Читать книгу Search Engines - Jon Jonsson - Страница 13

Our humanity naturally looks for life in this endless universe around us. We do not want to be alone in such a gigantic space. It would make us almost too extraordinary. We have had radio operating here on Earth for a hundred years now. Radio signals go out in every direction, including into space, and they travel at the same speed as light. So apparently the Earth is actively broadcasting 100 light-years out into space. The news and sports from this planet of ours might be picked up by others. Within the last 50 light-year-circles around the Earth, entire alien species could now be dedicated Beatles fans. On the receiving end, we have operated massive radio telescopes. The aim is to eavesdrop on other advanced beings out there. For years we have scanned endless galaxies for radio signals. Some are older star clusters, and some are younger. Beings like us should have invented basic radio there. The light reaches us easily from those places. So radio waves traveling at the same speed should have reached us a long time ago. We have done a thorough scan of all the radio frequencies, and all we hear from this colossal universe is endless static. Not a single song, not a hint of a small, fragmented conversation can be detected. The total lack of results is not for lack of trying, as this scanning has gone on for decades. This loaded silence out there puts us in a strange spot. Maybe we are God's special creation after all. If you are hoping some aliens will land to disprove that anytime soon, I would not hold my breath.