 Stories and content in Weird Darkness can be disturbing for some listeners and is intended for mature audiences only. Parental discretion is strongly advised. We spend plenty of time watching the stars and listening to radio signals. We hope we can finally find the evidence we're not alone in the universe. We eagerly await our first official contact with extraterrestrials, but nothing ever happens. Sometimes we learn an odd signal has been picked up in space and we get our hopes up again. Only to be told later it was nothing more than a neutron star with a very large magnetic field throwing off the bursts or something similar. So where are the aliens we want to hear from and possibly meet? If we assume that we are not the only intelligent species in the universe, then they must be out there. There are many theories, but one stands out as particularly disturbing. It's called the Dark Forest Theory. I'm Darren Marlar and this is Weird Darkness. Welcome, Weirdos. This is Weird Darkness. Here you'll find stories of the paranormal, legends, lore, the strange and bizarre, crime, conspiracy, mysterious, macabre, unsolved and unexplained. Coming up in this episode, do aliens exist in forms we simply are unable to conceive? Have we been looking in the wrong place at the wrong time, in the wrong way for extraterrestrial life? And if they are truly out there, are they watching us? In this episode, we'll look at some reasons why we've never seen aliens, why they might be watching us using probes, why they might not be watching us due to something called the Dark Forest Theory and the possibility that aliens might be invisible. If you're new here, welcome to the show. While you're listening, be sure to check out WeirdDarkness.com for merchandise, to visit sponsors you hear about during the show, sign up for my newsletter, enter contests, connect with me on social media. Plus, you can visit the Hope in the Darkness page if you're struggling with depression or dark thoughts. You can find all of that and more at WeirdDarkness.com. Now, hold your doors, lock your windows, turn off your lights and come with me into the Weird Darkness. So where are the aliens we want to hear from and possibly meet? If we assume we are not the only intelligent species in the universe, then they must be out there. There are many theories why we haven't heard from aliens yet. Some scientists say extraterrestrial civilizations may not be interested in contacting us because we're not intelligent enough to deal with alien species. Our lack of sophisticated technology may also be one reason why we cannot detect aliens. Another option is that extraterrestrials may exist in forms we cannot conceive, meaning, for example, that some aliens may be invisible. We'll delve a bit more into that concept later in the episode. An alarming concept known as the Dark Forest Theory may cast some light on our lack of progress finding aliens. The Dark Forest Theory originates from a science fiction book written by Liuzi Chen. It can easily be applied to interactions between humanity and extraterrestrial life. The plot of the book addresses vital questions of what could happen when a civilization encounters a potentially hostile alien life. In his book, Liuzi Chen writes that all life forms struggle to stay alive. According to the Dark Forest Theory, the greatest problem for other living species is that the real intentions of another life form are unknown. It's impossible to know if the aliens you encounter can or will destroy you if they have the opportunity to do so. To avoid this and ensure your own survival, the safest option for any species is to annihilate other life forms before they have a chance to do the same. In his book, Liuzi Chen writes, The universe is a dark forest. Every civilization is an armed hunter stalking through the trees like a ghost, gently pushing aside branches that block the path and trying to tread without sound. Even breathing is done with care. The hunter has to be careful because everywhere in the forest are stealthy hunters like him. If he finds another life, another hunter, angel or a demon, a delicate infant to tottering old man, a fairy or demigod, there's only one thing he can do. Open fire and eliminate them. It's a gloomy thought, really. Kill or be killed. Contact with other alien species may be dangerous and result in the annihilation of your own race. So this could be the reason why aliens deliberately hide and do not respond to our radio signals. Whether this theory is plausible or not is a matter of opinion. There could be extremely advanced extraterrestrial civilizations out there and they wouldn't fear us because they know their technological capabilities are superior compared to what humans have achieved so far. In a seminal paper published in 1964 in the Journal of Soviet Astronomy, Russian astrophysicist Nikolai Kardashev theorized that advanced civilizations must, therefore, be grouped according to three types. Type 1, 2, and 3 which have mastered planetary, stellar, and galactic forms of energy respectively. It seems unlikely that the Dart Forest theory is relevant when discussing highly advanced extraterrestrial civilizations. On the other hand, there could also be many alien civilizations that are similar to us and they could be frightened and avoid contact fearing us. Looking back at our history, who can blame them? We are still engaged in wars. Why shouldn't they be attacked too? Basically, the Dart Forest theory explains that aliens are purposely hiding in the darkness of space for fear of death. This is the reason why we haven't received a response to our radio signals. Is the Dart Forest theory bizarre or a realistic