Comments on: Upgrading From Analog TVs Is Making Earth "Invisible" to E.T.'s

By: Dromo

Dromo — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 06:43:57 +0000

Surely these ALiens WILL be found .. but not by SETI .. by the MPAA . They have no licence and NO authority to view these programs, so will will hunted down like Succosids.
Marines wanted now! for duty on Navi Home planet.

By: Dave

Dave — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 18:34:58 +0000

I laugh at stuff like this becuase everybody seems to be drawn to the question “how much do we really know?” We don’t know if there’s other technology we haven’t explored, we don’t know for sure whether or not there is or isn’t any intelligent life out there, and for all we know other alien civilizations who are far more advanced could be watching us and we wouldn’t even know it. Compared to life on Earth we know a lot, but in the universe we’re just a spec. Maybe we’re just an experiment in a petri dish, though I doubt it. That’s why I try to keep an open mind when it comes to dealing with the universe.

BTW Mankind FTW!

By: Nomad

Nomad — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 09:40:22 +0000

One question: Why are scientists so certain that ETs ever developed radio in the first place? Isn’t it just as possible that they developed the digital technology and bypassed radio transmissions altogether? I mean, our radio transmission age lasted about 100 years which in the entire history of a civilization isn’t so long at all.
Also radio transmission technology would presume that the ET planet has an ionosphere. Does this need to be the case? Admittedly, having an ionosphere might provide advantages to forming life but could life on a planet develop to our age and beyond if there was none or a very weak one? Perhaps ETs are using some kind of communication technology that they assume is fundamental but one in which we have yet to discover.

By: Kengur

Kengur — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 07:35:11 +0000

Lrrr: We demand McNeal! Stop stalling!

By: Billy Bob

Billy Bob — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 05:02:07 +0000

Brian – he said the shell is 50 light years WIDE, meaning the width of the shell (there is a tiny “yoke” called planet earth in the shell). Shell width tends to be measured from the inside edge of the shell to the outside edge of the shell. And even TV transmissions are now 80 years old, so regardless you’re getting technical rahter than getting the point!?! Don’t confuse real information with “gotcha” crap. He provided th former – you provided the latter.

By: badnicolez

badnicolez — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 04:51:23 +0000

What kind of signals are we searching for? Is an alien civilization really going to use analog transmissions long enough to enable us to detect them?

By: bigjohn756

bigjohn756 — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 03:10:42 +0000

Now I know why do not get any local TV channels over the air. We now have plenty of bandwidth but no on air programming. Whoopie!

By: Dr. Kervokian

Dr. Kervokian — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 01:28:55 +0000

Excellent observation but seriously – its a good thing.

First, the following statements will sound xenophobic. Secondly, its also haughty to conclude that evolved alien beings that are able to detect radio signals will be as selfish as us humans.

However the remotest risk of spiritually stunted aliens like us is too dangerous to deny. Imagine a life force so advance technologically that they surmise that we’re no better than termites with their earth mounds. Sure its cool to jar us up for study but if a mall needs to be built, what’s a termite mound but nuisance. And to date, we’ve already discovered 424 extra solar planetary systems (http://exoplanet.eu); we also know that the numbers will continue to rack up and the universe or even just this galaxy will be more crowded than we think it is.

What can we earthlings offer in terms of intergalactic ecosystem worthy of existence to a being that can travel faster than light. Our ecological impact will pretty much be locked to this rock.

Some spiritual folks may even say that, hey; maybe our sentience and life after death spiritual experience points to a yet undiscovered, unproven web of connectivity which can span galaxies. But until that is scientifically established… we’re better off being hidden.

What goes around comes around.

By: Hunter

Hunter — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 01:09:15 +0000

There is an amazing episode of “The Adventures of Pete and Pete” called “Space, Geeks and Johnny Unitas”, where an extraterrestrial disguised as a human befriends them, and can’t get over his obsession with a retro football game transmission that had been picked up by his home planet…

Just thought I’d put that out there!

By: Brian Too

Brian Too — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 00:37:18 +0000

Wouldn’t the shell be more like 100 light-years wide (diameter rather than radius)? And for that matter, didn’t radio broadcasts start nearly 100 years ago, making the shell’s diameter closer to 200 light-years in size?