Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko is home to alien life. Yes, this is what astronomer and astrobiologist Professor Chandra Wickramasinghe and his colleague Dr. Max Wallis claimed before the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) in Wales.

Lakes of ice, craters and massive boulders are known to exist on comet 67P, and now, the two scientists have emphatically suggested that alien life is living beneath the surface of the comet.

However, scientific community is divided on the belief. “What we’re saying is that data coming from the comet seems to unequivocally, in my opinion, point to microorganisms being involved in the formation of the icy structures, the preponderance of aromatic hydrocarbons, and the very dark surface”, said Prof Wickramasinghe.

He said prebiotic chemistry is not enough to explain the unique features of frozen dust ball. Heat from the Sun constantly replenishes the dark material. In a statement issued by RAS this week, Dr. Wallis of the University of Cardiff said that the comet supports geological processes and must not be seen as a deep-frozen inactive body.

The comet -- home to Philae lander -- is travelling at a speed of 32.9km per second towards the Sun.

According to Prof. Wickramasinghe, strange clusters of organic material had been detected by Rosetta on the comet. This material resembles viral particles, which are robust evidence for life beneath its super-dark and low-reflecting surface.

As per current estimates, more than 140 billion planets were present in the galaxy that existed outside of our solar system.