scenario? But what if the aliens are here after all? Think about it, if you were a member of an alien race, would you think it's wise to initiate contact with humans? Could humanity handle contact with extraterrestrials? According to scientists, extraterrestrials are deliberately waiting for the right moment before they reveal themselves to Earthlings. In a recent study published by the astronomical journal, scientists have tried to shed new light on the Fermi Paradox and the Aurora effect by investigating the existence of alien civilizations on other planets. We model the settlement of the galaxy by space faring civilizations in order to address issues related to the Fermi Paradox. We are motivated to explore the problem in a way that avoids assumptions about the agency, i.e. questions of intent and motivation of any exo-civilization seeking to settle other planetary systems researchers write in their study. Scientists started by considering the speed of an advancing settlement front to determine if the galaxy can become inhabited with space faring civilizations on timescales shorter than its age. They included the directed settlement of nearby, settleable systems through the launching of probes with a finite velocity and range. In addition to this, researchers also considered the effect of stellar motions on the long-term behavior of the settlement front, which adds a diffusive component to its advance. The results of these models demonstrate that the Milky Way can be readily filled in with settled stellar systems under conservative assumptions about interstellar spacecraft velocities and launch rates, scientists said. The Fermi Paradox, a concept presented by physicist Enrico Fermi, regarded the existence of extraterrestrial intelligence has intrigued all researchers searching for alien life. According to the Fermi Paradox, due to the number of planets and stars in the galaxy, there should be another world teeming with intelligent extraterrestrial life. If this is true, then Earth should have already been visited or at least contacted by aliens. However, since humans have not yet come across evidence of intelligent extraterrestrial life, at least not officially, many doubt the existence of alien civilizations at all. Researchers of the recent study say that it is possible extraterrestrials are in close vicinity to the Earth, but they are simply waiting for the time when Earth or the solar system gets closer to their homeworld before sending out a probe or launching an expedition. If long enough is a billion years, well then that's one solution to the Fermi Paradox, Carol Nellenbach told Business Insider. Habitable worlds are so rare that you have to wait longer than any civilization is expected to last before another one comes in range. Every system could be habitable and could be settled, but they wouldn't visit us because they're not close enough, he added. Most people believe that humans will sooner or later establish open contact with aliens, but it's possible certain requirements must be met before this meeting can take place. Science fiction authors and some scientists sometimes say humans will be invited to join the Galactic Club, but when this will happen is unknown. There's also a possibility that advanced extraterrestrial civilizations will not welcome us as new members, so naturally we might wonder what criteria will be used to determine whether we'll be able to enter the Galactic Club or not. According to David Schwartzman, a biogeochemist at Howard University in Washington, D.C., there's a reason not to give up on SETI. Schwartzman thinks aliens are out there, despite the fact that the search for extraterrestrial intelligence, SETI, has only found silence. He also outlines what we need to do for Planet Earth to be initiated into the Galactic Club. Our world will change completely once we enter the Galactic Club. I submit that if we want to enter the Galactic Club, the challenge lies in reconstructing our global political economy. A few minor side effects should result like no more war, no more poverty, a future for all of humanity's children with a substantial proportion of biodiversity intact. We should not expect the Galactic Club to save us from ourselves, Schwartzman said. He continues, LeJay Rickard and I have put forward a scenario for eventual entrance of Earth into the Galactic Club in our paper published in 1988. LeJay Rickard is a radio astronomer and I am a biogeochemist. We proposed that at some future time, our terrestrial civilization might achieve sufficient maturity to proceed with a program to detect so-called leakage radiation, the electromagnetic TV, radio and other broadcast signals that are inadvertently sent out into space. Military radars are the strongest, a possible universal signature of a late-stage primitive civilization, says Schwartzman. In his scientific paper he also writes, This proposed program has a critical distinction from virtually all of observational SETI. Detecting a targeted beacon from E.T. requires that they intended to send one. The absence of evidence is not necessarily evidence of absence if intention is lacking. On the other hand, for a relatively short time, primitive civilizations like us leak radio waves to space, unintended signals that we could potentially detect. The technical requirements for a galaxy-wide search are dictated by the size of the radio telescope, with the detection range proportional to the effective diameter of the telescope. A large enough radio telescope situated in space could potentially set meaningful upper limits on the rate of emergence of primitive Earth-like civilizations, NL in the Drake equation, without ever actually detecting