Hey Everyone,
Today I’m going to discuss a major concept in the search for extraterrestrial life. Specifically, I will be discussing the Drake equation and its impact on said search. The Drake equation is an equation designed to approximate the number of extraterrestrial civilizations that exist in the Milky Way. It was developed by Frank Drake in 1961, and he later states that he didn’t make the equation to accurately quantify the number of said civilizations, but rather to spur conversation. The equation factors in many things including: the average rate of star formation; fraction of those stars which have planets; average number of planets which can support life; fraction of these planets which actually develop life; fraction of the planets that develop life which develop intelligent life; fraction of these civilization which are capable of communication; and the length of time these civilizations release communicative signals. The Drake equation had a profound impact on encouraging thought and research tailored towards the search for extraterrestrial life, and continues to have an impact today.
Source: Wikipedia
Universe Today
The Universe According to Cam 
I find it particularly interesting that the equation requires the civilization to emit some kind of a radio signal. It makes sense, because we don’t really have the means to travel very far and if we are to find a civilization outside our solar system, it needs to be emitting some kind of signal for us to pick up. But this also greatly diminishes the chances for us to find another civilization since this eliminates any civilization that is less developed than us.
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