Harvard astronomer: "First contact with aliens will be a real shock"
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The Dean of the faculty of astronomy at Harvard University AVI Loeb for a long time concerned about the question of are we alone in the Universe. In his earlier statements, the scientist carried the assumption that fast radio bursts might be evidence of alien civilizations, put forward the hypothesis that the first interstellar visitor to our Solar system really can be . In a new interview with German publisher Der Spiegel he continued arguments on the subject of hunting for extraterrestrial life and in particular shared their thoughts on what will be our "first contact" and what it will mean for mankind.
According to Loeb, if we ever encounter aliens, then this event will be one of the most extraordinary in human history.
"our development has varied and perspective from one of individual to family, then tribe, the country, until eventually we began to discover new continents and to meet people living on them. If we found evidence that beyond Earth there is also life, it would have been the biggest step forward" — says Loeb.
In Discussing the question of what will our first contact with alien civilizations Loeb said that predicting is impossible.
"I can't tell you how this event will happen. But I'm sure it will be a real shock for all of us. We are too accustomed to the view that aliens must be like us. However, it is more likely that they will be radically different from our species. Moreover, it is possible that we will meet alien species themselves, but will be able to locate technological artifacts indicating their presence. In any case, we are not adapted for space travel. The only explanation for how people can survive in space is the Earth's magnetic field that protects them from the main volume of cosmic radiation. Even if the journey to Mars the radiation will be for people the most important and complex problem."
The Scientist is convinced that in space there can exist a technologically advanced civilization, in addition to our. At least this confirms the fact of our own existence. Loeb explains that a quarter of us discovered planets in other star systems have conditions similar to earth and at least one of them may be intelligent life.
The Professor adheres to the principle, which he called "cosmic humility" and always amazed at what people used to consider himself special, even though our own history shows how illusory that perception. Once we believed that the center of the Universe. In fact, it turned out that it revolves around the Sun which in turn revolves around the center of our galaxy, which is just one of the many billions of different galaxies in the Universe.
«the cosmic Principle of modesty requires us to assume that we are not special from a biological point of view. If there's aliens, then definitely there is a possibility that they may be more technologically advanced than we».
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