NOVA scienceNOW | Hello, this is Earth | PBS

http://www.pbs.org/nova/sciencenow If Earth received a message from outer space what, if anything, would we say back?

Jill Tartar, director of the SETI Institute, has thought long and hard about what we could, should, and would say to an alien civilization.

Don't miss the new season of NOVA scienceNOW, airing every Wednesday this summer. Watch past episodes of the program, try out interactives, and more on our Web site: http://www.pbs.org/nova/sciencenow

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• aliens
• ET
• extraterrestrial
• Jill
• messages
• NOVA
• outer
• PBS
• Science
• search
• SETI
• space
• Tartar
• UFO

[jayjasonjay]

I'm sure if there's aliens, they wouldn't want anything to do with us. We're violent and stinky among other things. But hey! I'm still hoping they come say hi!

[ProbableHypothesis]

The key to life is the fact that we have water and the right ratio of gases in our air, our planet is tilted on it's axis creating the seasons, we rotate on our axis enough to keep temps in range, we are the right distance from our sun (which is the right size and temp), combined with our atmosphere keeps temps in range. The list goes on. The chance we'll find other life out there is more slim than you really think. We are one in an astronomical number, we are extremely rare. We could be alone.

[MazeleyFanClub]

@ProbableHypothesis Life has adapted on earth which doesn't even breathe oxygen. Life MAY be rare in the universe but it isn't unique. However, civilizations probably destroy themselves as a matter of course. Either with climate change, or nukes, or if not then something else. In fact, it's hard for me to imagine a technological civilization surviving for long. Tech advances too fast for animal nature to deal with it.

[bertus198]

@ProbableHypothesis we are extremely rare. We could be alone. i agree that life is porbely extremely rare but alone no of the miljoens maybey biljoens planets that there are let say 1% change of live still leaves hundreds of plantes with life

[bertus198]

@ProbableHypothesis we are extremely rare. We could be alone. i agree that life is porbely extremely rare but alone no of the miljoens maybey biljoens planets that there are let say 1% change of live still leaves hundreds of plantes with life

[TheSim666]

@ProbableHypothesis How can something be rare in the infinity of space?

[rafpac6]

how did you get the number 30 light years? Or where did you hear of it? I am not flaming just interested.

[t0mat0juic3]

unorganized cacophony....

[xkrazyxboix101]

I think we have been listening for signals for about 30+ years so it's safe to say intelligent life isn't in a 30 light year radius.

[BruuuceWayyyne]

He LOL's

[trailkeeper]

I sent a comment but dont see it and I'm not sure if you need approval or anything so here goes again: The best way to transmit information about aliens is with black and white digital images then other forms can follow.

[trailkeeper]

Maby some kind of continuous wave signal would mean communication, but if you want anything more than that it would have to be digital black and white images since numbers alone could not say anything about them other than they use numbers. What else could be used?