the leakage radiation of even one E.T. civilization. But just how big a telescope is required for this project and at what cost? Our 1988 paper provided such estimates, a dish diameter on the order of 500 kilometers at a cost of roughly $10 trillion. Perhaps the cost has come down somewhat, but note the estimate was in 1988 dollars. This is surely a project with a vanishingly small chance of implementation in today's world. The asteroid belt is estimated to contain over 1 million asteroids with diameters exceeding 1 kilometer. I can only conceive of a demilitarized, newly mature planetary civilization. Call it Earth United, finally, with any intention of implementing such an ambitious project that has no apparent immediate practical benefits. Then and only then would we successfully detect a message from the galactic club, GC, presumably faint enough to be only detectable with a huge radio telescope in space. On the other hand, the GC may be monitoring biotically inhabited planets by remote Bracewell probes that have programmed instructions. Such a probe would plausibly be now hiding in the asteroid belt, as Michael Papachianus once suggested. If the GC exists, there was ample time to set up this surveillance system long ago. Surveillance probes so situated in planetary systems would send welcoming signals to newly mature civilizations with the potential for a real conversation with artificial intelligence constructed by the GC if not reconstructed biological entities. If this proposed surveillance system is absent, we should expect the GC to use highly advanced telescopes to monitor planetary systems that have prospects for the emergence of intelligent life and technical civilizations. These alien telescopes could use gravitational lenses around stars. Planetary system candidates to the GC could expect to receive continuous beacons, but the signals would be very weak or disguised so that they would only be decipherable by newly mature civilizations that just passed the entrance requirement. The problem with this scenario is there would be a fairly long communication delay with the GC because they would be so far away. Nevertheless, reception of a rich message from the GC is possible. The material and or energy resources needed for these signals to be recognized must correspond with great probability to a newly ripe mature civilization. Hence, cleverness in itself cannot be the criteria for successful detection and decipherment, otherwise a brilliant scientist on a primitive civilization might jump the GC protocol. Our world will change completely once we enter the Galactic Club, he concludes. So how are extraterrestrials watching us if all of this is true? Perhaps they use probes, but we don't see them because they are too small for us to see, possibly even microscopic? Scientists suggest we should not dismiss the possibility extraterrestrial probes are currently exploring the universe, with a few maybe even in the vicinity of Earth studying our planet. There are many advantages using von Neumann probes when exploring the universe. A von Neumann probe is a robot designed to reach distant star systems and create factories that will reproduce copies of themselves by the thousands. An alien probe could camouflage itself and set up a threshold test of the technology or intelligence of the recipient species, where the test must be met before the species is allowed to communicate with the device. Scientists have proposed a fleet of extraterrestrial probes might watch our galaxy on a regular basis. If this is true, then why haven't we detected these alien devices? Astrophysicist Zaza Avznamov of Tbilisi State University in Georgia suggests extraterrestrial probes may be so small that we simply cannot spot them. In his science paper, Avznamov explains highly advanced extraterrestrial civilizations could construct and send self-replicating spacecraft out into the universe to explore in a risk-free way. Using hydrogen atoms from interstellar dust to power themselves, these probes could already be floating around, but we may not have spotted them because we're looking for larger evidence of alien life. The conventional approach to the search for extraterrestrial intelligence implies the search for artificial radio signals, or interstellar beacons targeted at the Earth, Osmanov explained. However, extraterrestrial probes could be built on nanoscale, making it very difficult but not impossible to detect these tiny crafts. As the New York Post reports, they could easily self-replicate into a swarm numbering trillions of billions. This swarm of probes would give off some light as they hoovered up photons along their journey. And Osmanov says that they might look just like a comet a few miles across, appearing as infrared light. All the results indicate that if one detects a strange object with extremely high values of luminosity increment, that might be a good sign to place the object in the list of extraterrestrial von Neumann probe candidates, he wrote. We've considered the scenario when the Type II civilization needs to invade the interstellar clouds by means of these self-reproducing robots. And it's been shown that this process will inevitably lead to observational consequences. However, they'd likely only be visible if they remained as a swarm. It would almost certainly be too small to spot if traveling on their own. As we'll discuss more in detail in a few minutes, physicist Paul Davies of the University of Adelaide has even raised the possibility of a von Neumann probe resting on our moon, left over from a previous visitation in our system eons ago. In a paper, scientists Arwin Nicholson and Duncan Forgen take the idea a