Deestan@lemmy.world 1 month ago
Astrophysicists are generally annoyed at the standard model. It’s got too many fudges in it. Maybe this will make a new and more explanatory model be discovered and accepted.
Practically, nothing much will change except for astrophysicists being really excited for a while because this kind of thing is what science is all about.
sxan@midwest.social 1 month ago
One thing will change. There’s a theory that one answer to the Fermi Paradox is that is because humans have appeared relatively early in the formation of the universe; we got an early sun, early solar system, life evolved rapidly… we can’t hear anyone else because we’re one of the firsts. If the age of the universe is double what we thought, this explanation becomes less probable, and the Fermi Paradox more concerning.
newcool1230@lemm.ee 1 month ago
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fermi_paradox
cynar@lemmy.world 1 month ago
To further add to this. The concern is related to what is nicknamed “the great filter”. The drake equation tries to estimate the number of communicating civilisations within range of us. Even with quite pessimistic terms, it still implies there should be lots of them. Therefore, a term is likely missing or wrong. This is known as the great filter.
If the great filter is behind us, that’s fine. E.g. abiogenesis being vastly harder, and so less likely, than we think. However, it could also be ahead of us. If it is, it likely won’t be far. We are already entering the era where we are detectable on an interstellar distance. Nukes and climate change have been raised as potential “great filters”.
An alternative idea is that we are not typical. If we are one of the first civilisations to reach this level, at least locally, then we would see very little. An older universe makes this significantly less likely.
XeroxCool@lemmy.world 1 month ago
An interesting point about the radio visibility of our civilization is that it was incredibly short lived. Sure, we have some unique items that may be visible if specifically searched, such as radiation or organic chemical signatures/ratios. But the whole thing about blasting space with radio and TV signals? Basically just a 100 year stint. Current devices are much more focused, so there’s less spill, and by going digital, identifiable waveforms are much rarer. We went form nothing, to being the social media addict of the solar system, to blending back into the static in a matter of a century.