In 1950, physicist Enrico Fermi raised a very important question about the Universe and the existence of extra-terrestrial life.
Given the size and age of the Universe, he stated, and the statistical probability of life emerging in other solar systems, why is it that humanity has not seen any indications of intelligence life in the cosmos?
This query, known as the Fermi Paradox, continues to haunt us to this day.
If, indeed, there are billions of star systems in our galaxy, and the conditions needed for life are not so rare, then where are all the aliens?
According to a recent paper by researchers at Australian National University’s Research School of Earth Sciences., the answer may be simple: they’re all dead. In what the research teams calls the “Gaian Bottleneck”, the solution to this paradox may be that life is so fragile that most of it simply doesn’t make it.
To put this in perspective, let’s first consider some of the numbers. As of the penning of this article, scientists have discovered a total of 2049 planets in 1297 planetary systems, including 507 multiple planetary systems. In addition, a report issued in 2013 by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA indicated that, based on Kepler mission data, there could be as many as 40 billion Earth-sized planets orbiting in the habitable zones of Sun-like stars and red dwarfs within the Milky Way, and that 11 billion of these may be orbiting Sun-like stars.
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6 comments:
Or perhaps we have found them, we just don't realize what they really are.
Perhaps squirrels or praying mantises are actually space aliens, just biding their time. Or armadillos or what look like random stray cinder blocks, or Rosie O'Donnell.
We are the aliens. Another life force out there is observing us.
got to be Democrats with their wacky policies
I vote for 6:53.
This article was intended to bring those who know out of the woodwork.This is precisely why the geniuses (by human standards)are not chosen to know the truth.They have put together an impressive and compelling formula that would appear to confirm their findings,but they only prove why we will always remain right here on Earth without the possibility of parole.We are too destructive as a species to be allowed out of our solar system,and for the time being will simply apply an educated guess as to specifically what is out there.Except for those of us who DO know, the remainder of humanity will remain in the dark (for a few more years)
And that's just in the Milky Way galaxy.
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