Are we alone in the Universe?

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The question of whether there is extraterrestrial life has fascinated human thinkers throughout history.In recent decades, technology has allowed us to move beyond pure speculation.We have sniffed for the tell-tale signs of water within our solar system, analysed incoming radio signals for patterns indicating alien communication – and are now searching distant stars in our galaxy for rocky, Earth-like planets.While these experiments have yet to provide a definitive answer, they are generating data telling us more about the probability of other forms of life being out there.Most space scientists agree it is unlikely life has only occurred in our little corner of the universe The Drake equation, devised in 1961 by Frank Drake, Emeritus Professor of Astronomy and -Astrophysics at the University of California, is a formula designed to estimate the number of detectable extraterrestrial civilisations in our Milky Way galaxy. Using the Drake equation, it leaves us with an estimate of four intelligent alien civilisations in our galaxy with means to communicate and overlap in time with humans..