ASTR 101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 35: Drake Equation, Cubic Centimetre
Document Summary
Lecture 35 - search for extraterrestrial intelligence (seti) Easy to look for intelligence vs life; they might be trying to communicate with us. Eti needs platform that provides heat + nutrients, stability (over immense periods of time), emergence, evolution and persistence of life and intelligence, and requires communication. Carbon-based, dependent on water as solvent, utilizing proteins and amino acids, and dna based. Water: polar, contract when colder but expands when freezing; has high heat capacity. Rst factor: lots of stars, milky way forms 1 new star a year and stars last ~10 billion years. Third factor: habitable zone, planet should be close enough to receive warmth but not too close that it will boil off; low-mass stars have small habitable zones. Fourth factor: emergence of life, life came to existence quite early on earth. Fth factor: lots of time; gets more and more complex over time. Seventh factor: development of technological capabilities, are they able to communicate, their technological advancement.