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Researchers have discovered that giant elliptical galaxies do not harbor extraterrestrial life as previously thought. In 2015, a study argued that elliptical galaxies are 10,000 times more likely to host habitable, life-sustaining planets than spiral galaxies. The Milky Way galaxy, where we reside, is a spiral galaxy that has stellar cluster arms that rotate from its center and are flat, while elliptical galaxies are ancient galaxies, which were smooth and three-dimensional.
The 2015 research stated that elliptical galaxies are older, less volatile in terms of star supernovae, and have more settled stars that could support life.
However, new research from the University of Arkansas (U of A) believes that the most likely place to find technology-dependent civilizations like ours would be in spiral galaxies, and the research has a simple argument to abide by.
The Copernicus Principle is a theory that, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, an object or some property of an object should be considered typical of its class rather than atypical.
In other words, without evidence to the contrary, we are the norm and there will be civilizations like us in areas like ours.
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This would mean that the best place to search for aliens is in the spiral galaxies, as it is the only place where we know where life exists, that is, Earth.
Daniel Whitmire, a retired professor of astrophysics who is an instructor in the U of A Department of Mathematical Sciences, said: “The 2015 document had a serious problem with the principle of mediocrity.
In other words, why don’t we find ourselves living in a large elliptical galaxy? For me this raised a red flag.
“Every time you come across as an outlier, that is, outlier, then that’s a problem for the mediocrity principle.”
Professor Whitmore also describes another reason why elliptical galaxies may not be as suitable for life.
A U of A statement said: “They were awash in lethal radiation when they were younger and smaller, and went through a series of quasar and star burst supernova events at the time.”
Professor Whitmore added: “The evolution of elliptical galaxies is totally different from the Milky Way.
“These galaxies went through an early phase where there is so much radiation that it would have simply completely bombarded any habitable planet in the galaxy, and subsequently the rate of star formation, and therefore any new planet, was essentially zero.
“No new stars are forming and all the old ones have been irradiated and sterilized.”
