bundle of ideas and questions asking if we really are alone. First off, there are an estimate of over 200 billion stars in our galaxy, and on top of that, at least 100 billion planets in just the Milky Way alone — whether any of them are habitable or uninhabitable, we’ll get to that soon. As for the number of galaxies within the observable known universe itself, there are an estimated 100 billion to 200 hundred billion, and possibly more, galaxies each containing of their own billions of stars and planets. Now you know how tiny we are compared to the universe. We’re smaller than a grain of salt. Scary, isn’t it?
