Beyond “Fermi’s Paradox” IV: What is the Rare Earth Hypothesis?
Looking to answer the question of “where are all the aliens,” some scientists have suggested that planets like Earth might actually be very rare.
Beyond “Fermi’s Paradox” III: What is the Great Filter?
In 1996, economist/futurist Robin Hanson proposed a possible resolution to the Fermi Paradox: there’s a “Great Filter” that prevents intelligent life from becoming advanced.
Beyond “Fermi’s Paradox” II: Questioning the Hart-Tipler Conjecture
Welcome back to our Fermi Paradox series, where we take a look at possible resolutions to Enrico Fermi’s famous question, “Where Is Everybody?” Today, we examine the possibility that the reason we’ve found no evidence of alien civilizations is because there are none out there. It’s become a legend of the space age. The brilliant …
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Beyond “Fermi’s Paradox” I: A Lunchtime Conversation- Enrico Fermi and Extraterrestrial Intelligence
Welcome back to our Fermi Paradox series, where we take a look at possible resolutions to Enrico Fermi’s famous question, “Where Is Everybody?” Today, we examine the lunchtime conversation that started it all! It’s become a kind of legend, like Newton and the apple or George Washington and the cherry tree. One day in 1950, …
Beyond “Fermi’s Paradox” XII: What is the Waterworlds Hypothesis?
Is it possible that the reason we haven’t heard from any aliens is because there’s too much water out there?
Beyond “Fermi’s Paradox” IX: What is the Brief Window Hypothesis?
In this latest installment in our Fermi series, we take a look at the possibility that advanced civilizations only have a brief window within which to communicate.
After all of This Time Searching for Aliens, is it The Zoo Hypothesis or Nothing?
In 1950, during a lunchtime conversation with colleagues at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, famed physicist Enrico Fermi asked the question that launched a hundred (or more) proposed resolutions. “Where is Everybody?” In short, given the age of the Universe (13.8 billion years), the fact that the Solar System has only existed for the past …
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We Could Detect Alien Civilizations Through Their Interstellar Quantum Communication
A new study by SETI researcher Michael Hippke suggests that we look for advanced species by trying to spot signs of quantum communications
New Study Examines the Links Between Science Fiction and Astronomy
“Today’s science fiction is tomorrow’s science fact.” This quote, attributed to Isaac Asimov, captures science’s intricate relationship with science fiction. And it is hardly a one-way relationship. Whereas science fiction is constantly evolving to reflect new scientific discoveries and theories, science itself has a long history of drawing inspiration from the works of visionary authors, …
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New Study Suggests that Our Galaxy is Crowded or Empty. Both are Equally Terrifying!
Is there intelligent life in the Universe? And if so, just how common is it? Or perhaps the question should be, what are the odds that those engaged in the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) will encounter it someday? For decades, scientists have hotly debated this topic, and no shortage of ink has been spilled …