Is there a fundamental flaw in why we have not received a signal from an advanced alien civilization? How do we decode an alien message –alien is alien so it might be impossible. What if they communicate chemically? Will they use the language of math and science signaling at 1420 megahertz? What if we are too primitive to comprehend a message or the technology of its signal that may exist in a form beyond matter? What if it’s a message from an extinct civilization astrophysicist such as Harvard’s Avi Loeb believes exist in our galaxy? Or, as John Gertz suggests for Scientific American, maybe the aliens are already in our solar system, probably in the form of robotic probes.
Avi Shporer, Research Scientist, MIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research. A Google Scholar, Avi was formerly a NASA Sagan Fellow at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). His motto, not surprisingly, is a quote from Carl Sagan: “Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known.”
Perhaps in 10,000 years, or perhaps tomorrow, the inhabitants of Earth will wake up and find an alien spaceship the size of the Moon parked in orbit, writes China’s preeminent ‘hard’ science-fiction author and philosopher of alien contact, Liu Cixin, described as China’s Arthur. C. Clarke. Liu warns that the universe is a “dark forest” and a possible and terrifying reason behind the Fermi Paradox.
Today’s YouTube episode of The Galaxy Report with two stories that alter our knowledge of planet Earth, our galaxy and the vast cosmos beyond. The first is a journey to the center of the Milky Way and the detection of strange, exotic objects by the UCLA Galactic Center Group. The second, a chilling warning from China’s philosopher of alien civilizations, science-fiction author Liu Cixin.
“Perhaps in ten thousand years, the starry sky that humankind gazes upon will remain empty and silent,” writes Liu Cixin, China’s foremost philosopher of first contact and author of the Three Body Problem. “But perhaps tomorrow we’ll wake up and find an alien spaceship the size of the Moon parked in orbit.”
China’s FAST radio telescope, with a dish the size of 30 football fields, measuring 500 meters in diameter, dwarfing Puerto Rico’s 300-meter Arecibo Observatory, will launch its astronomers into the nation’s role as the new space superpower cinched with its epic landing of the Chang’e-4 Rover this week on the Moon’s far side. FAST could double the known pulsar tally of 2,000, says Peng Bo, FAST’s deputy manager and acting observatory director. It’s also ideal for mapping gas clouds between stars and for listening for signals from alien civilizations.
The Galaxy Report newsletter brings you daily news of space and science that has the capacity to provide clues to the mystery of our existence and add a much needed cosmic perspective in our current Anthropocene Epoch.
Rise of Oxygen –An Evolutionary Moment that Shaped Our Planet
Our Universe Wouldn’t Exist Without Phase Transitions to The Quest for Quantum Gravity (The Galaxy Report Weekend)
Will We Actually Be Able to Detect a Signal from an Alien Intelligence? (Weekend Feature)
Is Something Missing from the Standard Model of the Universe? (Holiday Feature)
Did Water Exist in the Galaxies of the Early Cosmos? (Holiday Feature)
Monster Galaxies at the Dawn of TimeHas Milky Way’s Twin Been Discovered to Will Artificial Intelligence Reveal New Laws of Physics? (The Galaxy Report)
“Alien Habitats Could Be Just About Anywhere”
Was the First Planet Beyond the Milky Way Discovered, or Something Even More Exotic? (Weekend Feature)
“Is Our Universe Extremely Unnatural, a Weird Permutation?” (Weekend Feature)
