The thought of other sentient life existing in the universe is one that comes up often. Among the religious crowd, many will argue that Earth’s existence is a perfect result of divine influence, that if just a few things were a bit different, we wouldn’t have evolved as we have done.
Yes, we can’t know if other intelligent life exists due to the limitations of travel and communications through the vastness of space. It is likely that they evolved differently than homosapiens. But the chances of the right planet forming to necessitate this evolution aren’t as impossible as one might think.
Earth is special due to both physics and luck. The gaseous material that makes up cosmic dust clouds will condense into solid or liquid matter once the surrounding temperature is low enough. Earth is in the perfect spot of being cool enough for rock and metal to form the basis of the planet’s core, while also being far enough that some hydrogen compounds like water condensed into it. Combined with random astronomical impacts with other formations of materials, the basis of Earth was formed.
But the physics behind this formation is constant throughout the universe. At the same temperature ranges, metal, rock, hydrogen compounds, and other gases will condense. The specific characteristics will be different depending on the size of the nebula the system formed from and how large the star is, but the principle remains true.
In a way, this takes the pressure off us to live up to the “gift” we have been given – one that has been going to waste in the past few centuries. On a sheer probability level, other intelligent life is out there. Given the physical limitations of the speed of light, we will likely never contact them, or them any others beside us. And that’s okay. The existence of humanity is a wonderful phenomenon all on its own. The patterns may be the same everywhere, but the results are not, and humanity is a one-of-a-kind result.
Lavender Peaden's Astronomy Blog 
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