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Searching for Extraterrestrial Death

From Extraterrestrial Killer Asteroid Impacts and Global Thermonuclear Wars
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A central factor in the Drake Equation would be the survival lifespan of life (and civilization) on a given planet.

We project asteroid hit rates in our own solar system based on craterization. But we don't have such data for other solar systems, and we certainly don't know how often such impacts destroy life and or civilization.

Given our relatively new found abilities to scan for extrasolar terrestrial planets, we should be searching for how often such planets are hit by impacts large enough to register a spark indicating a catastrophic event.

Similarly, hydrogen bombs should also be generating a "noticeable" temporary change in brightness.

theircompetitor, Nov 19 2018

Searching for dead alien civilizations https://news.nation...-civilization-seti/
[theircompetitor, Nov 21 2018]

What, this link? https://goo.gl/BHsCUs
[not_morrison_rm, Nov 21 2018]

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       Hmm. There's a problem here. First, I'm not sure if current telescopes could detect a "spark" caused by a large impact on an extrasolar planet. However, let's assume that they could. Let's also assume that there are ten telescopes looking at (or for) extrasolar planets at any one time. In 100 years of observation, you'll have watched for a total of 1000 telescope-years.   

       If significant impacts happened once every 10 million years (which is about 10 times more often than on Earth), you'd still only have a 1 in 10,000 chance of spotting one, over those 100 years of observation.
MaxwellBuchanan, Nov 19 2018
  

       but just as with Fermi's paradox, scanning the galaxy should uncover such events routinely, no?
theircompetitor, Nov 19 2018
  

       Yes, if you could monitor the whole galaxy - billions of planets - simultaneously. But at the moment we can only (possibly) watch a handful of planets at a time, and the events you're looking for will only be visible for a few seconds or so.
MaxwellBuchanan, Nov 19 2018
  

       I'm still waiting for something like a terrestrial life...ponders on the link of angst to Angstrom.
not_morrison_rm, Nov 19 2018
  

       ...ponders on the link between telegrams and nanograms.
MaxwellBuchanan, Nov 19 2018
  

       ...ponders the link between engrams and anagrams...
RayfordSteele, Nov 19 2018
  

       //can’t do the ellipsis correctly   

       I can hardly do a circle freehand   

       ...ponders on the Reuters news story "Singapore to test facial recognition on lampposts..."
not_morrison_rm, Nov 19 2018
  

       //ponders why people can’t do the ellipsis correctly// I don't see what's wrong with ...   

       It's one ellipsi, then another ellipsi, then a final one.
MaxwellBuchanan, Nov 20 2018
  

       last one (I promise)   

       ...ponders the link between appointments and disappointments...
not_morrison_rm, Nov 20 2018
  

       ...ponders the link between ponders and responders.   

       ...ponders the link...
theircompetitor, Nov 21 2018
  

       ^Tch! Sorted the link - at no extra charge.
not_morrison_rm, Nov 21 2018
  

       EN1
MaxwellBuchanan, Nov 21 2018
  

       I did live in EN2 for a bit
not_morrison_rm, Nov 21 2018
  

       // …ponders why people can’t do the ellipsis correctly. //   

       Because they're using Windows, probably.   

       I set up AutoHotkey on my Windows computer so I can type …, –, and — just like on my Mac, and I use WinCompose (free, open-source) for other special characters like ø and μ.   

       Edit: That was supposed to be a mu.
notexactly, Dec 06 2018
  

       Just as well: if you utter a mu around here, it can attract incoming from a certain person packing a suppressed .22 rifle.
pertinax, Dec 06 2018
  


 

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