If we received a message from aliens should we respond to it?

[Mormolyce]

I'm going to say no, or at least not right away. We'd want to have some understanding of what these aliens are capable of and what their intentions are before attracting their attention.

[belfpala]

2. I'd think out first transmission should be something simple and clearly-not-a-natural-phenomenon, like a sequence of prime numbers.

Most suggestions for transmission involve symbol-independent math, as far as I know. Prime numbers, Pythagoras, and so on.

[Mormolyce]

1. Actually, you'd be pretty lucky to make any sense out of broadcast transmissions from the edge of the solar system, much less from another solar system. We need this thing to signal to the Voyager probes. That antenna is 70m across. To pick up life-originating interstellar signals, you'd need a dish like a geological feature unless the signal was absurdly powerful and pointed almost straight at us.

Furthermore, we've been getting quieter for quite some time. Our use of radio is becoming increasingly directional and short range and we're running more stuff down physical links.

2. I'd think out first transmission should be something simple and clearly-not-a-natural-phenomenon, like a sequence of prime numbers.

Yeah precisely. Whenever I hear about aliens picking up our broadcasts I think, doesn't anyone remember the inverse square law? We probably couldn't even tightbeam a message to another star system and have it reliably detected.

[belfpala]

I'm going to say no, or at least not right away. We'd want to have some understanding of what these aliens are capable of and what their intentions are before attracting their attention.

We're nearly into our 80th year of having transmissions powerful enough that someone, somewhere, might detect them. Too late.

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Yeah precisely. Whenever I hear about aliens picking up our broadcasts I think, doesn't anyone remember the inverse square law? We probably couldn't even tightbeam a message to another star system and have it reliably detected.

Also correct. But who knows, we can reliably map the cosmic microwave background.

[apepi]

1. Actually, you'd be pretty lucky to make any sense out of broadcast transmissions from the edge of the solar system, much less from another solar system. We need this thing to signal to the Voyager probes. That antenna is 70m across. To pick up life-originating interstellar signals, you'd need a dish like a geological feature unless the signal was absurdly powerful and pointed almost straight at us.



Furthermore, we've been getting quieter for quite some time. Our use of radio is becoming increasingly directional and short range and we're running more stuff down physical links.

2. I'd think out first transmission should be something simple and clearly-not-a-natural-phenomenon, like a sequence of prime numbers.

By say...Morse code?

[Markluzz]

By say...Morse code?

You have to remember an alien wouldn't be able to understand any form of morse code most likely.

[Teroseth]

1. Actually, you'd be pretty lucky to make any sense out of broadcast transmissions from the edge of the solar system, much less from another solar system. We need this thing to signal to the Voyager probes. That antenna is 70m across. To pick up life-originating interstellar signals, you'd need a dish like a geological feature unless the signal was absurdly powerful and pointed almost straight at us.



Furthermore, we've been getting quieter for quite some time. Our use of radio is becoming increasingly directional and short range and we're running more stuff down physical links.

2. I'd think out first transmission should be something simple and clearly-not-a-natural-phenomenon, like a sequence of prime numbers.

I know, the bubble collapsing thing irritates me in that it's somewhat galling to think that if there was any other civilisation out there who could intercept and interpret our planet's errant radio waves, the picture they'd have of us would be 2 world wars, a global depression and then a nuclear stand off that lasted for 30 years....the music would be good though, everything from swing-time to heavy metal...I guess there's that hopefully.

[Deleted]

If it was possible for anyone to find us (which is improbable), and then possible for them to contact us (highly unlikely), and then for us to respond (not going to happen), then I'd say go for it.

I'd much rather see the Earth destroyed by aliens before I die than die knowing there was absolutely nothing worth seeing during my lifetime.

[Masark]

By say...Morse code?

Not morse, just some raw keying, probably either frequency or amplitude shifting.

Beep
beep beep
beep beep beep
beep beep beep beep beep
beep beep beep beep beep beep beep
etc.

As far as we know, no natural phenomenon is at all likely to produce that kind of sequence, which would clearly indicate to anyone listening that isn't artificial in origin.

