Frank Drake's Drake equation is one of the most well-known equations in astronomy, and has served as an effective baseline for discussion about how much life might be spread throughout the universe.

The equation was centered on the search for radio signals, but it is more likely to see biosignatures, rather than technological ones.

When Drake wrote the equation, it wasn't possible to search for biosignatures.

Graphical depiction of a modified Drake equation, and each of its constituent components.

The University of Rochester.

The number of planets that go on to develop would likely result in the development of biosignatures more commonly than technosignatures.

The first blush doesn't account for a fundamental characteristic of technology, which is that it doesn't have to stay there.

UT video discussing the fate of intelligent civilizations.

Technology can outlive the biology that created it, and in some cases it can destroy the biosphere that created it.

If the lifeforms didn't die off in the early stages of their technological awakening, they probably would want to expand to other planets and take their technology with them.

UT video on searching for biosignatures

Even further up the technology tree, technology could become self-replicating, such as a von Neumann probe or another self-replicating system.

That would indicate that technosignatures can exist without a planet in the form of satellites.

Kurzgesagt explored the idea of how long technology and biosignatures last.

In a Nutshell Channel is a credit.

One other factor affects how easy it would be to find biosignatures. It might eventually be possible with data from James Webb. Radio astronomy projects such as the Square Kilometer Array are better at detecting signs of technology.

It can be difficult to separate a valid signal from the noise, which can take many forms.

The search for extraterrestrial intelligence should continue, and it is more likely to find a sign of a technologically advanced civilization than it is to find a burgeoning non-technological one.

You can learn more.

The case for technosignatures is that they may be abundant, long-lived, Highly Detectable, and Unambiguous.

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