Chance of aliens in our universe finally revealed by new ‘formula for life’ calculator
Researchers have calculated the probability that intelligent life exists in our universe now and in the future.
They have developed a new ‘formula for life’ model that they claim is the most comprehensive of its kind.
But the majority of people will probably be disappointed.
That’s because the new calculation puts the chances of life in universes beyond our Milky Way at 27 percent — far lower than the 65 percent of American adults who think there is alien life on other planets.
The probability that intelligent life exists in our own Milky Way is slightly lower, at just 23 percent, report researchers from the University of Edinburgh and the University of Genevieve in Switzerland.
The research suggested that star formations and the evolution of large-scale planets could be quietly combining to “shape the next generation of intelligent life.”
To unravel the mysteries of other life forms, the team created a theoretical model based on the Drake equation developed in 1960.
The model calculates the expansion of the universe and has previously been used as a framework to investigate whether advanced civilizations exist in our Galaxy.
Researchers found that there is a 23 percent chance that alien civilizations formed in the Milky Way, while there is a 27 percent chance that they formed in other universes.
The team said they did not use their calculations to determine the number of intelligent life forms, but instead estimated the probability of their existence.
This is due to dark energy that makes up more than two-thirds of the universe and drives its expansion, causing galaxies and clusters of galaxies to develop.
These clusters can come together to form stars and planets that could harbor alien life if they remain stable for billions of years.
The research suggested that star formations and the evolution of large-scale planets could be quietly combining to “form the next generation of intelligent life.”
Lead researcher Dr Daniele Sorini, from Durham University’s Institute for Computational Cosmology, said: ‘Understanding dark energy and its impact on our universe is one of the biggest challenges in cosmology and fundamental physics.
‘The parameters that define our universe, including the density of dark energy, could explain our own existence.’
The studypublished in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, also took into account that alien life forms that do not currently exist could evolve in the future, although it did not indicate how long that might take.
The researchers estimated the probability by calculating the amount of ordinary matter that made up stars over the history of the universe, which dates back 13.8 billion years.
They then separated each star cluster based on the amount of dark energy density that contributed to their formation.
The model predicted that the probability that intelligent life would evolve in universes beyond our own hovers around 27 percent.
“Surprisingly, we found that even a significantly higher dark energy density would still be compatible with life, suggesting that we may not live in the most likely universe,” says Dr. Sorini.
Currently, researchers cannot conclusively explain what dark energy is or how much exists in the universe, Dr. Sorini said NBC6 News.
Professor Lucas Lombriser, at the University of Genevieve and co-author of the study, added: ‘It will be exciting to use the model to investigate the emergence of life in different universes and see if we can ask ourselves some fundamental questions questions about our own universe must be reinterpreted.’
Dr. Sorini added: ‘I can’t give you a numerical or percentage chance of finding intelligent life at this stage, as the model is only one step in the process.
The formation of civilizations could be caused by dark matter forcing the universe to grow and create star clusters that together create other planets that could harbor life
‘In the future we should be able to give a more accurate figure. We do not impose restrictions on when life might occur in the past, present or future,” she continued.
“It could be that many life forms emerged much later in the life of the universe.”
The team’s findings contrast with previous research that claimed the probability of the existence of other advanced technological civilizations was “astonishingly low.”
In 2016, researchers at the University of Rochester in New York also used the Drake equation to ask whether humans on Earth are the only technological species to have ever existed.
They reported that the chance of a civilization developing into a habitable planet is less than one in 10 billion trillion.
But even according to these statistics, says Adam Frank, professor of physics and astronomy at the University of Rochester and co-author of the Study from 2016 said, “One chance in a trillion means that what happened to humanity here on Earth has actually happened about ten billion other times in cosmic history.”