The Drake Equation, named after its creator, radio astronomer Frank Drake, is an attempt to frame the question scientifically by assigning a value to all the relevant terms, from the number of ...

How many intelligent civilizations exist throughout the universe? That’s the question that the famous Drake Equation was created to answer. Devised by astrophysicist Frank Drake in 1961 ...

In 1961 Drake would formalize these factors in what is called the Drake Equation, which is: Here N is the number of civilizations within our galaxy with whom communication may be possible.

Va., that Drake developed the eponymous—and now famous—Drake Equation, which calculates how many advanced and detectable civilizations there should be in the Milky Way in any one year.

Within a year, the first scientific meeting to discuss the prospects of a search was held in Green Bank, during which the Drake Equation was introduced. The era of SETI had dawned.