[Jogger]

Will astronomers detect a signal from an alien civilization sometime in the near future?

Radio and TV signals from Earth have been travelling great distances in space. It's possible that aliens have watched an episode of I Love Lucy.

There are billions of stars in our galaxy and billions of galaxies in the universe. It's possible, although unlikely, that a signal from an alien civilization is heading towards Earth. It could be detected sometime this century, or it may not be in our neighborhood for another 10,000 years.

So what would happen if astronomers detected a signal from an alien civilization? Would the government keep it a secret? Would there be mass panic?

Nobody knows right now if life exists elsewhere in the universe. It's possible a few or perhaps many will know the answer in the midst of a declining oil supply and a changing climate from global warming.

[AWPrime]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Jogger', 'W')ill astronomers detect a signal from an alien civilization sometime in the near future?

[Niagara]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('AWPrime', '
')1. No intelligent species would use radio waves to communicate with other starsystems, it is just too slow.

[smallpoxgirl]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Jogger', 'S')o what would happen if astronomers detected a signal from an alien civilization? Would the government keep it a secret?

[Daculling]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Niagara', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('AWPrime', '
')1. No intelligent species would use radio waves to communicate with other starsystems, it is just too slow.

[Stratovarius]

My 9-dimensional crystal matrix is modulated with tachyons.

[Battle_Scarred_Galactico]

Don't get your hopes up, the distances involved would take even light hundreds of thousands, even millions of years to travel.

[AWPrime]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Niagara', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('AWPrime', '
')1. No intelligent species would use radio waves to communicate with other starsystems, it is just too slow.

[Omnitir]

Actually, despite what Sagan argued and what Star Trek conveyed, if you look at the numbers it is actually highly unlikely that there is any other intelligence anywhere in the galaxy.

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', ' ')There are billions of stars in our galaxy

[Aaron]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'Y')es, but only a tiny fraction of those are anything close to the perfect size for Earth-like planets to exist. And of that tiny fraction, only a tiny fraction would likely have the right planetary setup to protect the inner system and allow life to form. And of that tiny fraction, there would likely only be a tiny fraction that have a planet at just the right distance from the star to support life. And of that tiny fraction, it is incredibly unlikely that a precise and marvellously lucky collision occurred with another planet that was just enough to form an abnormally large moon but not destroy the planet, and so allowing stable seasons and gently cycling gravitational pulls.

[EnergyUnlimited]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Daculling', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Niagara', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('AWPrime', '
')1. No intelligent species would use radio waves to communicate with other starsystems, it is just too slow.

[EnergyUnlimited]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('AWPrime', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Niagara', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('AWPrime', '
')1. No intelligent species would use radio waves to communicate with other starsystems, it is just too slow.

[EnergyUnlimited]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Battle_Scarred_Galactico', 'D')on't get your hopes up, the distances involved would take even light hundreds of thousands, even millions of years to travel.

[EnergyUnlimited]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Omnitir', '
')And then there’s Fermi’s paradox. Any advanced civilization, even with space flight speeds equal to our own, has had enough time to colonise the entire galaxy long before we even evolved. If they exist, why can’t we see their galactic super-civilization?

[AWPrime]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('EnergyUnlimited', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('AWPrime', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Niagara', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('AWPrime', '
')1. No intelligent species would use radio waves to communicate with other starsystems, it is just too slow.

[EnergyUnlimited]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('AWPrime', '
')I think you mean our galaxy, because this universe is a lot bigger.

[AWPrime]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('EnergyUnlimited', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('AWPrime', '
')I think you mean our galaxy, because this universe is a lot bigger.

[Niagara]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('EnergyUnlimited', 'P')ersonally I do not believe, that there is much of intelligent life out there.

[EnergyUnlimited]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('AWPrime', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('EnergyUnlimited', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('AWPrime', '
')I think you mean our galaxy, because this universe is a lot bigger.

[NEOPO]

So sad.
So many people unable to think outside the box.
Thank you for keeping an open mind - you know who you are

"The halls of science and all the lunatics committed there"