To date, more than 3,000 different planets have been discovered outside the solar system. In this case, the discovery of 1284 planets at once by the team of the Kepler space mission was reported just last month. What was previously difficult to find has become overnight routine work - new planets are now announced almost every week.
"Advances in technology for astronomical observation have increased our capabilities, and now we are seeing a shift from single discoveries to massive ones," - wrote the professor of astrophysics at the University of Rochester Adam Frank in The New York Times.
In his article "Yes, aliens did exist," Frank states that intelligent life in space most likely existed long before the advent of humanity. The scientist refers to the 1961 equation, derived by Frank Drake (do not get confused in the names, ed.), When he was invited to a special conference, which discussed the possibility of interaction between different star systems. On this occasion, Drake came up with an equation that could be used to calculate how many likely advanced civilizations could exist outside of Earth. The scientist referred to the fact that the more advanced civilizations there are, the higher the likelihood of interstellar contact.
Drake's equation looks like this: N = R * x fp x ne x fl x fi x fc x L
Now let's look at what it means:
N is the number of civilizations with which we could get in contact;
R * is the average rate at which stars are forming in our galaxy;
fp is the fraction of stars that has planets around it;
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ne is the number of planets near these stars capable of supporting life;
fl is the number of planets capable of supporting life and on which life really develops;
fi is the proportion of planets with life on which intelligent life has developed;
fc is the proportion of planets with intelligent life on which technologies for transmitting noticeable (definable) signals have appeared;
L is the length of time within which these civilizations will be able to transmit identifiable signals.
Frank and his team decided to reduce the number of variables in this equation.
“Instead of trying to find out the number of civilizations currently in existence, we are considering the possibility that our civilization is the only technologically advanced one. If we look from this point of view, then we can exclude the variable responsible for the time of the average duration of the existence of a civilization. This, in turn, leaves us with three unknown variables that can be combined into one "biotechnological" probability. Three variables in turn remain: the likelihood of the emergence of life, intelligent life and the technological potential of this intelligent life."
After further calculations, Frank came to the conclusion that “even if this probability is extremely low, the chances that we are far from the first technologically advanced civilization will still remain very high. More precisely, if the probability of the development of a civilization on a planet located in the habitable zone of a star is at least 1 in 10 billion trillion, then we are definitely not alone in this Universe."
However, before rejoicing in a future meeting with aliens, one should understand the following: Frank's position is not that aliens really exist according to Drake's equation, but that aliens definitely existed at some point in the history of the universe.
NIKOLAY KHIZHNYAK