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 sublight 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 coauthored 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: https://www.coolworldslab.com/support

References:
► CarrollNellenback, J., Frank, A., Wright, J. & Scharf, C., 2019, "The Fermi Paradox and the Aurora Effect: Exocivilization Settlement, Expansion, and Steady States", ApJ, 158, 117: https://arxiv.org/abs/1902.04450
► Hart, M., 1975, "Explanation for the Absence of Extraterrestrials on Earth", Quart. J. RAS, 16, 128: https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/197...

Video materials and graphics used:
► Opening Galaxy shot by Bridge Head Productions: https://tinyurl.com/uk774j7
► Abiogenesis animation by TheOriginOfLife    • Origin of Life  
► Exoplanet animations ESO/M. Kornmesser: https://www.eso.org/public/videos/bar... & https://www.eso.org/public/videos/eso...
► 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 EnergiaBuran (Blender3...  
► SpaceX Mars animation by SpaceX:    • SpaceX to Mars: AweInspiring 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): https://www.eso.org/public/videos/eso...
► Exoplanet K218b by ESA/Hubble/M. Kornmesser: https://www.spacetelescope.org/videos...
► Galaxy flyin by Batsaikhan AriunErdene: https://vimeo.com/198713894
► Timelapse of AKSAP telescope by Alex Cherney:    • Video  
► Closing Milky Way shot by Alexandra Angelich (NRAO/AUI/NSF): https://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: https://app.soundstripe.com/songs/3984
► Cylinder Five (http://chriszabriskie.com/cylinders/) by Chris Zabriskie (http://chriszabriskie.com/); licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...)
► The Sun is Scheduled to Come Out Tomorrow (  / chriszabriskie  ) by Chris Zabriskie (http://chriszabriskie.com/); licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...)
► Cylinder Four (http://chriszabriskie.com/cylinders/) by Chris Zabriskie (http://chriszabriskie.com/); licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...)
► Music from Neptune Flux, "The Oceans Continue to Rise" by Chris Zabriskie (http://chriszabriskie.com/neptuneflux/); licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...)
► "Selha" by Stephen Keech, licensed through SoundStripe.com: https://app.soundstripe.com/songs/7102

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

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

SUBSCRIBE to the channel http://bit.ly/CoolWorldsSubscribe

THANKS FOR WATCHING!!

#GalacticColonization #FermiParadox #FactA