Alien Census: Can We Estimate How Much Life Is Out There?
New study looks to tabulate the extent of intelligent extraterrestrial life
ET, ARE YOU THERE? A new study investigates theories of intelligent life elsewhere in the galaxy by generating computer models of star formation, planetary formation, and the development of life. One star map from the simulation appears above.
DUNCAN FORGAN/ROYAL OBSERVATORY, EDINBURGH
One day in 1950, nuclear physicist Enrico Fermi posed a question to a few colleagues he was lunching with at Los Alamos National Laboratory that would become known as the Fermi Paradox: If the Milky Way is indeed teeming with alien civilizations, as many theories suggest, where are they? Shouldn't we see evidence of their existence? Nearly 60 years later, the question remains just as vexing. After all, decades of searching for extraterrestrial radio signals or evidence of alien civilizations have come up empty.
clipped from: www.sciam.com 