Star Clusters Could Host Advanced Civilizations

Over a hundred of crowded clusters of stars on the outskirts of the Milky Way galaxy turned out to be our best chance to find interstellar civilizations in the foreseeable future, a new study by American scientists suggests.

Some 150 star clusters located on the edges of our galaxy could contain worlds inhabited by highly intelligent creatures, according to a study by a team of researchers introduced publicly on Wednesday.

"A globular cluster might be the first place in which intelligent life is identified in our galaxy," Rosanne DiStefano, the lead author of the study, stated.

The theory is based on the assessment that planets in those clusters are old enough to host sophisticated life as they might have been constructed more than ten million years ago.

Furthermore, star systems are packed so close there that civilizations could travel between planets as well. This means life and social development could be relatively easily maintained there, researchers suggested.

"We call it the 'globular cluster opportunity,'" Di Stefano pointed out as cited by Desert News. "Sending a broadcast between the stars wouldn't take any longer than a letter from the U.S. to Europe in the 18th century."

Many astronomers criticized the hypothesis, calling it "provocative," Desert News reported. They stressed that there is no evidence of existing space bodies in clusters that could be referred to as planets.

Only one actual planet was spotted in clusters to date, according to media reports, but researchers said it's too early to rule out the possibility of finding other habitable areas in clusters.

Di Stefano underscored that their theory is yet to be proved and added that there is no better place in the universe than these global clusters that could be a home for advanced civilizations.