The new study predicts 36 civilizations that exist in the Milky Way

A new study at Nottinghams University has calculated that there are more than 30 intelligent communication civilizations in our galaxy based on the idea that intelligent life similar to the Earth can exist throughout the universe. .

Published on June 15 in the Journal of Astrophysics, researchers believe that there are about 36 intelligent civilizations in the Milky Way, built on previous calculations that this number fluctuated. from 0 to billions.

Christopher Conselice, lead author of the research, explains that: “There will be at least some civilizations working in our galaxy estimated that it will take 5 billion years for intelligent life to form on the planet. other chimps, similar on Earth. ”

The research has developed a concept they call the Cosmic Biological Corpenic Limit to simplify the perception of how life evolved when establishing strong and weak life limits in the universe. These equations include the history of star formation in our galaxy and the lifespan of stars, the metal composition of stars and the possibility of stars with Earth-like planets orbiting the region. that life can form.

The region where life can exist is a certain distance from a star, neither too hot nor too cold, where water can exist in liquid form and life can take place on the planet’s surface. Of these factors, regions where life can be important are important, but orbiting a quiet and stable star for billions of years is probably the most important, Conselice said.

“The two limits of Copernic cosmic biology that intelligent life forms are less than 5 billion years and over 5 billion years – similar to those on Earth, where a civilization was formed after 4.5 billion years. “, Said Tom Westby, co-author of the study.

The researchers were quite surprised when the number of extraterrestrial civilizations they calculated was very small but not a zero.

Although the study only looked at our galaxy, distance is also a limiting factor. The researchers calculated that the average distance between potential civilizations was similar, about 17,000 light. However, detecting these signals or exchanging signals using current technology takes too long so interplanetary communication is almost impossible.

However, Conselice himself remarked that “through the search for intelligent life outside the Earth, even if we do not discover anything, we are also discovering the future and destiny of ourselves.” we”.