| Factor | Abbreviation | Ward/Brownlee/Gonzalez estimate |
| Number of earth-like planets in Milky Way having complex lifeforms | |
| Number of stars in the Milky Way | |
| Number of planets in a star's habitable zone | |
| Fraction of stars in galactic habitable zone | |
| Fraction of stars with planets | |
| Fraction of rocky (not gaseous) planets | |
| Fraction of habitable planets where microbial life arises | |
| Fraction of planets where complex life evolves | |
| Fraction of lifespan of planet where complex life present | |
| Fraction of habitable planets with large moon | |
| Fraction of star systems with Jupiter-like planets | |
| Fraction of planets with sufficiently low extinction events | |