Giant elliptical galaxies are not so likely candidates for the role of the cradles of highly developed technological civilizations. To this conclusion came an astrophysicist from the University of Arkansas in the course of the study, which was published may 1 in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
The conclusions of the scientist are contrary to a study conducted in 2015, which stated that, theoretically, in these galaxies the likelihood of intelligent extraterrestrial life in 10 000 times above, than in a spiral. According to the authors, this is due to the fact that in elliptical structures contains much more stars, and the percentage of potentially lethal supernova low.
However, astrophysicist Daniel Witmer believes that this study contradicts the principle of mediocrity also known as the Copernican principle. According to him, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, the object or its properties should be regarded as typical of his class, writes Phys.org.
Historically, this principle was used several times to predict new physical phenomena. In particular, Isaac Newton calculated the approximate distance to the star Sirius, assuming that the Sun is a typical star, and then compared the relative brightness of two objects.
“in Other words, why do we not live in a big elliptical galaxy? For me this is a serious sign. Every time you realize that stand out, that is unusual, then it is a problem of the principle of mediocrity” – said Witmer.
According to him, large elliptical galaxies cannot be cradles of life, because they are full of deadly radiation, which appeared during their formation. In the early stages of birth of a star cluster through a period of formation of quasars and supernovae, said the astronomer.
“the Evolution of elliptical galaxies is completely different from the milky Way. They passed the phase when the radiation was so strong that they just completely destroyed any inhabited planet, and subsequently the rate of star formation and, consequently, the new planets has reached almost a zero level”, – said Witmer.
If an inhabited planet with intelligent life is unlikely in large elliptical galaxies, where most of the stars and planets, by default, galaxies such as the milky way, will be the main candidates for the role of the cradles of such civilizations, the scientist concluded.
