In search of ET: Fear of what’s out there causes split among space scientists

Re:In search of ET: Fear of what’s out there causes split am... by pmoriarty on Wednesday February 27, 2019 @02:52PM (#19266375)

Even mere humans, who've only reaped the fruits of serious scientific advancement for a few hundred years have already come up with a way to get to Alpha Centauri within 44 years.[1]

All such spacecraft would have to do to cause massive devastation is aim at Earth and not stop, though it's likely that more advanced civilizations could come up with more effective means of destruction.

Alien civilizations could have advanced scientifically for thousands, hundreds of thousands, or even millions of years. It is unlikely that we can accurately put limits on their capabilities.

[1] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Orion_%28nuclear_propu...

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Re:In search of ET: Fear of what’s out there causes split am... by jandrese on Wednesday February 27, 2019 @02:57PM (#19266410)

Project Orion is a cocktail napkin estimate. The actual problem is much much harder.

But as you point out, anything that can travel between the stars can trivially wipe out all life on Earth without warning. They also know we exist already thanks to the changes in the chemical composition of our atmosphere. If they want to kill us then we're dead.

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