Welcome! “Alien Life” tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. You may notice that this and future entries are shorter than usual; Career, family and book deal commitments have forced me to cut back some of my projects. Now, here’s today’s news:
g Abodes - Being in the right place at the right time allowed scientists to capture and record an undersea volcanic eruption. This provided a view of the death and birth of a mid-ocean ridge from various perspectives – geological, biological, and geophysical - providing new insight into the inner workings of our planet. See http://www.astrobio.net/news/modules.phpop=modload
&name=News&file=article&sid=2155mode=thread&order=0&thold=0.
g Intelligence - New research shows that at least 10 percent of genes in the human population can vary in the number of copies of DNA sequences they contain — a finding that alters current thinking that the DNA of any two humans is 99.9 percent similar in content and identity. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/11/061123115741.htm.
g Imagining - Like first contact stories? Then be sure to read Robert Heinlein’s (as Anson MacDonald) short story "Goldfish Bowl," originally published in the March 1942 Astounding magazine.
g Aftermath - If we find other civilizations, what will we say to them? Crafting a message that represents Earth and humanity and can be understood by another life form is no minor endeavor. SETI Institute psychologist Douglas Vakoch has been charged with this formidable task, and has enlisted the help of mathematicians, artists, astronomers and anthropologists. Hear the messages he helped compose and learn about the thinking behind them.
The Drake Equation
This formula estimates the number of intelligent civilizations in our galaxy.N=(R*)(Ns)(Fp)(Ne)(Fl)(Fi)(Fc)(L)
Where:- N = Number of civilizations we can communicate with
- R* = Average star formation rate
- Ns = Percentage of stars capable of supporting earth-like planets
- Fp = Percentage of those stars with planets
- Ne = Average umber of planets in those stars' habitable zones
- Fl = Percentage of those planets where life begins
- Fi = Percentage of planets with life where an intelligent species evolves
- Fc = Percentage of those intelligent species that develop communication technology
- L = Average lifetime, in years, of a civilization that develops such technology
About Me
- Rob Bignell
- I'm the owner and chief editor at Inventing Reality Editing Service, which meets the editing and proofreading needs of writers both new and published. For more than two decades, I worked as an award-winning journalist, with half of those years spent as an editor. Several of my short stories in the literary and science fiction genres have been published, and I am the author of the nonfiction “Hikes with Tykes” series, a novel "Windmill", and a collection of poetry, "Love Letters to Sophie's Mom". For seven years I worked as an English teacher or a community college journalism instructor. I hold a master's degree in English and a bachelor's in journalism and English.