Kira Grogg · this is what i do

Okay, so this is only sort of space science. Really this is just a cool gif and an amusing picture I came across on imgur that really spoke to me. They both provide valuable insight into the size of earth and the universe.

Another way to put the earth into perspective:

Original image

And here comes the nerdy part:
This picture doesn't quite capture the structure of the universe, which is more web-like and clustered, kind of like neurons in the brain.

This is also cool: scaleofuniverse.com

When I first saw this picture I thought "dang the universe is big". And I still think that every time. With this kind of size, surely there is intelligent life out there somewhere, probably many-wheres. The real question is....will we ever make/receive contact? Let's see what the author of xkcd thinks...

The Drake equation: $$N = R^{\ast} \cdot f_p \cdot n_e \cdot f_{\ell} \cdot f_i \cdot f_c \cdot L$$
where:
N = the number of civilizations in our galaxy with which communication might be possible and

• R* = stars formed per year in our galaxy
• f_p = the fraction of those stars that have planets
• n_e = the average number of planets that can support life for those stars
• f_l = the fraction of those planets that develop life at some point
• f_i = the fraction of those planets that go on to develop intelligent life
• f_c = the fraction of those civilizations that develop a technology that releases detectable signs of their existence into space
• L = the length of time for which those civilizations release detectable signals into space

The problem with this equation is that nobody is quite sure what numbers to plug into it!

My personal opinion: we will never meet aliens, but we might hear something from them. One problem is that on a cosmic scale, we have been capable of sending and receiving messages for a very, very, very short time.

Tags: science