step further by exploring three different scenarios of probe behavior, using standard powered flight, using gravitational slingshot techniques around stars, and hopscotching star by star to get the maximum speed boost under slingshot trajectories. Interstellar probes can carry out slingshot maneuvers around the stars they visit, gaining a boost in velocity by extracting energy from the star's motion around the galactic center. These maneuvers carry little to no extra energy cost, and in previous work it's been shown that a single Voyager-like probe exploring the galaxy does so 100 times faster when carrying out these slingshots than when navigating purely by powered flight. We expand on these results by repeating the experiment with self-replicating probes. The probes explore a box of stars representative of the local solar neighborhood to investigate how self-replication affects exploration timescales when compared with a single non-replicating probe the team writes in their paper. From the scaling of the probes' performance with star number, we conclude that a fleet of self-replicating probes can indeed explore the galaxy in a sufficiently short time to warrant the existence of the Fermi Paradox, the researchers say. A fleet of self-replicating probes? Is that what extraterrestrials are possibly using to spy on us? Could they be so small, possibly microscopic enough, to keep an eye on us while we are unable to see them? And speaking of not seeing them, what's the theory about invisible aliens? These theories and more when Weird Darkness returns. Central Massachusetts is a land of oddities and apparitions. Stories of the strange and paranormal have been passed down from generation to generation and only the local populace has any idea of just how vast and deep their superstitions run. The world around you is much more than you can touch, taste, smell, see and hear. Some of the stories are funny, some are sad, but all of them give you a taste of what it's like to be from the oddest part of the United States. You can't have a region of the country that has been settled for centuries without getting a few odd tales out of it. Open up a whole new world of fact and fiction that'll leave you with a deep appreciation for the strange and bizarre ghosts and heroes await and the only thing they need to live on is you. Slightly Odd Fitchburg by Ed Sweeney. Now available on Kindle, paperback and audiobook versions on the audiobooks page at WeirdDarkness.com If there is a large fleet of extraterrestrial probes watching our galaxy, the Milky Way, would we even be able to detect them? What reasons could a highly advanced alien civilization have to place probes in orbit around our solar system and across the whole galaxy? In science fiction, the search for inhabitable worlds has been immortalized on TV by heroic captains boldly commanding a lone starship, or as the murderous Borg, a type III civilization which absorbs lower type II civilizations, such as the Federation. However, the most mathematically efficient method to explore space is far less glamorous, to send fleets of von Neumann probes throughout the galaxy, named after John von Neumann, who established the mathematical laws of self-replicating systems. A von Neumann probe, as mentioned before, is a robot designed to reach distant star systems and create factories which will reproduce copies themselves by the thousands. A dead moon, rather than a planet, makes the ideal destination for von Neumann probes since they can easily land and take off from these moons and also because these moons have no erosion. These probes would live off the land, using naturally occurring deposits of iron, nickel, etc. to create the raw ingredients to build a robot factory. They create thousands of copies of themselves which would then scatter and search for other star systems. Similar to a virus colonizing a body many times its size, eventually there would be a sphere of trillions of von Neumann probes expanding in all directions, increasing at a fraction of the speed of light. In this fashion, even a galaxy a hundred thousand light years across may be completely analyzed within, say, a half million years. If a von Neumann probe only finds evidence of primitive life, such as an unstable, savage Type 0 civilization, they might simply lie dormant on the moon, silently waiting for the Type 0 civilization to evolve into a stable Type 1 civilization. After waiting quietly for several millennia, they may be activated when the emerging Type 1 civilization is advanced enough to set up a lunar colony. Physicist Paul Davies of the University of Adelaide has even raised the possibility of a von Neumann probe resting on our own moon, left over from previous visitation in our system thousands or even millions of years ago. If probes might have visited our solar system, we have been too optimistic regarding our ability to detect the probes. The scientists suggest that objections to the existence of extraterrestrial intelligence based on the Fermi paradox are invalid, as they are based on unsupported assumptions that extraterrestrial intelligence or their artifacts are not currently present in our solar system. Humanity's ignorance to potential evidence of ETI and any objects sent by aliens not intended to be found will not be found. An alien probe could camouflage itself and set up a threshold test of the technology or intelligence of the recipient species, where the test must be met before the species is allowed to communicate with the device. Evidence in the form of spent or destroyed probes is less likely, as any civilization attempting interstellar exploration are presumably skilled engineers and would