Found trivia fun – The Drake Equation

October 30, 2008 by Andy Martin

Voyager Disk we sent to communicate with other civilizations

In doing some research today on astronomical topics, I came across this little gem that is the cornerstone of the belief that extraterrestrial life is out there somewhere – the Drake Equation, named for Frank Drake and published in 1960. It is what tries to estimate the number of possible extraterrestrial civilizations out there that we might come in contact with. The full equation and explanations, as well as the current estimates of the result of the equation, after the break.

The full Drake Equations can be shown as:

$N = R^{\ast} \times f_p \times n_e \times f_{\ell} \times f_i \times f_c \times L \!$

Where N is the number of civilizations that we might encounter. The other values are shown as:

R^* is the average rate of star formation in our galaxy

f_p is the fraction of those stars that have planets

n_e is the average number of planets that can potentially support life per star that has planets

f_ℓ is the fraction of the above that actually go on to develop life at some point

f_i is the fraction of the above that actually go on to develop intelligent life

f_c is the fraction of civilizations that develop a technology that releases detectable signs of their existence into space

L is the length of time such civilizations release detectable signals into space.

Current data on the values thorough observed data and educational estimates (otherwise known as “good guesses”) put the N value at 2.31. Living here in Arizona, we see unexplained lights every now and then, and there’s a pretty good culture of people who think the “invasion” is immenent. I like to think that life is out there, but I’m not sure if we’ll see it in my lifetime. Unless I’m playing Spore, of course.

Wikipedia article on The Drake Equation, with all sorts of history and data on it. Fun read for you other astronomy geeks out there.

Image credit – NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day

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