News for hackers. Stuff that matters.
Re:What Should We Do If Extraterrestrials Show Up? by bluGill on Sunday April 18, 2021 @08:13PM (#26857874)
First thing is stop all grants to existing physicists. The law of relativity would have to be so wrong that we ccouldn't even trust our ability to turn on a light anymore.

The speed of light is far too slow. If they exist (might or might not, either way is extraordinary), they are probably too far away to even know we are here (100 lightyears at the most, and probably less considering how fast radio weakens ), and then even longer to get here.

In short they can't get here in anyone's lifetime.

Re:What Should We Do If Extraterrestrials Show Up? by tuatoru on Sunday April 18, 2021 @08:45PM (#26858077)
> The speed of light is far too slow.

Solar system escape velocity is about 5.5% of c according to a quick web search. So ca. 3000 years for 100 ly, allowing for acceleration and deceleration. The aliens would be fanatics to still be interested after that time.

But in order to come to rest here, they'll have got around the laws of thermodynamics and the momentum-kinetic energy relation to produce engines with impossibly high specific impulse, thrust and efficiency.

What we'd do is watch them whizz past.

Re:What Should We Do If Extraterrestrials Show Up? by FridayoLeary on Sunday April 18, 2021 @09:08PM (#26858211)
>3000 years for 100 ly, allowing for acceleration and deceleration. The aliens would be fanatics to still be interested after that time.

Have you taken into account the relativity of time? If i've understood it correctly, time stops at the speed of light. For an alien travelling at that velocity, moving from one end of the universe to the other will take no time at all! No fanaticism required. How will they have time to stop? Also, does anyone know if an object with mass even move at the speed of light?

Re:What Should We Do If Extraterrestrials Show Up? by awb on Sunday April 18, 2021 @08:27PM (#26857956)
They could be as close as 4.2 light years away: https://www.space.com/proxima-b-alien-planet-earth-sized-esp...
Re:What Should We Do If Extraterrestrials Show Up? by bluGill on Monday April 19, 2021 @09:56AM (#26862792)
Sure, but the number of possible stars within 100 light years is pretty small. The argument that there must be life all rest on the total number of stars within the universe, but the relevant life to humans communication needs to be within 10 light years (even then a 20 year round trip gives good odds we have figured out the answer to our question before we get their reply)
Re:What Should We Do If Extraterrestrials Show Up? by happytoexplain on Sunday April 18, 2021 @08:32PM (#26857994)
What's more, if they were already traveling through interstellar space before deciding to come this way, they could be anywhere, I suppose.