An American astronomer, Piero Madau, affiliated with the University of California, Santa Cruz, has outlined a radius around Earth within which signs of extraterrestrial life might be detected. His calculations point to a search range of roughly 65 light-years from our planet, a finding detailed in a paper published in Earth and Planetary Astrophysics (EPA) journal.
Madau provides a mathematical framework to estimate the number of potentially habitable planets at a distance of 100 parsecs (about 326 light-years) from the Sun. He posits that, if our solar system is typical, this swath of space could harbor as many as 11,000 Earth-like worlds orbiting within the habitable zones of their respective stars.
The work emphasizes a time-sensitive view of life’s emergence in the cosmos, considering the evolving history of star formation within our galaxy, the enrichment of the interstellar medium with heavy elements synthesized in the earliest stellar generations, the process of planet formation, and the distribution of water and complex organic molecules among planetary systems.
Based on the conventional timeline for life’s origin on Earth, Madau applies a cautious estimate of how common life might be on other planets. His model also explores the practical implications for how far away the closest life-supporting exoplanet could lie.
“If microbial life appeared on other worlds as swiftly as it did here, the nearest habitable Earth-like planet would be within about 20 parsecs, or 65 light-years,” the researcher notes.
Earlier ideas have suggested that artificial intelligence could play a role in scanning the cosmos for biosignatures on Mars and other planets. The evolving integration of AI technologies into astronomical research continues to shape how scientists search for life beyond Earth, improving the ability to sift through vast data sets for meaningful indicators.