Alien life: so widespread and so far



    Deciphering the data obtained by the Kepler telescope suggests that in our galaxy there are much more planets capable of supporting life than previously thought. Astrobiologist Amri Randel from the physics division of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem , calculated that inhabited planets can be about 10 light-years away from us. The report was prepared as a preprint for the future issue of the International Astrobiological Journal.



    In his study, the scientist clarifies the famous Drake formula - a formula that calculates the possible number of civilizations in our galaxy, which we can find by the electromagnetic radiation emitted by them. Randel is trying, on the basis of data obtained from the telescope, to estimate a value indicating the probability of the development of biological life on a planet located in the habitable zone. He claims that this value ranges from 0.001 to 1.

    Using a telescope, it was found that the planets in the habitable zonemuch more than expected, and taking the indicated probability of the development of life, we can calculate that the planet closest to us is at a distance of 10 to 100 light years. With an optimistic assessment of a variable formula that indicates the probability of a developed civilization appearing on the planet, it turns out that a civilization whose signals the SETI project could detect could be several thousand light-years from us.

    Further refinement of the parameters of the formula may occur in the near future - scientists hope through spectral analysis to learn to identify certain biomarkers that would report the presence of biological life on the planet. Unfortunately, to visit our neighbors in the near future is not possible - except after the invention of cryosus or movements through wormholes.

    Also popular now: