Population Zero Stars

   I liken our species' breathless anticipation over the possibility of extraterrestrial life existing "out there" amid the skein of stars we can see (which represent less than one-millionth of a single percent of the total stars in our galaxy) to be relatively tantamount to the "watched pot never boils" syndrome. 

   Try to think of it this way.  If Population III stars are the oldest among our galaxy, and Population II stars still a little less ancient, and Population I stars (such as our own Sun) are even younger, then there should by all means be a classification of Population 0 stars—even younger than ours. When you consider the extreme distances in our own solar system between the Sun and our planets, and factor in the even more difficult to comprehend distances in between the stars in our far-flung spiral arm of the galaxy, and so on and so forth, it should be an elementary matter to at least be able to understand that these distances far outstretch our ordinary expectations, attuned to the micro-level here on our planet as our perception of them happens to be. We tend to project our own micro-perceptions out onto the macroverse. It's but the slightest fraction of a small wonder we haven't found any indication of extraterrestrial life.  It's a no-brainer, really. 

   All of which is to point out quite frankly that one important reason we haven't yet made ourselves aware of having discovered any signals or so-called evidence of extraterrestrial life in our region of the galaxy may just be due to the fact we are veritably surrounded by an inordinate number of what we should be considering as "Population 0" stars.  

   Think about it. 

Neutron Star 2004 by NASA