In a message of 24 Apr 98 CRAIG MEEKINS wrote to me:
 CM>>> Yes there is, how about the Drake Equation?
 CM> N=R(fp)(ncfl)(fi)(fc)L
 CM> R - Rate of star formation
Not yet known.
 CM> fp- Fraction of stars with planets
Completely unknown.
 CM> ncfl- number of potential abodes of life
Completely unknown
 CM> fi- life that will develop intelligence
Guess.
 CM> fc- life that will develop high technology 
Guess.
 CM> L - Longevity (live long
 CM> enough to admit signals to be detected)
 CM> Currently N=100,000,000,000,000 in our galaxy.  That number grows with
 CM> each planet detected.  I believe that the latest number was 7 planets
 CM> confirmed out side of our solar system.
Does that include the disappearing one of 51PEG? Of the planets deduced (none 
has been found yet),
most of them almost certainly will have tidal locking which means they always 
have the same face to the sun. One side is super hot and dry and the other 
frozen and dry. Nobody can say these are not typical and our solar system is 
the typical system. Ours might be unique. 
I am not saying life could not arise on planets of other suns just that 
present knowledge gives no reason to assume there are other planets in the 
universe that can and have given rise to life. I'll wait a couple of years 
and see if infra red spectrometry detects water carbon dioxide /and/ oxygen, 
or some other combination that wouldn't occur on a dead planet.
_patrick_                 (email: patrick.ford@amiga.gen.nz) 
             Team *Amiga*
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