'Controversial' message sent to the stars beyond our galaxy 50 years ago should arrive in 222 centuries
A ‘controversial’ message that was sent to the stars beyond our galaxy over 50 years ago should be arriving in 222 centuries.
Back in 1974, scientists sent the message using the Arecibo radio telescope as a symbol of humanity’s technological capabilities.
Aimed at a group of stars located a whopping 22,000 light years away from Earth, the message is still yet to reach its destination and it won’t arrive in our lifetime.
However, despite the incredible feat, sending out the message in an attempt to communicate with alien life was a controversial move.
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The message was very simple and written out in binary code, with information about DNA, our solar system and a basic outline of a human figure.
Five elements of the periodic table were also described.
It was beamed out to the stars as a radio transmission sent from the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico on November 16, 1974.
But not everyone agreed that this was the right move for humanity, with some people arguing that advertising our location in the universe could end up putting a target on our back.
This sparked theories like the Dark Forest hypothesis, which suggests that the universe is a hostile place where civilizations must remain quiet and hidden in order to avoid being found and invaded by other alien civilizations.
By broadcasting our whereabouts, it could be argued that we might be putting humanity at risk of invasion from alien life.
However, that doesn’t mean we should start panicking just yet - the message wasn’t sent out with a purpose to contact aliens.
Instead, it was aimed at showcasing humanity’s tech innovation.
The signal will weaken as it ventures further into space and its unlikely to have a detectable signal by the time it reaches the stars.
Discussing the controversial message on social media, one person wrote on Reddit: “Only 24,950 more years to go! Then an additional 25,000 for the reply. Unless we get ghosted - which would be incredibly depressing.”
Another said: “Over 22,000 light years away. Even if an alien race is there, successfully receives and decodes it, and then decides to reply, that is going to be one very very very very very very very slow conversation.”
A third joked: “At least that warrior race that lives 50 light years away never responded.”
And a fourth person added: “How quaint of us, to assume that aliens will do no harm when they learn about our biology and environment.”