Drake Equation: Are We Alone In The Universe?

Superior Essays
Are we alone in the universe? It is a question that many people have asked but no one has been able to answer as of yet but the proof is coming. It is statistically highly improbable that we can be the only life in this vast universe. There are trillions upon trillions of stars in the known universe and each has its own solar system so the odds of finding life are far from impossible. Just last year, NASA's Keppler mission comfirmed the first near-Earth-size planet in the "habitable zone" of a star similar to our own sun. Where there is one there are many and the same could be said for earth like planets as well as advanced civilizations. A theoretical equation named the Drake Equation, created by Frank Drake, has been used to estimate the …show more content…
Their counter arguement is the Fermi Paradox created by physicist Enrico Fermi in 1950. He asked the if most stars have planets, and alien civilizations could be billions of years older than us, and if it only takes a million years to explore the galaxy at sub light speed, why haven't we seen them? According to Fermi the earth should have been visited long ago and many times over but their are many counter arguements to the paradox. One is that it isn't even a paradox. Just because we haven't seen them does not mean they aren't there. We would not know how to recognize them and we are looking for radio signals that they might have left behind long ago for a superior technology. Another is that we assume that an alien species would set out to conquer the galaxy but we know nothing about their behavior and how they would behave. Maybe interstellar space travel is too expensive and nobody does it. A third one is that not all civilizations make it to that next step and wipe themselves out with their own technology. We humans are at this crucial point in our evolution and must show that we are worthy to ascend to the next step. It also may very well be that we are the first technological species to evolve in this galaxy. These are some of a few arguements used to counter the Fermi …show more content…
Part of the problem is that most media about aliens view them in a negative light. They follow the common misconception that any form of advanced intelligent alien life come to Earth with the goal of global domination, and I see that as misguided. All the resources that Earth has can easily be found on other planets and asteroids so there would be no need to harm the human civilization or the planet for our resources. Conquering the Earth because it is a habitable planet is out of the question as well since we have found many planets in habitable zones of stars that are more likely easier to locate and reach than the Earth. Enslavement would also not make sense since the aliens would have to be so advanced in order to find the Earth that they will be more than capable of building their own work force with their technology. All of those things make for good action movies and such but it doesn't make them the only reality. Not to say that there isn't a chance that they may be hostile but I believe that most people are misinformed and deceived into thinking that our first contact with an alien life form would be a hostile

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