Galactic Colonization

Have you ever wondered if there’s a Galactic Empire out there? How long would it take a space faring civilization to colonize the entire galaxy? Remarkably even traveling at sub-light speeds this should be possible within a fraction of our galaxy’s lifetime. Which raises the question - why hasn’t this happened yet? Today we dive into the repercussions of “Fact A” - the simple observation that Earth has not been colonized by an alien civilization. I sit down with Prof. Jason Wright who has recently co-authored a new paper that provides the most sophisticated treatment to date of this problem, and what it means for our place in the Universe.

Interview with Prof. Jason Wright. Presented & Written by Prof. David Kipping.

You can now support our research program and the Cool Worlds Lab at Columbia University: www.coolworldslab.com/support

References:
► Carroll-Nellenback, J., Frank, A., Wright, J. & Scharf, C., 2019, "The Fermi Paradox and the Aurora Effect: Exo-civilization Settlement, Expansion, and Steady States", ApJ, 158, 117: arxiv.org/abs/1902.04450
► Hart, M., 1975, "Explanation for the Absence of Extraterrestrials on Earth", Quart. J. RAS, 16, 128: ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1975QJRAS..16..128H/abst…

Video materials and graphics used:
► Opening Galaxy shot by Bridge Head Productions: tinyurl.com/uk774j7
► Abiogenesis animation by TheOriginOfLife    • Origin of Life  
► Exoplanet animations ESO/M. Kornmesser: www.eso.org/public/videos/barnard-surface2b-v2-cc1… & www.eso.org/public/videos/eso0915e/
► Galaxy zoom by Emilio Music Productions:    • Milky Way Galaxy Animation 2  
► Microbiology footage from Nokia Small World in Motion Competitions:    • 2018 Nikon Small World in Motion Comp...  ,    • 2018 Nikon Small World in Motion Comp...  ,    • 2016 Nikon Small World in Motion Comp...  ,    • 2018 Nikon Small World in Motion Comp...  
► Sunset video by kagnet:    • Beautiful Sunrise - Lion King Sunrise...  
► Cave painting from Cave Art 101, National Geographic:    • Cave Art 101 | National Geographic  
► Rocket animation Егор Румянцев:    • Rocket Launch Energia-Buran (Blender3...  
► SpaceX Mars animation by SpaceX:    • SpaceX to Mars: Awe-Inspiring Video S...  
► Galactic colonization animation by ESA Advanced Concepts Team: h   • Settling the Galaxy (ACT's entry to G...  
► Galaxy spinning animation by Huy Trường Nguyễn:    • Galaxy Spinning  
► Journey to Alpha Cen by ESO./L. Calçada/Nick Risinger (skysurvey.org): www.eso.org/public/videos/eso1241a/
► Exoplanet K2-18b by ESA/Hubble/M. Kornmesser: www.spacetelescope.org/videos/heic1916a/
► Galaxy fly-in by Batsaikhan Ariun-Erdene: vimeo.com/198713894
► Timelapse of AKSAP telescope by Alex Cherney:    • Video  
► Closing Milky Way shot by Alexandra Angelich (NRAO/AUI/NSF): vimeo.com/205561357

Movies/TV scenes used:
► Contact (1997)/Warnes Bros.
► Alien: Covenant (2017)/20th Century Fox
► Interstellar (2014)/Paramount
► Star Trek/Paramount
► Terminator 3: Rise of the Machine (2003)/Warner Bros.
► Alien (1979)/Warner Bros.

Music used, in chronological order:
► "Waking Up" by Atlas, licensed through SoundStripe.com: app.soundstripe.com/songs/3984
► Cylinder Five (chriszabriskie.com/cylinders/) by Chris Zabriskie (chriszabriskie.com/); licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
► The Sun is Scheduled to Come Out Tomorrow (soundcloud.com/chriszabriskie) by Chris Zabriskie (chriszabriskie.com/); licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
► Cylinder Four (chriszabriskie.com/cylinders/) by Chris Zabriskie (chriszabriskie.com/); licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
► Music from Neptune Flux, "The Oceans Continue to Rise" by Chris Zabriskie (chriszabriskie.com/neptuneflux/); licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
► "Selha" by Stephen Keech, licensed through SoundStripe.com: app.soundstripe.com/songs/7102

And also...
► Columbia University Department of Astronomy: www.astro.columbia.edu/
► Cool Worlds Lab website: coolworlds.astro.columbia.edu/

Latest Cool Worlds Videos ► bit.ly/NewCoolWorlds
Cool Worlds Research ► bit.ly/CoolWorldsResearch
Cool Worlds Long Form Videos ► bit.ly/CoolWorldsEssays
Guest Videos ► bit.ly/CoolWorldsGuests
Q&A Videos ► bit.ly/CoolWorldsQA
Tabby's Star ► bit.ly/TabbysStar
Science of TV/Film ► bit.ly/ScienceMovies

SUBSCRIBE to the channel bit.ly/CoolWorldsSubscribe

THANKS FOR WATCHING!!

#GalacticColonization #FermiParadox #FactA