send probes with the ability to self-repair due to the large travel distances and times required for such a task, giving the probes a very long lifespan. Then there is the intriguing question why extraterrestrials would like to place probes in various locations of the galaxy. If exploration probes are continuously traveling at maximum speed and constantly dispersing radially across the galaxy, predators would have a hard time catching their prey. Light travel delay times would squelch communication. This means that all probes would know exactly where every other probe has been and is heading. Each probe would leave behind an omnidirectional beacon that emits a signal showing a star has been visited. Or probes could deposit a captain's log for other probes to read out. In other words, such extraterrestrial probes would lurk in potentially habitable planetary systems to wait for signs of intelligent life in order to collect data. At the end, the data collected by the entire fleet could be placed into a giant galactic archive. It would be a resource for all interstellar civilizations that are smart enough to find it, enter the correct password, and download survey data on many billions of star systems. Some theories can be very controversial, and this one is. A scientist claims invisible aliens share our biosphere. He suggests these extraterrestrials also monitor our planet's climate changes. Dr. Young Haichi, an instructor in Korea at Oxford's Oriental Institute, thinks human civilization may be coming to an end. In 2012, while giving a lecture titled Alien Abduction and the Environmental Crisis, Dr. Young Haichi went public, saying he is convinced we are not alone and extraterrestrials are much closer than most think. Despite lots of criticism, Dr. Young Haichi has not changed his views. He continued to elaborate on his theory and published a book in Korean. The title can be translated to Alien Visitations and the End of Humanity. In 2018, Dr. Young Haichi approached the Oxford Union to propose a debate on the subject, but the proposal was not accepted. According to Dr. Haichi's theory, extraterrestrials want to colonize our planet. To achieve their goal, they interbred with humans and produce a new hybrid species. As Oxford student reports, second-generation hybrids are, according to Jacobs, walking unobserved among us. Dr. Haichi argued that it is not only scientists and theologians, but also non-human species who appear to be greatly concerned about the survivability of the human species. He pointed out that the timing of alien's appearance coincides with the Earth facing major problems, climate change and nuclear weapons in particular. He concludes that it may be more or less assumed that the hybrid project is a response to this impending demise of human civilization. He went on to argue that if we act now on climate change, not only can we save ourselves but also prove aliens wrong in their judgment of our moral capacity. Dr. Young Haichi thinks there are four types of aliens, small, tall and bold, aliens with scales and snake eyes, and finally, insect-like. The latter of these seems to be the highest in hierarchy, he said, and gives orders to the lower ranks. Whilst he states that cases of alien abductions are diverse, he notes that what's common is that they are all conducting some kind of biological experiment, including the production of a hybrid. Explaining his theory of a comprehensive biosystem, Dr. Haichi stated, if they are far, they shouldn't be concerned about us. I don't think that they are from far away. They are just next to us. We can't see them. We can use an analogy of fish, which can think and perceive only in the way they can and humans also perceive only in the way we can, so our perception of the world is limited by our organs. According to Dr. Haichi's theory, the fact that aliens and humans share the same biosphere means that climate change bears a negative impact on them, thus accounting for their increased interference in human affairs. Dr. Haichi went on to outline his three hypotheses as to why aliens may want to produce hybrids with humans. He stated, one possibility is that they find our DNA valuable for the preservation of the stock. Secondly, to create species that can survive in future climate conditions. Thirdly, some abductees report that these hybrids are of very high intelligence, so they are producing these hybrids as a problem solver, a future leader. When asked whether he holds a pessimistic view of the future, Dr. Haichi expressed concern that there is a lack of political will to prevent climate change, even if we have the necessary technology, he said. Judging from the way the ETs are reacting, they have a better view of our future, perhaps it is pointing to a pessimistic future. So they come not for the sake of us, but for the sake of them, their survival. But their survival is actually our survival as well, the survival of the entire biosphere. That is where I progressed in developing my theory, and I am still looking for more evidence to support my view, Dr. Young Haichi said. Do aliens exist in forms we cannot conceive, as several scientists have pointed out? Have we been looking in the wrong place, at the wrong time in the wrong way, asked Dr. Paul Davies from Arizona State University. Xenology is a most fascinating subject, as it deals with all aspects of extraterrestrial life. We would all like to know what they look like, what they think, how they behave, and so on. However, in order to answer those questions, we must first find those extraterrestrial civilizations. As the quest for extraterrestrial life continues, scientists keep debating what methods should be