Grey giants or little green men? If there is intelligent alien life on other planets, what might it look like?

Are we alone in the universe? It’s one of life’s biggest mysteries and one that is explored by science fiction and scientists alike. But if there is alien life on other planets, what might it look like?

While little green men or towering predators are the stereotypical depictions of extraterrestrials in film, any aliens that might be out there are unlikely to resemble those characters, experts told Live Science.

[Sarah Rugheimer, an associate professor of astronomy and astrophysics at York University in Toronto said it is] “very unlikely” that it would look exactly like humans. Our unique physiology is both a result of evolution in a unique Earth environment, as well as a good dash of luck, [professor of astrophysics at the University of Rochester Adam] Frank said.

However, alien life may still have some animal-like traits as a result of convergent evolution, Rugheimer said — for example, eyes to see the environment and limbs or wings to traverse it. But that could be where the similarities end.

Of course, all these ideas are based on the assumption that extraterrestrial life would need similar necessities to Earth-life — like water, sunlight, and oxygen — in order to survive. It’s also possible that life on other planets could evolve in a completely different way, or even with a completely different elemental structure.

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