The Prospects for Extraterrestrial Life in Our Solar System and Galaxy


ID : 2074   

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ClassGraphic Join the instructor, a NASA Solar System Ambassador who has worked on numerous space exploration programs for NASA, to review the prospects for life and the possible origins of life in our solar system and our galaxy. During the development of nuclear energy, the U.S. government put the smartest people in the world in a small place in the desert. Let’s just say their lunchtime discussions weren’t about the weather. At one such lunch, Enrico Fermi, Edward Teller, Emil Konopinski, and Herbert York were discussing the prospects for extraterrestrial life. They kept concluding that we probably weren’t alone. Dr. Fermi countered this with the famous phrase “But, where is everybody?” Later, Dr. Frank Drake proposed a solution to this problem in the Drake Equation.  The Drake Equation reviews all the unlikely things that must happen for life to arise and compares it against the number of opportunities. We’ve certainly learned a lot since 1950, and we will review the new outcome of the calculation. We will also focus on our own solar system. Could Venus and Mars or other planets ever have supported life? 
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Class Details

1 Session(s)
Wed

Location
OLLI

Instructor
Frank Puglia 

Tuition: 

$15.00

Registration Closes On
Tuesday, May 5, 2026 @ 12:00 AM

Schedule Information

Date(s) Class Days Times Location Instructor(s) Instructional Method
5/6/2026 Wed 05:00 PM - 06:30 PM Kingston, OLLI  Map Frank Puglia  ClassRoom

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