Drake Equation
The drake equation is a simple mathematical exercise to estimate how many intelligent, communicable civilizations are actively transmitting and receiving signals the Milky Way Galaxy right now. Below, you have the opportunity to perform your own estimation of N, the number of such civilizations! Simply modify variables and view the new output calculated with your values.
Variable
Meaning
The number of Stars in the Milky Way Galaxy.
The fraction of those stars that have planets.
The average number of planets that can potentially support life per star that has planets.
The fraction of planets that could support life that actually develop life at some point.
The fraction of planets with life that actually go on to develop intelligent life (civilizations).
The fraction of civilizations that develop a technology that releases detectable signs of their existence into space.
The length of time for which such civilizations release detectable signals into space.
The number of civilizations in our galaxy with which communication might be possible.
Video
Below, you can find a video from the SciSky YouTube channel about using this page!