Alberto Monteiro wrote: >But why whould a bigger galaxy [and, AFAIK, Andromeda >is not _that_ much bigger than the Milky Way] necessary >imply that life should start earlier? It could be the >opposite: bigger galaxy => higher number of supernovas => >higher chance that life gets wiped out in the earlier >stages.
I was wrong, I've done some research, and as it turns out Andromeda is thought to be less massive than the Milky Way. It does have a larger diameter - about twice that of home spiral, which is what I must have read somewhere. Ironically this means that your supernovas are the only things that actually make it more likely that intelligent life would arise there. Fewer star but lower supernova densities, and more chance for a civilization to escape sterilisation. Wayne Eddy
