If life is common, why is the universe so quiet? Is life on Earth an exception, or is it a natural consequence of the laws of physics and chemistry? These are the questions at the heart of LIFE – Are We Alone?, the second lecture in the series marking Carl Sagan Month in Serbia.
The story of the search for life beyond Earth begins with the famous Fermi question: “Where is everybody?” From the first attempts to listen for signals from space to the Drake Equation and the mysterious WOW! signal, this lecture explores how scientists have searched for evidence of life in the vastness of the universe. We will also look at what life actually needs to emerge and thrive: a liquid medium, a source of energy, elements capable of forming complex molecules, and a stable host star.
Why is carbon so well suited to building the complex molecules that make life possible, and what makes water different from other potential liquids? How do a planet’s size, its natural satellites and the stability of conditions on its surface affect the possibility of life developing there? The lecture will also explore the Kardashev scale, which measures the technological advancement of civilisations according to the amount of energy they can harness, as well as the search for planets beyond our Solar System and possible signs of life on them. All of this leads us to one of the biggest questions of all: if life exists elsewhere in the universe, why have we not found any evidence of it yet?
The lecture will be led by Dr Milan Milošević, Assistant Professor at the Department of Physics, Faculty of Sciences and Mathematics, University of Niš. He has authored more than 30 scientific papers, contributed to the establishment of the Laboratory for Astronomy, Astrophysics and Astrobiology at the Faculty in Niš, and participated in several international projects. He has also been actively involved in science communication for more than two decades.
Admission to the lecture is free and no registration is required.
This lecture series is organised by the Institute of Physics Belgrade and the Astronomical Observatory Belgrade as part of an international initiative by the European Astrobiology Institute, in collaboration with Europlanet.