A new study has cast doubt on the chances of finding advanced alien civilisations anywhere near Earth. Researchers from the Austrian Academy of Sciences, presenting their findings at the Europlanet Science Congress and the American Astronomical Society’s DPS 2025, suggest that the nearest technologically advanced civilisation may be 33,000 light years away-on the opposite side of the Milky Way.

For aliens to exist alongside us in time, their civilisation would likely need to have survived for at least 280,000 years, much longer than humanity’s current technological age. Scientists based their calculations on rare planetary conditions such as nitrogen-oxygen atmospheres, plate tectonics, and balanced carbon dioxide levels-factors crucial for life and technological development.

Too little oxygen would prevent fire and metal smelting, while too much carbon dioxide could trigger a runaway greenhouse effect. Even Earth itself faces a future where photosynthesis could stop within a billion years as CO₂ gets locked into rocks.

The findings suggest extraterrestrial intelligences, if they exist, are not only rare but also likely far older and more enduring than us. Still, researchers say searching for ET remains vital-since even one discovery would be humanity’s greatest breakthrough.