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 Stars -The commonest stars in the universe aren't very Sun-like, but they could still have life-bearing planets, say Jill Tarter and Peter Backus (SETI Institute) and 30 other researchers. See http://www.skyandtelescope.com/news/4944232.html?showAll=y&c=y. Note: This article is from late 2006.
g Abodes -Quote of the Day: To reject the idea of plurality of worlds would be “to narrow our conceptions of God’s character.” —1825 textbook for use in American girls’ schools
g Life - The greenery on other planets may not be green. Astrobiologists say plants on Earth-sized planets orbiting stars somewhat brighter than the Sun may look yellow or orange, while those on planets orbiting stars much fainter than the Sun might look black. See http://space.newscientist.com/channel/astronomy/dn11578-for-plants-on-alien-worlds-it-isnt-easy-being-green.html.
g Cosmicus - A lot of people think you need to be a superman to survive the trip to orbit, or to live there. But it's not true. This is just a myth - largely based on fictional stories and movies from before the first space flight was made. (Remember Tintin and friends blacking out? Or the strained expressions on people's faces in old space movies?) The fact is that acceleration of even several Gs is no problem at all so long as you're lying on your back. It doesn't hurt. It's not even hard to breathe. It's like having a baby lying on your chest. But it's not uncomfortable so long as you're lying on something soft. And there's no need for an individually contoured couch! See http://www.spacefuture.com/habitat/healthfitness.shtml.
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.