SCALE IT UP

Korey Haynes

In 1964, Soviet astrophysicist Nikolai Kardashev published a paper in which he classified hypothetical alien civilizations by the amount of power they were capable of harnessing. His framework was later called the Kardashev Scale. Within it, Level I civilizations would be capable of utilizing a planet’s worth of power, which he claimed Earth was close to already. (A 2023 Nature paper estimates we’re at Kardashev Level 0.73 out of 3.) Level II civilizations would be able to harness the power of their star, which both he and later researchers took to mean use of a Dyson sphere or similar technology. Aliens with a Level III civilization would have access to power on a galactic scale, a feat that seems unimaginable until you consider that once aliens spread beyond a single…

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Astronomy (Digital) - 1 Issue, May 2025

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