kaylaiacovino^1.0

Andy and I were wondering, based on the Enterprise NCC-1701 E's given dimensions, what it would look like against familar parts of the Earth for its backdrop. Using the E's measurements (685m long & 244m wide), GoogleEarth, and Photoshop, we compiled some images which really put the E's massive size into perspective.

First, we did the Enterprise E on Arizona State University's campus. If you're familiar with the campus, it stretches all the way from Chili's (Mill Ave.& University) to the Physical Sciences building!

Next up, I compiled some images with landscapes that most people would be more familiar with. There is: PHX Int'l Airport (notice the planes for scale)

Here is the Enterprise E along side the Great Pyramids of Giza in Egypt

And, finally we have the Enterprise parked next to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. The White House!

Today I have decided to allow myself to begin with you, the reader, a discussion about extra-terrestrial life. I will attempt to describe (in an admittedly simplistic way) the optomism and pessimism about the possible existence of other wordly life and my personal thoughts on the matter.

On the side of optimism, we have the famous (or infamous depending on how you look at it) Drake Equation. Frank Drake, a pioneer in the field of ET communication and exploration, developed an equation to estimate the number of theoretical alien civilizations which must exist according to a set of probabilities. The equation is:

N=R* × f_p × n_e × f_l × f_e × f_i × f_c × L

Where:
N is the number of civilizations in our galaxy with which we might hope to be able to communicate

R* is the average rate of star formation in our galaxy

f_p is the fraction of those stars that have planets

n_e is the average number of planets that can potentially support life per star that has planets

f_l is the fraction of the above that actually go on to develop life at some point

f_i is the fraction of the above that actually go on to develop intelligent life

f_c is the fraction of civilizations that develop a technology that releases detectable signs of their existence into space

L is the length of time such civilizations release detectable signals into space.

The problem with the Drake equation is that there is really no way to assign truly scientific numerical values to these parameters. I mean, think about it, we have litterally ONE data point: Earth. While this is a very novel idea and interesting to think about, it is by no means the be-all end-all of the question of ET life. Be careful when people start assigning numbers to things like this, as there is no science behind it. In the end, it's what we in the biz call a WAG (Wild Ass Guess).

On the side of pessimism, there is the Fermi Paradox, which I will largely focus on today. Simply stated, the Fermi Paradox is physicist Enrico Fermi's answer to the Drake Equation. Reportedly, while eating lunch with some collegues, Fermi posed the question if life is so common in the universe, "Where are they?". In otherwords, why haven't we heard from them yet. I will say pretty much the same thing about the Fermi Paradox as I do about the Drake equation. You have to keep in mind that since there is NO data available, there is no way to scientifically attack the problem, which makes it increasingly more difficult and frustrating for scientists to analyze. My answer to Fermi is that the way we have been searching for ET life places so many limiting factors on the kind of life that we would contact, that it's no wonder we haven't heard from them yet. Not to mention the fact that we've only been searching about 100 years now. That is an insignificant miniscule fraction of time. Here is a short list of some of the limiting factors I'm talking about to give you an idea of where I am coming from:

1. Distance & Time Factor (Vastness of the Universe)
   There are several resources which can help you to grasp the true vastness of our universe...or galaxy...or solar system! If you haven't spent real time pondering this, I suggest you watch Powers of Ten. When we are looking at light from a star or galaxy (yes, radio waves are light), we are looking into the past. When we view a galaxy which is 1x10⁶ light years away, the light going into our eyes was emitted from that galaxy 1x10⁶ years ago.
   
2. Ability to communicate
   Another limiting factor is that we will only make contact with another species which will have the ability to recieve our messages and transmit one back. This in itself has many limiting factors. Does the species use radio waves (we currently only look in that part of the spectrum)? Does the species communicate orally? Does the species still use radio (i.e. they advanced past the use of radio)? Is their atmosphere transparent to radio waves as ours is (if not, transmissions wouldn't make it through)? Do they realize we are communicating (the languages or forms of communication could be so different that another species interprets our singals as simply background noise)?
   
3. Willingness to communicate
   It is possible that the species is xenophobic or simply for some reason does not wish to communicate even though they recieve our signals and have the ability to send messages back.
   
4. Small Amount of Time Spent
   As I said before, we have spent less than 100 years searching for ET life. That's nothing!!! Give it some time!!!
   
5. There's no one there
   I don't like this idea any more than you probably do, but, again, with NO data we cannot rule it out as a possibility.
   

In the end, I feel that there is really no way to form a real scientific way to estimate the amount or form of intelligent life which may or may not be out there or to theorize on when we will find it (if ever). This leaves much open to the imagination which is why it is often a hot topic for sci-fi writers and readers alike. Personally, I like to keep things interesting and have chosen to take an optimistic view of extra terrestrial life. My thoughts are that when we (and they) are ready, we will find each other. I don't think aliens are going to come destroy the Earth and all of humanity (War of the Worlds) or hunt us down as prey (Preditor) or anything like that. And, who's really going to tell me what or what not to believe, since there is NO science available currently to give ANY real insight into this problem. For now, it's up to us to lay out under the stars and let our imaginations run wild. I kind of like it that way anyhow.