Life in the Universe #2: Where Is Everybody?

Given that our galaxy is 10 billion years old and it should take civilizations much less time to develop and travel through the galaxy, why isn't the universe teeming with aliens? Where is everybody?

[deepastronomy]

Good point. I should have been more specific.

It probably has taken other civs this long to get where they are. If so, then we haven't found them yet but will. As for being important enough, if they are looking, why would they be selective?

They haven't even gotten to know us well enough to not like us.... ;-)

[Mattersmatter]

I cried at the end of your video. Two of them actually, for two entirely different reasons. One was hope, the other despair. I'm a people person. I get frightend and delerious when i'm left alone and I can think of nothing worse. The most comforting and amazing thing I have ever know is the interaction between entities. At the end of this video I totally lost it, because the Fermie paradox is undeniably true. And nothing is more disturbing. I always thought we simply couldn't see everyone else..

[gustavocavel]

the songs of these astronomic videos are so epic, love `em all!

[deepastronomy]

Oh I haven't ignored the lifespan of a civilization, I just haven't gotten to it yet. I'll address that in episode three. All I've mentioned so far is that once a civilization develops, it will spread quickly (on galactic, not human, timescales).

[FabricioFF]

So amazing, so marvelous, so incredible! What a wonderful universe! So many things to learn, to understand, to see, to travel, and so short time in one life... 

[deepastronomy]

Thanks. If you referring to astronomy buff, that blog is dead. I had to stop writing for it when I moved to U of I.

I will write more for DeepAstronomy as time permits.

[IneptTroopr]

Glad your posting videos on Youtube again, because these are always great to watch and very informative. As always, and excellent music choice too, big fan of The Last of the Mohicans soundtrack!

[bjorndunderbeck]

Imagine watching this sort of stuff whilst eating your breakfast every morning, would you view everything you see in your day differently now that you know how amazingly special you and everything you see is

[chirocker]

Now that's what I call a comeback. Sweet video, great release date, you totally rock.

[deepastronomy]

Excellent analysis. If someone travelled at only orbital velocities, around 10^-4 the speed of light, you'd multiply everything by about 10, which is what you've done. My vid assume a civ travelled at 10^-3 c.

[deepastronomy]

Yes, but it's more complicated than that. I will address this in episode three, but there's a good astrophysical explanation of why civilizations may all - just now - being 'synchonized' via mass extinction events like gamma ray bursts.

It's possible that we are on the inflection point of an explosion of civilizations looking up and travelling to the stars.

More later.

[skullfacedarkness]

3 things that scare me

big things ( the sun for exmple)
death
no afterlife i cried when i was younger saying i didn't want to die

[deepastronomy]

I don't think I can do that on YT, I'll need to put them on a third-party server, like mediafire.

I'll do that as soon as I can. Which ones do you want?

[deepastronomy]

You might want to check out the final cut. You weren't alone in that. I thought it told a pretty good story WITHOUT words, but others felt differently.

[IVISolnxIVI]

Great work Tony Darnell, great video, good graphics, great narations :P keep it up we want more!

[infinitelink]

@SargentsInGodsArmy New lights: consist of those big pretty pictures that it takes weeks, months, or many months, (could take years if we spent the time), telescopically collecting sufficient light to form pics of further and further space objects.

[deepastronomy]

That's exactly correct. The thing is, Enrico Fermi is correct, we really should be seeing them by now if they exist. That's the paradox.

I'll be going into a bit more about possible explanations for this. Don't be too disappointed though, there are good scientific reasons why we haven't seen them yet, and allows for advanced civilizations to exist.

[mikety]

@drgntatu And given that the Universe is not perfect I doubt there exists any being within it that has "perfect" intelligence. If "perfect intelligence" exists, it is not to be found within the confines of the Universe.

[deepastronomy]

'wildfire' as seen on a galactic timescale. 100 million years is a drop in the bucket.

As for how long a civ can last, who can really say? There is probably a threshold, that once passed, secures a civ from destroying itself (but that's just a hunch).

We really should have seen something by now. I have more to present on this, I only made one small point in this vid.

[Sniccs]

we would all be foolish to think that we are the only form of life in the universe thanx Tony keep them coming