used. According to Dr. Paul Davies, the approach currently being undertaken by SETI researchers is too narrow, assuming aliens communicate the way we do here on Earth. There are an estimated 250 billion stars in the Milky Way alone, and over 70 sextillion, that is the number 7 with 22 zeros behind it, in the visible universe, and many of them are surrounded by multiple planets. The sheer size of the known universe is staggeringly and inconceivably vast. The odds are they are being only one single planet that evolved life among all that unfathomable vastness seems so incredible that it's all but completely irrational to believe. But then, where are they? asked physicist Enrico Fermi while having lunch with his colleagues in 1950. Fermi questioned if there are other advanced extraterrestrial civilizations then why is there no evidence of such, like spacecraft or probes floating around the Milky Way? His question became famously known as the Fermi Paradox. The paradox is the contradiction between the high estimates of the probability of the existence of extraterrestrial civilizations and yet the lack of evidence for or contact with any such civilizations. Given the extreme age of the universe and its vast number of stars, if planets like Earth are at all typical then there should be many advanced extraterrestrial civilizations out there and at least a few in our own Milky Way. Another closely related question is the great silence which poses the question, even if space travel is too difficult, if life is out there, why don't we at least detect some sign of civilization like radio transmissions? Milan Kirkevic of the Astronomical Observatory in Belgrade points out that the median age of terrestrial planets in the Milky Way is about 1.8 giga years, or 1 billion years greater than the age of the Earth and the solar system, which means that the median age of technological civilizations should be greater than the age of human civilization by the same amount. The vastness of this interval indicates that one or more processes must suppress observability of extraterrestrial communities. Since at this point there is no direct and or widely apparent evidence that extraterrestrial life exists, it likely means one of the following. We are a. The first intelligent beings ever to become capable of making our presence known and leaving our planet. At this point there are no other life forms out there as advanced as us, or perhaps extraterrestrial life does exist but for some reason extraterrestrial life is so very rare and so very far away we will never make contact anyway, making extraterrestrial life non-existent in a practical sense at least. Or is it B that many advanced civilizations have existed before us but without exception they have for some unknown reason existed and or expanded in such a way that they are completely undetectable by our instruments? Or is it C there have been others but they have all run into some sort of cosmic roadblock that eventually destroys them or at least prevents their expansion beyond a small area? One reason why we might not be able to detect aliens is because they are invisible to our technology. We are looking for something that resembles us but extraterrestrial life can be beyond human comprehension. They could be staring us in the face and we just don't recognize them. The problem is that we are looking for something very much like us assuming that they at least have something like the same mathematics and technology, said Lord Martin Rees, President of the Royal Society and Astronomer to the Queen. I suspect there could be life and intelligence out there in forms we can't conceive. Just as a chimpanzee can't understand quantum theory it could be there are aspects of reality that are beyond the capacity of our brains. They could very well be just around the corner but we cannot see them because they are simply not life as we know it, at least not yet. Maybe we don't really know what to look for yet and that's why they are invisible to us. Up next, one partner at NASA says aliens are already among us right here on earth and according to some experts in the field we earthlings might be watching the aliens on their own planets as well. Hey weirdos, a quick update for you regarding our overcoming the darkness campaign we're now at $3,239 towards our $5,000 goal so we're running a little bit behind now but we have just over a week in order to make up the difference and if you'd like to donate you can do so at WeirdDarkness.com slash hope. Every dollar you give that I receive after a GoFundMe takes their portion of course but every dollar that I receive is going to be donated equally. It's going to be divided equally between the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, the Crisis Text Line, SAVE.org and the International Foundation for Research and Education of Depression or IFRED. All of these organizations help people in some way who are dealing with depression, anxiety, or even thoughts of suicide. So again, please make your donation today and maybe we can build up some momentum and even pass the $5,000 goal. Go to WeirdDarkness.com slash hope and make your donation today, whether it be $5 or $50 or more, whatever is on your heart to give, please do so. Again, that's WeirdDarkness.com slash hope and I do have quite a few people that I'd like to say thank you to. We had an anonymous donation come in for $50, thank you so much for that. Jessica also gave $50 and she also left a note saying mental health awareness is so important. Thank you, Darren, for being so transparent and willing to share your story. And thank you for being committed to this cause. I'm such a huge fan of yours. Yes, for