A̳l̳i̳e̳n̳s may have once visited Earth, seeing humans as a colony of ants, writes Sarah Cruddas, a TV presenter, author and space journalist with a background in astrophysics, in her article for The Sun.
“Even in our own cosmic backyard of our solar system, there are plenty of potential candidates for life, starting with the harsh conditions of Mars, which scientists believe was likely much warmer and wetter, and may have had the conditions for simple microbial life. Even the planet Venus, previously considered an inhospitable world, has been scrutinized for the possibility of simple life in its clouds,” notes Sarah Cruddas.
But when it comes to intelligent life, with which science fiction is closely associated, or perhaps something even beyond imagination, one can only guess, she adds.
At first glance, the universe is full of candidate places for the existence of life. Therefore, whether humans will make contact with any intelligent life outside of it remains to be seen.
“It could happen tomorrow, or it could happen in 1,000 years. It might already have happened. We just don’t know and we don’t have proof yet. Let’s say an intelligent a̳l̳i̳e̳n̳ race, probably far more advanced than we are, given the fact that they would have developed the ability to travel the universe, made contact with us. Then what will happen?” the TV presenter is puzzled.
Experts such as the late Professor Stephen Hawking have suggested that intelligent a̳l̳i̳e̳n̳ life reaching Earth would be bad news for humanity.
“Encountering an advanced a̳l̳i̳e̳n̳ c̳i̳v̳i̳l̳i̳z̳a̳t̳i̳o̳n̳ can be like meeting Native Americans with Columbus. It didn’t turn out so well. But this is not an opinion shared by everyone, including myself,” adds Sarah Kruddas.
Given the fact that if a c̳i̳v̳i̳l̳i̳z̳a̳t̳i̳o̳n̳ has already developed the vast capabilities needed for intergalactic travel, then they probably already know about the existence of earthlings, given the radio signals that have been emitted from the Blue Planet for more than a century, the author of the article reflected.
Thus, while on Earth much is divided into certain categories, from the side of the vastness of space, the Earth is one big house.
“Perhaps, although the a̳l̳i̳e̳n̳s know about us and they just passed us. Just like you won’t stop to talk to an ant colony on the street, a̳l̳i̳e̳n̳s can see us as no different. For an a̳l̳i̳e̳n̳ c̳i̳v̳i̳l̳i̳z̳a̳t̳i̳o̳n̳, any message we made should have represented only one planet among many,” the journalist believes.
“While the movies depict a̳l̳i̳e̳n̳s visiting us, it is perhaps much more likely that we will detect a signal from them far in the universe. Then the process of communication with an a̳l̳i̳e̳n̳ c̳i̳v̳i̳l̳i̳z̳a̳t̳i̳o̳n̳ would be comparable not to Star Wars and other films, but to archeology. Intelligent life may even be a coincidence, and our existence is just a cosmic coincidence,” sums up Sarah Cruddas.
