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Intelligent Life Could Be Thriving On 40,000 Planets
The next frontier could very well be thriving with intelligent life. Although this has always been a presumable thought, researchers have now calculated that up to 37,964 worlds in our galaxy are hospitable enough to sustain creatures at least as intelligent as ourselves.
Astrophysicist Duncan Forgan has created a computer program that collects data from all planets known to man and has worked out what proportion would have conditions suitable for life; including factors such as temperature and availability of water and minerals. This data was then extrapolated across the Milky Way.
Mr. Forgan, who believes it will take 300 to 400 years for us to make contact with our far away neighbors, said: ‘Most of the other planets we have looked at are older than our own – so I would expect to see more advanced civilizations than ours existing.’