the podcast, but also for your dedication to bringing awareness and help for folks battling suicide and depression. Well, thank you, Jessica. That's very nice of you. I appreciate it. And I especially appreciate you jumping in and making that donation. And Christie decided to really jump in with $100. Thank you so much, Christie. Thomas gave $50 and he had a small note saying five years ago this month I had my own meltdown. Wish I had something like this then. Thank you. Well, Thomas, I appreciate those words. And that's one of the reasons we're doing this is because so many people don't know there are resources out there for people who do struggle with depression and anxiety and those thoughts of self-harm. So I'm glad that the meltdown didn't take you out, man. I really appreciate you being here for us. You're also encouraging others who are struggling like you did to get help. And they could do that on the Hope in the Darkness page. Mary gave $30, Iboni gave $6 and then $6 and then $6. And they left a note saying, Darren, your podcast has brought me joy and helped me through some of my darkest episodes since I discovered it. I suffer from major depressive disorder. So I find that some days are nearly impossible to get through. But with meds, therapy and a bit of weird darkness, I always manage to power through. This is an awesome campaign and I'm happy to support it. Stay weird. Iboni, man, thank you so much. That is so cool. And I love that you just jumped in three times and gave $6. That's great. Rebecca gave $20. Tor gave $25. Robert gave $20. $11 from Deborah, another $20 from Alex. Angel jumped in with $20. Carlos gave $10. Katie gave $10. And she said, I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder 10 years ago. And I didn't have many resources besides my psychiatrist. It was almost to this day, seven years ago, that I almost took my own life. My parents were able to intervene. Knowing that this podcast not only fulfills my love of horror and everything weird, but supports resources to help people who truly suffer, I cannot be grateful enough. Thank you, Darren. Thank you to everyone who was in a place to donate but also to those who are donating through love or positive thoughts. I began listening when I adopted a rescue dog from Puerto Rico and we went on our long walks. I'm 36 now. I could have been 29 forever. Lots of love to you, yours and fellow weirdos. Katie, wow, thank you for opening up and sharing your story. That really means a lot to me. I am so glad that you made it through that, that your parents were there because not everybody who struggles has a support group of some kind like that. They don't have parents or friends or they don't open up to their parents or friends. A lot of people just don't want to talk about it at all. They're embarrassed by their situation, by their feelings or lack thereof. So, again, that's another reason that we have the hope and the darkness page. You have somebody to reach out to, somebody who's been there. They know what you're going through. Most of the counselors or the therapists have gone through it themselves, so they can talk to you from a first person perspective. Doris gave $5, Tina gave $17, Sabrina gave $20, Ken gave $40, and Patrick gave $23. Thank you to all of you who have given since our last update and a huge thanks to everybody so far who has brought us to where we are. Again, we're currently at $3,239 towards our $5,000 goal, so we still have a long ways to go. If you'd like to give or if you'd like to learn more about the Overcoming the Darkness campaign or maybe the organizations that we are supporting with this, or maybe just find help for yourself regarding depression, anxiety, suicide, self-harm, whatever it is, there are a lot of different issues that you might find help with regarding addiction, alcoholism, crisis pregnancy, sex trafficking, if you know somebody who's been through that. Even Alzheimer's, we've got a little bit of everything there on the Hope in the Darkness page. Even if you happen to have a paranormal experience that you're having a hard time getting over, maybe like an alien abduction experience, I don't have the attitude that those don't exist. I think people really do go through something, and there's something called the Opus Network that's there on that page as well that specializes in that type of thing. It's all there at WeirdDarkness.com slash Hope. Are we looking for extraterrestrials in the wrong places? Could this be the reason why we haven't found signs of any alien life yet? Is it possible we're searching for something that's right under our nose? According to a NASA partner, aliens do exist and they are already living on Earth right now. It's a highly controversial statement that makes many surprised, but could it really be true? Robert Bigelow, an entrepreneur who's working closely with NASA on future space missions, is convinced that we are not alone and aliens walk among us. During an episode of the show 60 Minutes, Bigelow started to talk about his belief in aliens. He said he's convinced that UFOs have come to Earth and extraterrestrials have an existing presence here. I'm absolutely convinced that aliens exist, he told reporter Laura Logan. That's all there is to it. Asked by Ms. Logan whether he also thought that UFOs had come to Earth, he said he did. There has been and is an existing presence, an ET presence, Bigelow said, and I spent millions and millions and millions. I probably spent more as an individual than anybody else in the United States has ever spent on this subject. Bigelow was asked if it's not dangerous to go around and make such claims about alien presences on Earth. He then