Barack Obama said on a podcast that aired February 14 that extraterrestrials exist

 

'Where are the aliens?' Obama replied with a laugh. 

The exchange came as part of a wide-ranging interview in which Obama reflected on his presidency and post-White House life. 

Trump's daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, told New York Post podcast host Miranda Devine in an episode that aired this week that the President was preparing a speech on extraterrestrials. 

This was brand new information for his press secretary.

At Wednesday's press briefing, Karoline Leavitt was asked about Obama's recent comments and the prospects of a presidential speech on life beyond Earth.

'A speech on aliens would be news to me,' Leavitt replied. 'That sounds very exciting, though. I'll have to check in with our speech-writing team.'

'That would be of great interest to me personally, I'm sure all of you in this room – and apparently former President Obama, too. So, we'll keep you posted on that.'

Scientists generally believe that the best candidates for alien life are 'Earth–like' worlds orbiting distant stars in other parts of the galaxy.

 

Scientists generally believe that the best candidates for alien life are 'Earth–like' worlds orbiting distant stars in other parts of the galaxy. TRAPPIST–1e (artist's impression) is a planet located just 40 light–years from Earth that likely has liquid water and an atmosphere similar to that of Earth

Scientists generally believe that the best candidates for alien life are 'Earth–like' worlds orbiting distant stars in other parts of the galaxy. TRAPPIST–1e (artist's impression) is a planet located just 40 light–years from Earth that likely has liquid water and an atmosphere similar to that of Earth 

K2-18b (artist's impression) is a massive water world covered in oceans that orbits a red dwarf star 124 light-years from Earth. Scientists have found chemicals in its atmosphere that could be a sign of life

K2–18b (artist's impression) is a massive water world covered in oceans that orbits a red dwarf star 124 light–years from Earth. Scientists have found chemicals in its atmosphere that could be a sign of life 

 

One such contender is the Earth–sized planet TRAPPIST–1e, located just 40 light–years from Earth, which is located safely within its star's habitable 'Goldilocks zone'.

But astronomers also believe we don't need to look so far from home to hunt for alien life.

Even in our own solar system, Saturn's moons Enceladus and Titan could have the right conditions for life to emerge and thrive.

Obama's argument is a variation of a principle which actually plays a key role in the search for alien life.

Professor Mark Burchell, of the University of Kent, told the Daily Mail: 'The idea is there are so many stars, so many have planets, so many planets are in the habitable zone where the solar heating is enough to permit liquid water on the surface, that something magic happens in a certain per cent of the time and life emerges.'

This is why astronomers focus on looking for solar systems that have worlds with water, since there is a small chance of life emerging on any world where it is present.