Until the signals from alien civilizations reach Earth, it is highly likely that by this time all aliens will have died out long ago. Such conclusions were reached by a group of American astronomers led by Swiss researcher Claudio Grimaldi, who decided to turn again to the famous Drake equation, a formula designed to determine the number of extraterrestrial civilizations in our galaxy with which mankind has a chance to come into contact.
In their work, the researchers calculated the area of the region of the galaxy through which the alien signals should pass. According to Drake himself, civilizations are born and die at a constant rate. With the death of civilization, the transmission of messages also stops. However, the signals already sent continue their journey through the galaxy, like circles diverging on water. As a result, most of the galaxy is filled with messages from dead aliens.
The diameter of the Milky Way is one hundred thousand light years, while the solar system is located about 26 thousand light years from the center of the galaxy. Scientists believe that most advanced civilizations capable of sending radio signals have not existed for more than a hundred thousand years. Therefore, the chances of receiving a message from the aliens still broadcasting at the present time are very slim. The same humanity has been sending signals into space for about 80 years, so radio waves from Earth have covered less than 0.001 percent of the galaxy's area.
“If a civilization living on the other side of the galaxy sends a message, then by the time this message gets to us, this civilization will already be extinct,” says physicist Claudio Grimaldi of Lausanne École Polytechnique.
Nikolay Khizhnyak