re: How would the discovery of life on other planets affect us?

one more thing to think we are alone in the universe when you look at the size of it. I don't know the numbers but I'm sure in our galaxy alone (a mid sized galaxy I think) there are many planets and probably a few planets that could support life. Our Galaxy is a small drop in the bucket in the Universe. It is very very unlikely that life would only show up in one tiny place in the Milky Way. Other life may be hundreds of light years away from us maybe more but I would put money on it that somewhere in the universe there is life, maybe intelligent life.