said he doesn't care what people think because it wouldn't change the reality of what I know. Robert Bigelow runs a company named Bigelow Aerospace. He and his team are currently developing an expandable craft for humans that can inflate and might provide the space habitats of the future. Bigelow's craft have already been tested out in journeys to the International Space Station. Bigelow's cooperation with NASA hasn't changed his personal views. He said that the hugely expensive work his company and NASA are doing won't be required to meet them. He said that people don't have to go anywhere, because the aliens are right under people's noses. As our astronomers search for signs of extraterrestrial life in the universe, a new study shows there could be aliens on at least nine planets beyond our solar system watching the human race right now. Scientists are not saying they have discovered any advanced extraterrestrial civilization, but they do state that our planet and all its inhabitants may be observed by aliens who possess the right technology. Astronomers scientists from Queen's University Belfast and the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research in Germany have identified parts of the distant sky from where various planets in our solar system could be seen to pass in front of the sun, so-called transit zones. Based on their data, they concluded that extraterrestrials have a better chance to observe rocky planets including Earth than the gas and ice giants Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune that are further from the sun. In the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, astronomers write that nine, if not more, exoplanets are ideally placed to observe transits of Earth. Larger planets would naturally block out more light as they pass in front of their star, commented lead author Robert Wells, a PhD student at Queen's University Belfast. However, the more important factor is actually how close the planet is to its parent star. Since the terrestrial planets are much closer to the sun than the gas giants, they'll be more likely to be seen in transit. To look for worlds where civilizations would have the best chance of spotting our solar system, the astronomers looked for parts of the sky from which more than one planet could be seen crossing the face of the sun. They found that three planets at most could be observed from anywhere outside of the solar system, and that not all combinations of three planets are possible. Katja Pappenhager, a co-author of the study, adds, we estimate that a randomly positioned observer would have a roughly a one in 40 chance of observing at least one planet. The probability of detecting at least two planets would be about 10 times lower, and to detect three would be a further 10 times smaller than this. Of the thousands of known exoplanets, the team identified 68 worlds where observers would see one or more of the planets in our solar system transit the sun. Nine of these planets are ideally placed to observe transits on Earth, although none of the worlds are deemed to be habitable. In addition, the team estimated that there should be approximately 10 currently undiscovered worlds which are favorably located to detect the Earth and are capable of sustaining life as we know it. To date, however, no habitable planets have been discovered from which a civilization could detect the Earth with our current level of technology. The ironic thing is that while we're theorizing which planets might be watching us, we are in fact watching them. So who exactly is the extraterrestrial? Thanks for listening, and be sure to stick around for the bloopers at the end. If you liked the show, please share it with someone you know who loves the paranormal or strange stories, true crime, monsters, or unsolved mysteries like you do. You can email me anytime with your questions or comments at darren at WeirdDarkness.com. Darren is D-A-R-R-E-N. WeirdDarkness.com is also where you can find information on any of the sponsors you heard about during the show, find all my social media, listen to audiobooks I've narrated, sign up for the email newsletter, find other podcasts that I host, including Church of the Undead, visit the store for Weird Darkness merchandise and more. WeirdDarkness.com is also where you can find the Hope in the Darkness page if you or someone you know is struggling with depression or dark thoughts. Also on the website, if you have a true paranormal or creepy tale to tell, you can click on Tell Your Story. You can find all of that and more at WeirdDarkness.com. All stories on Weird Darkness are purported to be true unless stated otherwise. The content for this episode was written by Cynthia McKenzie for MessageToEagle.com. You can find links to the stories in the show notes. Weird Darkness is a registered trademark. Copyright, Weird Darkness. And now that we're coming out of the dark, I'll leave you with a little light. Proverbs 19 verse 11, A person's wisdom yields patience. It is to one's glory to overlook an offense. And a final thought. When you talk, you are repeating what you already know. But if you listen, you may learn something new. I'm Darren Marlar. Thanks for joining me in the Weird Darkness. As New York Post reports, as the New York Post reports says that as the New York Post reports that could ease this swarm of probes could give off some light, this swarm of probes would give off some light as they hoover. All the results indicate that if one detects a strange object with extremely high values of luminosity, we've considered the scenario when the type 2 civilization needs to invade the interstellar clouds by means of self-reproducing.