[minteK917]

Considering if the message is anything which our technology can intercept and what we know of the solar systems around us, saying it would take decades to get and send back is even optimistic. Long space distance communication with our current knowledge is useless to send or receive. Our first broadcast are not even that far in space already, imagine an alien life form intercepting it about now, they have a broadcast that is over a century old( the first AM signal was in 1906.) and degraded.



We should probably not waste our time answering unless we understand what the msg is. Hell there is very little point to even send back a msg because we have no idea where it came from, unless the msg mention it. So we will just broadcast a msg at space and hope that in a couple century who ever sent it received it and the broadcast would have degraded completely, since we have no direction of where to broadcast.

[Mormolyce]

We're nearly into our 80th year of having transmissions powerful enough that someone, somewhere, might detect them. Too late.

As long as that somewhere is like, within our own star system.

[apepi]

You have to remember an alien wouldn't be able to understand any form of morse code most likely.

Yes, but how else would you do it? What ever we send or give to them, they will not know what it would mean. Maybe we could show representation of like a atom of something or something like that. But how we would even get that to them? This is why I picked Morse code, it is actually transmittable through radiowaves or etc. Maybe use Morse code with Binary? With the first few things it could confirm out math, like 1 + 1=10 and 11+1=100 and etc. then we could give important numbers i binary...say like someone else suggested prime numbers.

[Mormolyce]

Also correct. But who knows, we can reliably map the cosmic microwave background.

That's quite different though. The background radiation is omnipresent.

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Not morse, just some raw keying, probably either frequency or amplitude shifting.

Beep
beep beep
beep beep beep
beep beep beep beep beep
beep beep beep beep beep beep beep
etc.

As far as we know, no natural phenomenon is at all likely to produce that kind of sequence, which would clearly indicate to anyone listening that isn't artificial in origin.

"Hey Xqorglzz, check out this weird new kind of pulsar I just discovered!"

[Deleted]

I would rather not. It's best that we take our time to study the message, and then prepare to deal with the coming invasion.

[Masark]

Considering if the message is anything which our technology can intercept and what we know of the solar systems around us, saying it would take decades to get and send back is even optimistic. Long space distance communication with our current knowledge is useless to send or receive. Our first broadcast are not even that far in space already, imagine an alien life form intercepting it about now, they have a broadcast that is over a century old( the first AM signal was in 1906.) and degraded.

Keep in mind, within that sphere, there are something like 14,000 stars.

[lopk]

This is implying that we haven't already been contacted and the government isn't hiding it from the general public.

/endconspiracy

Anyway, we probably shouldn't. As others have already said, it probably took decades to arrive anyway. Let's study it, see if we can make any sense of it, and carry on.

[George]

Respond in a taunting and aggressive manner. Spice things up for the next generations, they are getting stale.

[minteK917]

Yes, but how else would you do it? What ever we send or give to them, they will not know what it would mean. Maybe we could show representation of like a atom of something or something like that. But how we would even get that to them? This is why I picked Morse code, it is actually transmittable through radiowaves or etc. Maybe use Morse code with Binary? With the first few things it could confirm out math, like 1 + 1=10 and 11+1=100 and etc. then we could give important numbers i binary...say like someone else suggested prime numbers.

Thats because as you said its a code, they wont know what the code is. We sent morse code already with voyager even though its useless. The best information on the probe remain what is visual. Primary numbers in bars. Picture of human anatomy. Representation of an atom, representation of our solar system. Everything was also sent in black, white and color version. Some of it like solar system and atom representation are carved into it, should the life form not see. Codes or language are sent along with it, but those are really not relevant to how aliens could understand us.

[Adam Jensen]

You have to remember an alien wouldn't be able to understand any form of morse code most likely.

They'd at least see a pattern, I'd think.

[minteK917]

Keep in mind, within that sphere, there are something like 14,000 stars.

Yes but the implication of time is that we would have received something our selfs since we can receive from space in that 100+ year time frame. We can only estimate that either no other lifeforms are within that range or that they arent yet advanced enough to send signals in space, otherwise we would have catched something in the last century. If a msg was received just now from one of these planets it would be under 100 years old, if it was from one of the closer planets it would be even younger, meaning they have just had that technology after us. The longer we are without receiving any broadcast from space, the less likely any advance life form is in that 200 light year radius.

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They'd at least see a pattern, I'd think.

Thats if they even look for it.