When you buy through links on our site , we may realise an affiliate commission . Here ’s how it works .
Why has n’t Earth received any messages from extraterrestrials yet ? Perhaps because we ’re already unwitting denizen in a so - address galactic zoological garden .
This was one of the scenario a chemical group of external research worker explore on March 18 at a meeting organized by the nonprofit organizationMessaging Extraterrestrial Intelligence(METI ) . The gathering , which took place at the City of Science and Industry museum in Paris ( Cité ) , brought together about 60 scientists who research the possibility of communicating with conjectural intelligent extraterrestrial being .
Are aliens observing us, like we watch captive zoo animals?
There , they deliberate " The Great Silence " — why aliens have n’t get hold of us — exploring one possibility known as the " zoological garden hypothesis . " First propose in the 1970s , it describes Earth as a satellite that is already under observation by " astronomic zookeepers " who are by choice concealing themselves from human detection , Forbesreported . [ 9 Strange , Scientific Excuses for Why Humans Have n’t find Aliens Yet ]
" When we attempt to advantageously sympathise the universe , the question of whether we are alone is inescapable , " meet attendee Florence Raulin - Cerceau , an associate prof at the National Museum of Natural History in Paris , toldParis - Match .
That Earth would be the solitary planet to evolve and host healthy animation among potentially 1000000000000 of planets in our galaxy alone seems very unlikely . But if there are thinking extraterrestrials out there , where are they , and why have n’t we find out them yet ? This riddle , posed in 1950 by Italian physicist Enrico Fermi , is have a go at it as theFermi Paradox , and it still block experts today .
Fermi did n’t live to see evidence of the first exoplanets , which were reveal decennary after his end . Since 2014,NASA ’s Kepler space scope has confirmed the existence of century of distant earthly concern , and its finding have hinted at potentially 2,300 more . And yet , despite these exciting exoplanet uncovering , contact with extraterrestrials seems no closer now than it did in Fermi ’s day .
Under alien observation?
One explanation that scientists search at the METI meeting , is that aliens are aware of Earth and are observing us as we would observe animals kept in a menagerie , METI President Douglas Vakoch articulate in a shop . If this is the case , man should increase their efforts to produce messages capable of reaching our " keepers , " to demo our intelligence , Vakoch explained .
For example , if a captive zebra were to suddenly tap out a design of select numbers , humans would be postulate to re - evaluate their understanding of zebra cognition , " and we would be compel to respond , " allot toEarthSky .
But what if we ’re not part of a vast alien zoological garden — what if , rather , humanity has been appraise by alien civilization , and subsequently " quarantined " from our astronomical neighbor ?
It ’s possible that extraterrestrials are actively isolate us from contact for our own good , because interacting with aliens would be " culturally tumultuous " for Earth , assemble co - chair Jean - Pierre Rospars , honorary inquiry director at the Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique ( INRA ) , say in a shop .
Of naturally , it ’s also likely that we have n’t heard from aliens because they ’re locked under a layer of icein subsurface sea ; trap onmassive " ace - Earth"worlds by gravity ’s acute pull ; or idle because theiradvanced civilizationshave already destroyed themselves — as humanity might — through runaway consumption of their planet ’s natural resource .
Though , maybe if we want to get word from unknown we just need to slacken and be patient . After all , Earth has been around for 4.6 billion years , while extraterrestrial research is less than 100 years honest-to-goodness , Paris - Match reported .
Originally published onLive scientific discipline .
