Welcome! "Alien Life" tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. Here's today's news:
g Life - To understand how the first cells transported ions across their membranes, researchers are studying simple channels used by fungi to kill off bacteria See article.
g Cosmicus - The continuous winter darkness of the Canadian High Arctic could prove beneficial in the search for extrasolar planets. Research performed at the Polar Environment Atmospheric Research Laboratory, located at 80 degrees north, has confirmed that the site would be an excellent place to set up large telescopes. See article.
g Imagining - Are we alone? That question has plagued scientists and space enthusiasts for generations. The release of Ridley Scott's "Prometheus," which opened nationwide Friday, may reignite questions about life beyond the boundaries of our galaxy. See article.
Get your SF book manuscript edited
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.