Frank Drake - star searcher

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Astrophysicist Frank Drake has aged 92.

For a long period an inveterate searcher for possible intelligent radio signals from the cosmos.

Started with Project Ozma, carries on with SETI.

R.I.P Frank

www.theguardian.com

Frank Drake obituary

Astrophysicist and astronomer whose Project Ozma searched for radio signals from planets that could support extraterrestrial life
www.theguardian.com www.theguardian.com
 
Sad to hear, RIP Frank...he formulated the famous "Drake Equation" that gives a good guess of the possibility that ET may be out there.

The Drake equation is:

{\displaystyle N=R_{*}\cdot f_{\mathrm {p} }\cdot n_{\mathrm {e} }\cdot f_{\mathrm {l} }\cdot f_{\mathrm {i} }\cdot f_{\mathrm {c} }\cdot L}

where

N = the number of civilizations in the Milky Way galaxy with which communication might be possible (i.e. which are on the current past light cone)
R∗ = the average rate of star formation in our Galaxy
fp = the fraction of those stars that have planets
ne = the average number of planets that can potentially support life per star that has planets
fl = the fraction of planets that could support life that actually develop life at some point
fi = the fraction of planets with life that actually go on to develop intelligent life (civilizations)
fc = the fraction of civilizations that develop a technology that releases detectable signs of their existence into space
L = the length of time for which such civilizations release detectable signals into space

After some big guessing at the numbers it comes around to about 22, plus or minus 20. :-doh
 
But that's in only in our radio light sphere....If you apply that to out whole galaxy the numbers are quite bigger.

Radio light sphere, the distance radio waves strong enough to make it past our planet and keep going, from around 1920, so its about 200 light years in diameter, if someone 50 light years from us picked up our signals 50 years ago, decoded them and transmitted back, they would be just getting back to us about now.
 
The real Drake equation.

the_drake_equation.png

RIP Frank
 
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