This Morning, An Atlas V Rocket Launched From Cape Canaveral, Florida, Carrying A US Navy Communications

Breathtaking views just keep coming! At a distance of 63,400 miles above the cloud tops of Jupiter’s South Pole, the Juno spacecraft reveals incredibly detailed views of the planet’s powerful cyclones and storms.

(Image credit: NASA / MSSS / SwRI / JPL / Caltech. Reprocessing Roman Tkachenko)

Aerospace Engineering Magazine  April 1962

The Drake Equation (sometimes known as: Green Bank equation or the Green Bank Formula)

The Drake Equation is a formula that may calculate the possibility of contactable extra-terrestrial alien species. 

Proposed by Frank Drake in 1961, the Drake Equation is a probability argument that would estimate how many contactable, active and communicable alien species there are in our Milky Way. 

The Drake Equation is, as follows;

N = R* • fp • ne • fl • fi • fc •  L.

In this equation, N =  the number of civilizations in our galaxy with which communication might be possible. 

R* = the average rate of star formation in our galaxy.

fp = the fraction of those stars that have planets

ne = the average number of planets that can potentially support life per star that has planets

fl = the fraction of planets that could support life that actually develop life at some point

fi = the fraction of planets with life that actually go on to develop intelligent life (civilizations)

fc = the fraction of civilizations that develop a technology that releases detectable signs of their existence into space

L = the length of time for which such civilizations release detectable signals into space

The Drake Equation acts as a summary of which we can expect to communicate (if at all) with those who are extra-terrestrial.  The last four parameters: fl, fi, fc and L, are not known and are very hard to estimate, with values ranging over many orders of magnitude. 

Therefore it is not a direct measurement of when we will communicate but a roadmap towards creating and estimating the means necessary to communicate with our space buddies. 

Calcite Cluster on Matrix

Locality:  Stoneco Auglaize Quarry (Maumee Stone Co. Quarry), Junction, Paulding Co., Ohio.

open parachute during tests for Mars Science Laboratory

Knate Myers - View from the ISS at Night

Jupiter as seen by six different spacecraft.

NASA / JPL / SSI / JHUAPL / SwRI / Björn Jónsson

South Pole Telescope

SpaceX Plans to Send 2 Tourists Around Moon in 2018

“While the trip appears to be within the technical capabilities of SpaceX, industry observers wondered whether the company could pull it off as quickly as Mr. Musk indicated. “Dates are not SpaceX’s strong suit,” said Mary Lynne Dittmar, executive director of the Coalition for Deep Space Exploration. The Dragon 2 and Falcon Heavy are years behind schedule and have yet to fly.“It strikes me as risky,” Dr. Dittmar said, adding that autonomous systems are not infallible. “I find it extraordinary that these sorts of announcements are being made when SpaceX has yet to get crew from the ground to low-Earth orbit.””