By: Shinelle Black
Ghouls, ghosts, pumpkins, witches and characters galore — it must be October. Halloween has indigenous roots in ancient Celtic societies dating back over two thousand years, yet the tradition has made its way into the heart of 71.9% of American households. From carving pumpkins to elaborate decorations and costumes and candy, an estimated $7.4 billion dollars will be spent solely on Halloween.
It’s a day for crazy dreamers, ideas and wild imaginations, and characters from the supernatural and sci-fi. This year however, all the Doctor Who enthusiasts should not quite be engulfed with the impossibility of falling in love with an alien. And fans of the Ben 10 cartoons should not be grieved that you’ll never save the planet from an alien invasion.
Mars’ eerie red-orange surface glows in the darkness of space
Why? Because water has been found on the surface of the red planet! Yes, so we’ve heard before that alien life forms are – or were — possibly present on another planet. Most Americans probably dismissed the theory the moment they saw the word “alien,” but NASA is feeling confident that their space rover has discovered a lead too important to dismiss.
Scientists have been convinced for years that Mars was once covered in water, but no space rovers have ever been able to provide solid evidence of liquid water there. On September 28, 2015, newspaper companies and news crews were eager to learn more about NASA’s new findings. A space rover had captured a photograph of water on the hills of the planet Mars. This is essentially important, because water is the one compound that all life forms have in common. The human body is composed of 60% water in females and 65% in males. Plants need water in order to perform photosynthesis, and some bacterium can only undergo mitosis in water.
Mars has been a pivotal focus for NASA and other space exploration center for decades. In 1996, one of the greatest astronauts of our time, Dr. Carl Sagan, recorded a message: “Whatever the reason you’re on Mars, I’m glad you’re there. And I wish I was there too.” Was it Sagan’s intention to tell his colleagues that he believed the greatest discovery of the twenty-first century would be on the surface of Mars?
There are those who believe that the water on Mars’ surface means little on Earth. In an article published on September 29, 2015 by Nadia Drake from National Geographic, she states “Finding evidence for flowing water is not the same as finding life. Right now, scientists don’t know where this water is coming from, or if the chemistry in these Martian seeps is even life-friendly.” But most astronomic explorers are optimistic about what this new discovery could mean, especially those on NASA’s team. With confidence in her and her colleague’s discovery, Mary Beth Wilhelm told the public that indigenous Martian water “may be an important resource for future human explorers and inhabitants of Mars.”
An American family wears alien-inspired costumes.
With all this hope of alien life and humanity living on another planet, movie producers and animators are racing to show alien inspired stories on the big screens. Over the last decade, an estimated two hundred movies and clips have been released about life on another planet or alien invasion of earth. This year these movies, clips and books will inspire hundreds for Halloween, from toddlers to adults, movies such as Monster vs. Aliens and Wall-E have become classics for us all. But I will warn you: Don’t get too comfy. Alien life may find your costume a mockery, and we don’t know if they crave human flesh. Have a haunted Halloween!