Does it worry you if NASA decided to send out the beetle's song to Polaris? What if aliens misinterpret and think that we are a world that wants to rule the universe, I mean what if the default translator in their most advanced technology doesn't do a decent job or isn't updated with the latest edition of Microsoft Encarta??? Well Dr Douglas Vakoch of the SETI Institute, which has been leading the search for extraterrestrials, told New Scientist magazine: "Before sending out even symbolic messages, we need an open discussion about the potential risks." They voiced fears that advertising humanity's place in the universe - as happened last week when Nasa broadcast a Beatles track towards the North Star - could attract the attention of aliens who are less friendly than ET. For the last 20 years, it has used radio telescopes to scan the skies for alien radio messages. After getting nothing but static, some of its researchers have decided that listening for aliens is not enough. Instead, they say, we should be actively sending out friendly signals to the stars. Radio waves, like other forms of electromagnetic radiation, travel at the speed of light - around 186,000 miles per second. This means it would take a radio broadcast four years to reach the closest star, Alpha Proxima, which is just over four light years aways.
Dr Richard Gott, an astrophysicist from Princeton University, told New Scientist: "SETI's big mistake is that it's relying on ET to do all the heavy lifting."We'll all just be sitting round listening, but nobody's doing any talking. Let's hope our future generations' thanks us for doing this as they are the ones who may have to bare the brunt.
1 Comment:
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February 12, 2008 at 1:52 AM
I better start diggin my underground shelter now...
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