What Should We Do If Aliens Actually Visit Us?

What should we do if aliens actually visit us? Every child has asked themselves this question at one point. Infact almost every Astroscientistask this question. And it's a good thing they did because now scientists have to answer the question for real.

The problem is that there are two potential outcomes: either the visitors mean no harm and we can all just get along, or they come with bad intentions and Earth becomes their new home.

Let's explore both possibilities in more detail so you know what to expect - and how to prepare.

Blog Post Overview

• The Bad News or Will They Come In Peace

• We're probably broadcasting something out into space

• And guess what?

• But wait!

The Bad News or Will They Come In Peace

When considering that extraterrestrials actually exist, most people think of Hollywood blockbusters where space monsters want to eat our flesh or enslave us all.

If an alien species comes to Earth with bad intentions, there's little we can do. First of all, they will be advanced enough to have far superior weaponry and technology than we possess at the moment.

And second, it'll be a big galaxy out there so why would they choose us? They won't come here if the only thing worth taking is our planet's resources.

So instead of asking ourselves how we should react if aliens are evil tyrants in disguise, let's shift focus and ask what happens when they're just like us...

We're Probably Broadcasting Something Out Into Space

All life forms communicate whether by yelling or whispering. Through non-verbal means; for example, by using pheromones to signal intent. But one of our most common methods is radio waves.

To pick up TV shows or listen to the radio, we use a small electromagnetic wave receiver to convert the signal into something we can understand. So you can bet we're also broadcasting waves throughout the universe and it's likely that some of those signals are getting older and louder with each passing year.

And guess what?

There are some aliens who have been listening for over 50 years now! And they've found a lot of weird stuff on our airwaves like music from "Star Wars," the Doctor Who, or Top 40 charts from over the years.

Despite this, most scientists think it's unlikely that any extraterrestrial has actually taken notice because humanity is too young to be worth bothering about. Plus, there are millions of planets out there with static noise, so even if they were trying to communicate with us, we wouldn't know it.

To put things into perspective, our first radio signals are only reaching a few stars within 100 light-years and that's just on this side of the Milky Way.

But wait!

If aliens did decide to come to visit Earth, what would happen? First off, it'd take them thousands or millions of years just to get here assuming they're at an equal level of technology as we are.

And even after traveling all this way, chances are slim that their spaceship will look like anything from Star Wars (and not for the reasons you might expect). That's because interstellar travel isn't about speed; it's about fuel efficiency.

For instance: once you exit the solar system, you need to rely on solar panels instead of paddles. And if you want to travel beyond the Milky Way, conventional rockets won't work either - and it takes millions of them just to reach light speed.

So when alien visitors finally arrive, we'll be looking at something like a 20 story windowless building floating hundreds of feet above the ground.

Einstein = Final

In conclusion, we should be as careful about contacting aliens as they are likely to be about visiting us( DOOMSDAY ). But if they do eventually come to Earth, we may end up being the more primitive species...