Drake’s Equation:

(Frank Drake)

A math formula that calculates the # of possible planets having intelligent life and able to contact us…

Tahoma Jr. High8th Grade ScienceMaple Valley, WA

Stars ?Planets ? water ?

Life ? Intelligent ? Technology ?Avoid technology causing

self-destruction ?

How many stars out there have planets?Here’s the current count:

http://planetquest.jpl.nasa.gov/

Here’s a new discovery in 2010, a solar system much like ours:http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/kepler/news/new_planetary_system.html

So stars seem to have planets around them quite often – but we haven’t found many with more than one… yet! Think how hard it

is to see stars, yet alone planets around them!!

By the way, thinking backwards on this, check this out…

Remember, when you are using trillions, billions and even millions… these are HUGE numbers!

Since you start out with such a huge # of stars, and as we find planets becoming more and more

common around stars, the answer is surprisingly big (if you can get through all the other steps).

Conservative estimates say at least 1,000 possible civilizations should be able to be communicating

with us right now.

Remember, there aremore stars in the

Universe than grains of sand

on all of Earth !!

Can they actually be sending out radio signals we can pick up? Well… we have been sending strong radio signals into

space since the 1936 Olympics when Nazi Germany broadcast them. That means any alien within ~80 Light-

Years of Earth, if they have the technology, could be picking up our radio and TV right now!

Munich Radio Tower, Germany

What do you think aliens would think of us if they were watching this movie sent by satellite TV?!

Life is very special…Earth is the only place we know that has it…

although we may have spread life around our solar system on probes/robots landed on planets/moons, and beyond.

Until we find life elsewhere, it will remain special.But… what if we create life in the laboratory??

In 1952, the Urey-Miller experiment put all the chemicals of a primitive Earth atmosphere in a jar and zapped it with lighting to simulate what happened on Earth. Basic organic molecules were created (the building blocks of life, but NOT life) – and later/better experiments made even more of these complex chemicals.

But what if we did create life??

This is why there’s a SETI program(Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence).

But it doesn’treceive a lotof $. Somepeople don’twant to “hear”from any aliensor talk to them…

…even if they are out there. (Hawking video 9)end show