The Universe is shouting at us. What is it saying?

A total eclipse of the sun

The press had called it E-day. It was a unique event, not seen before in Britain for over 70 years and it was going to happen over Cornwall on August 11th 1999 at around 11am. It was, of course, a total eclipse of the sun.

We tend to take such things for granted, an entertainment to slot alongside the CGI-laden movies and technical wizardry of sci-fi dramas on the TV. Yet this was no illusion brought about by the manipulation of photons by indulged technicians, this was real life, a "mother nature" production and free!

Yet, if we only realised it, a total eclipse is a totally unlikely event, not just because it hardly happens, but because it happens at all! The astronomer Patrick Moore calls it "unquestionably the finest display in all Nature" but he also says that the fact that it happens at all is "pure chance".

A total eclipse of the sun only happens because, from our perspective peering at the skies, the sun and moon seem to be about the same size, so that when the moon passes exactly in front of the sun, it blots it out to our eyes. But the sun is around 400 times larger than the moon and the only reason they seem to be the same size is that the sun is around 400 times further away from us. If the moon was 5% smaller or larger or the sun was 5% smaller or larger then there could never be a total eclipse. Or if the moon or sun were 5% nearer or further. It's a fine balance here, a slight nudge either away would deprive us of this "finest display in all Nature".

It's not just about entertainment, though. It's not just about having something beautiful to look at. It seems that the Sun and the Moon are the size and distance away that they are for a far more important reason. If they weren't just as they are, then life on Earth would not be. We would not exist, or at best we'd live as scraps of amoeba or bacteria. If we were 5% closer to the Sun we would burn to a crisp in a runaway greenhouse effect. If we were a tad further away from the Sun, we would suffocate in a cloud of carbon dioxide. If the Moon was a little larger, our tides would swamp the earth. If it were a little smaller there would be no tides.

And what about the Earth? In ancient days the Earth was considered the centre of the universe. This remained popular for some time as it spoke of a stationary Earth, with the rest of the heavenly bodies moving around it. The alternative view of the Earth moving round the Sun was considered not just heresy but ridiculous as, if the Earth moved we'd feel it, wouldn't we?

But along came a Polish astronomer, Copernicus, and turned this on its head. He proved that the Earth did, indeed, move around the sun, as did the other planets. What was significant though about this development was something deeper than mere scientific speculation. It turned received wisdom on its head. It implied that the Earth was nothing special in the great scheme of things. It was called the mediocrity principle and confined us to living on a mediocre planet, orbiting a mediocre star in a mediocre galaxy. This view has remained ever since the favoured view of scientists and philosophers.

Was Copernicus right or is there anything special about Earth? Many scientists are now beginning to ask this question. Why? They are asking it because of the rapid advances in scientific knowledge in modern times, particularly in the new ways that things around us can be observed, measured and evaluated. Scientists have discovered some remarkable things.

First we find that the ideal distance between the Sun and any planet, if you want life to occur there, is to be not so near that the water in the oceans boils away and not so far that it freezes over. Earth is the only planet within that zone. Then we discover that the Sun itself is just the perfect size for life on Earth and that the size of the Moon and its distance from the Earth is also critical.

As to the Earth itself, scientists have discovered how finely tuned it is in so many ways. The magnetic field, the amount of oxygen in the atmosphere, the rate of rotation, the size and properties of the Earth's crust - they are all just right. Scientists have come up with a list of twenty things that need to be just right and how, if any one of them was slightly different, life on Earth just wouldn't be.

In fact many scientists are now turning against received wisdom and are starting to consider the possibility that the whole Universe seems to be constructed for one purpose only - to make life on Earth possible! You begin to wonder...

This article is based on material in Steve's latest book, The Truth is Out There - the Ultimate World Conspiracy. For more information go to www.truthisoutthere.com.