What are the Odds of Other Habitable Planets?
This well known equation the Drake Equation is still used to get an educated estimate for the number of habitable planets with civilizations in the universe: N = N0 x fp x ne x fl x fi x fc x fL In this formula, the multiplication of N0 (the total number of stars) by various fractions, gives the total number of civilizations. The fractions in the original Drake Equation are: fp = fraction of stars with planetary systems ne = number of planets in a stars habitable zone fl = fraction of habitable planets where life does arise fi = fraction of those planets on which intelligent beings also evolve fc = fraction of those planets on which sufficient communication technology arises fL = fraction of the average planetary lifetime when there is an advanced civilization All fractions are between 0 and 1, and obviously estimated close to 0, therefore the resulting number of habitable planet with civilizations N is much smaller than the original number of stars N0. We have already mentioned that i
