Where is Everyone?
I once stumbled upon a tweet by Jasmine, one of my favourite space accounts on Twitter, asking people to share the scariest fact about space they know. One response stood out to me, “Finding intelligent life, also not finding life. Both are scary.” It’s hard to put into words how relatable that sentiment is. Just thinking about the vastness of space and the numbers involved is enough to send shivers down your spine. An estimated 200 billion galaxies are in the universe, each with around 10 planets. It’s hard to accept that we may be the only form of intelligent life in the Milky Way, let alone the entire universe. The thought of what could be out there in the vastness of space is genuinely chilling.
The possibility of being alone in the universe is a humbling and sometimes terrifying thought. The fear of being isolated and disconnected from the rest of the universe can be a profound source of anxiety. In addition, the lack of evidence for extraterrestrial life would also have implications for our understanding of the origin and evolution of life on Earth. It would suggest that the conditions that led to life on Earth may be unique and that the universe may be much less hospitable to life than previously thought. This could have profound implications for our long-term survival and the future of humanity.
Since many of the Sun-like stars are billions of years older than the Sun, the Earth should have already been visited by extraterrestrial civilizations, or at least their probes — Chris Impe
On the other hand, finding intelligent life is equally scary because what if they stage a coup and snatch Earth from us or colonize us? Many will agree when I say there are few known resourceful and conducive habitable planets like Earth. We might be below rank on the Kardashev scale and unable to hack many things, but we are one promising civilization.
“If we are in danger of an alien invasion, it’s too late.” — Douglas Vakoch, Director of Messaging Extraterrestrial Intelligence
The fear of finding intelligent life comes from the unknown and the uncertainty of what might happen if we were to make contact. For some, the idea of an encounter with an extraterrestrial civilization is fascinating and frightening. The fear of being overwhelmed by a technologically advanced civilization or the fear of being seen as a threat and attacked are some of the concerns that come to mind. Or what if we are the more advanced ones and doing what we know how to do best, we start to exploit them?
The discovery of intelligent life would be a transformative event that could impact many aspects of human life. While the discovery of intelligent life would raise many questions and challenges, it would also open up new avenues for exploration and discovery and help deepen our understanding of the universe and our place within it.
Scientific Advancements: The discovery of intelligent life could lead to a better understanding of the origin and evolution of life in the universe and provide new insights into the search for habitable environments and the development of life.
Philosophical Implications: The discovery of intelligent life could challenge our current understanding of our place in the universe and the uniqueness of human existence. It could also raise questions about the nature of intelligence, consciousness, religion, and morality.
Social and Political Implications: The discovery of intelligent life could have significant social and political implications, mainly if there are indications of extraterrestrial civilizations with advanced technology. It could lead to international relations and cooperation changes and raise new ethical and security concerns.
Technological Implications: The discovery of intelligent life could lead to new technological advancements and innovations. For example, if we were to learn about extraterrestrial technologies, it could lead to breakthroughs in areas such as energy, transportation, and communication.
Ways we are exploring the universe for intelligent life:
Search for habitable planets: Scientists use various techniques, such as radial velocity and transit methods, to search for exoplanets in their star’s habitable zone. This is the region where conditions are just right for liquid water to exist, which is seen as an essential requirement for life as we know it.
Listen for radio signals: The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) program has been listening for radio signals from extraterrestrial civilizations for several decades. Scientists are using large radio telescopes to listen for narrowband signals that might be coming from other civilizations.
Study of exoplanetary atmospheres: By analyzing the light that passes through an exoplanet’s atmosphere, scientists can detect the presence of gases that might indicate the presence of life. For example, the presence of oxygen or methane in an exoplanet’s atmosphere could imply the existence of microbial life.
Look for biosignatures: Scientists also look for biosignatures in other solar systems or signs of life. These can include chemical imbalances in exoplanetary atmospheres or the presence of complex organic molecules indicative of life.
Sample return missions: There are ongoing efforts to send missions to other planets and moons in our solar system to collect samples and study their composition. These missions will provide valuable data about the potential for life on these bodies and may provide clues about the conditions necessary for life to exist.
The search for extraterrestrial life is mainly focused on detecting radio waves or technosignatures as evidence of advanced civilizations. This is due to radio waves being an efficient way of communication, which is likely used by extraterrestrial civilizations. Technosignatures, such as narrowband signals, are artificially generated radio signals that can be detected using radio telescopes and analyzed to see if they contain information or patterns that an advanced technological civilization could only produce. The SETI program is a significant initiative using radio waves and technosignatures to search for extraterrestrial life.
One big concern is that we may be using the wrong tools for the job, like trying to text aliens with a flip phone. We might be stuck in the past, listening for radio signals with outdated technology. Meanwhile, aliens might send out intergalactic Snapchat stories that we can’t see. And even if we do have the right technology, there’s a chance that we might not be looking in all the right places, but it is still worth a shot. Discovering intelligent life would be like finding the Holy Grail of science, and who wouldn’t want to be Indiana Jones for a day?
We just might be able to climb up this technological scale soon!
The Square Kilometer Array (SKA) is a proposed international radio astronomy observatory that is planned to be the world’s largest and most sensitive radio telescope. It is a next-generation observatory that will be made up of thousands of individual radio antennae spread across vast distances, providing a total collecting area of one square kilometer. The SKA is designed to observe the universe at radio frequencies with unprecedented sensitivity and resolution, providing astronomers with new information about a wide range of astronomical objects and phenomena, including stars, galaxies, black holes, and the formation of the first galaxies. The SKA is expected to play a crucial role in advancing our understanding of the universe and solving many of the biggest mysteries in astronomy and astrophysics.
Prepare; we might get a call from Yoda soon!
