The planetarium hypothesis, conceived in 2001 by Stephen Baxter, attempts to provide a solution to the Fermi paradox by holding that our astronomical observations represent an illusion, created by a Type III civilization capable of manipulating matter and energy on galactic scales. He postulates that we do not see evidence of extraterrestrial life because the universe has been engineered so that it appears empty of other life.[1]

Background

Main article: Fermi paradox

There is no reliable or reproducible evidence that aliens have visited Earth.[2][3] No transmissions or evidence of intelligent extraterrestrial life have been detected or observed anywhere other than Earth in the Universe. This runs counter to the knowledge that the Universe is filled with a very large number of planets, some of which likely hold the conditions hospitable for life. Life on Earth has shown the tendency to typically expand until it fills all available niches.[4] These contradictory facts form the basis for the Fermi paradox, of which the Planetarium hypothesis is one proposed solution.

Criticism

The hypothesis has been considered by some authors as speculative[5][6] and even next to useless in any practical scientific sense and more related to the theological mode of thinking along with the zoo hypothesis.[7]

References

  1. ^ Baxter, Stephen, 2001, The Planetarium Hypothesis: A Resolution of the Fermi Paradox, Journal of the British Interplanetary Society, Vol. 54, no. 5/6, pp. 210–216.
  2. ^ Tingay, Steven. "Is there evidence aliens have visited Earth? Here's what's come out of US congress hearings on 'unidentified aerial phenomena'". The Conversation. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
  3. ^ Kolbert, Elizabeth (14 January 2021). "Have We Already Been Visited by Aliens?". The New Yorker. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
  4. ^ "Are We All Alone, or could They be in the Asteroid Belt" by Michael D. Papagiannis, Quarterly Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society, Vol. 19, p.277
  5. ^ Web, Stephen (2002). If the Universe Is Teeming with Aliens – Where Is Everybody?: Fifty Solutions to Fermi's Paradox and the Problem of Extraterrestrial Life. Springer. ISBN 978-0-387-95501-8. Retrieved 24 April 2011.
  6. ^ Ćirković, Milan M. (13 May 2008). "Against the Empire". Journal of the British Interplanetary Society. 61: 246. arXiv:0805.1821. Bibcode:2008JBIS...61..246C.
  7. ^ Cirković, MM; Vukotić, B. (December 2008). "Astrobiological phase transition: towards resolution of Fermi's paradox". Origins of Life and Evolution of the Biosphere. 38 (6): 535–47. Bibcode:2008OLEB...38..535C. doi:10.1007/s11084-008-9149-y. PMID 18855114. S2CID 23047467.

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Astrobiology
Interstellar communications
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