Long distance space travel isn’t yet possible for us – and may not be for them If alien life is out there, it could take thousands of years before we hear a peep from it.ĩ. A message sent from one of these stars would need to travel in the region of 25,000 years before it even reached us. For a new project called Breakthrough Listen, scientists are searching a million of the nearest stars, but they’re also looking at stars that are in the middle of our Milky Way, 25,000 light years away. Stars are so far away, it could take thousands of years for an extra-terrestrial message to reach usĪs well as method of communication, distance poses a huge obstacle. It’s possible that we just haven’t hit upon the right method. However, there are so many different ways in which a lifeform might send signals, we could spend our lives looking for them and get nowhere. “We’ve now used radio telescopes to listen out for signals from extra-terrestrial civilisations since about 1960,” says Tim who is Director of Jodrell Bank. Or we may be trying to communicate to each other using opposing methodsĪs soon as big telescopes like the one at Jodrell Bank Observatory were built, scientists realised that if there was a civilisation out there with a similar bit of technology, we might be able to pick up signals sent from one to the other. For example, she says, “If you live by a star which is quite active, you might live below the ground… It doesn’t mean that intelligent life isn’t out there but you might not have the means of transmitting because you live below the surface.” 6. But there are ways of explaining why this hasn’t happened, says Maggie: “Our biggest problem is we only have one example of life, and that’s life on this planet.” As the great Italian physicist Enrico Fermi said, it’s hard to explain why aliens haven’t made it to Earth. With 300 billion stars in the Milky Way, many with solar systems, and ten billion years or more in which a civilisation could have arisen in this galaxy, it is difficult to believe that no lifeform ever reached the point where it could travel across interstellar distances. Intelligent lifeforms may be living in conditions that make communication difficult Finding life on Earth thriving where we didn’t think it possible has opened our eyes to the concept that there might be moons able to support life too.ĥ. In the past, we believed life could only exist on a planet, a certain distance from its local star (so it has the right levels of radiation). These lifeforms are based on familiar DNA – so it’s life as we know it – but they exist in the deep trenches of our oceans, far away from sunlight. When we’re contemplating the existence of life beyond our planet, it’s worth considering that we’ve discovered microbes inhabiting spaces on Earth where the idea of survival was previously inconceivable. We’ve found life on earth in places that we didn’t think life could possibly exist “We’re almost certainly – within the next decade or so – going to find a planet that may well even show potential evidence for life.” 3. “We know of hundreds of potentially habitable planets,” says Professor Tim O’Brien. If we detect the kind of substances we find in Earth’s atmosphere, it wouldn’t necessarily confirm that there’s life out there – but it’s a strong indication that it’s possible. This is where starlight passes through the atmosphere of the exoplanet, allowing us to do a chemical analysis. We are able to measure the atmospheres of these exoplanets using a technique called spectroscopy. We already know of hundreds of potentially habitable planets If you like stories that pull the rug out from under you. With All The Twists And Turns 'Behind Her Eyes,' You'll Want To Watch It Twice: Netflix's new six-part miniseries starts out as a romantic drama but quickly spins into something else entirely. He reflects on writing, mortality and his experiences in Vietnam in the new documentary, The War and Peace of Tim O'Brien. Tim O'Brien On Late-In-Life Fatherhood And The Things He Carried From Vietnam: Now 74, O'Brien didn't become a father until his late 50s. Our weekend show emphasizes interviews with writers, filmmakers, actors and musicians, and often includes excerpts from live in-studio concerts. "I thought I was doing the wrong thing by being there."įresh Air Weekend highlights some of the best interviews and reviews from past weeks, and new program elements specially paced for weekends. "The problem for me really is that I questioned the rectitude of the war," he says. Tim O'Brien was a foot soldier during the Vietnam War.
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