We are not alone, study says: There could be 'dozens' of intelligent civilizations in our galaxy

Are we alone in the universe? Is there anyone else out there?

A new study published Monday aims to answer these age-old questions. The research calculates there could be over 30 intelligent civilizations throughout our Milky Way galaxy. 

“There should be at least a few dozen active civilizations in our galaxy under the assumption that it takes 5 billion years for intelligent life to form on other planets, as on Earth,” University of Nottingham astrophysicist Christopher Conselice, who co-authored the research, said in a statement.

This estimate assumes that intelligent life forms on other planets in a similar way as it does on Earth.

As a point of reference, there are an estimated 250 billion stars in our galaxy, and roughly one planet per star in our galaxy, Forbes reported. 

Study lead author Tom Westby, also of the University of Nottingham, explained: “The classic method for estimating the number of intelligent civilizations relies on making guesses of values relating to life, whereby opinions about such matters vary quite substantially.” 

Fast radio bursts: More ‘fast radio bursts’ have been detected from a distant galaxy. This one has a repeating pattern.

“Our new study simplifies these assumptions using new data,” Westby said, “giving us a solid estimate of the number of civilizations in our galaxy.”

More than one city slicker has been awestruck when gazing up at the Milky Way.
More than one city slicker has been awestruck when gazing up at the Milky Way.

These civilizations, however, would be some 17,000 light years away, on average, making finding and speaking with them practically impossible with our current level of technology.  A light-year is roughly 6 trillion miles. 

The new research also suggests that searches for extraterrestrial intelligent civilizations not only reveals how life forms, but also gives us clues for how long our own civilization will last.

The study said the number of civilizations depends strongly on how long they are actively sending out signals of their existence into space, such as radio transmissions from satellites and television. If other technological civilizations last as long as ours which is currently 100 years old, then there will be about 36 ongoing intelligent technical civilizations throughout our galaxy. 

“If we find that intelligent life is common then this would reveal that our civilization could exist for much longer than a few hundred years, alternatively if we find that there are no active civilizations in our galaxy it is a bad sign for our own long-term existence,” Conselice said.

“By searching for extraterrestrial intelligent life – even if we find nothing – we are discovering our own future and fate.”

The study was published in the peer-reviewed Astrophysical Journal.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Alien life? Could be ‘dozens’ of intelligent civilizations in galaxy

source: yahoo.com