Alien hunter warns we shouldn't try to contact UFOs because 'we're tasty' – The Mirror
Astrophysicist Adam Frank has warned that trying to communicate with extraterrestrial intelligence is like saying “we’re here, we’re tasty” – and that we should “lay low”
A top astronomer has issued a warning over messaging extra-terrestrials – saying he's cautious at sending signals into space due to the unknown nature of potential alien life out there.
Physicist Adam Frank, who is open to the possibility of at least microbial life beyond Earth, advises "lay low" as an approach, comparing attempts at communication with alien intelligence to "sticking your head out the grass and saying we're tasty". The 62-year-old American believes there is at least microbial life in the universe as solar systems "can certainly be inhabited".
Sharing his insights on 5 Live Science Podcast, Frank said: "So I do talk about METI the messaging extra-terrestrial intelligence and in general, I'm not a big fan of it. Because really, we don't know what's out there, and it may be that the best decision is to kind of lay low.
"Don't stick your head above the grass and be like, 'hey, we're here, we're tasty'." Acknowledging humanity's attempts to reach out to the cosmos through "been putting out emissions" Frank characterised these efforts as being more of a "low hum" compared to METI's scream into the void, reports the Daily Star.
He said: "When you do METI, you're really screaming into the void," and highlighted the challenge of being heard among countless radio transmissions within our galaxy, pointing out: "And unless somebody knew exactly where to look, they wouldn't hear us. There's all kinds of radio transmissions in the galaxy."
Frank remains hopeful regarding extra-terrestrial life, especially at the microbe level: "I think it's going to be pretty hard to imagine that microbial life hasn't evolved elsewhere in the universe, probably quite often. Now, animals, and then intelligence, that may be difficult for evolution to achieve, looking at Earth's own history. But I certainly think that life in general is going to be quite common in the universe."
Frank revealed that our understanding of life existing in space has grown recently, with the discovery of the first planet orbiting another star in 1995. "Before that, some people thought that planets were very, very rare," he added. "Now, we understand that every star that you see in the night sky hosts a family of worlds. If you count up five of those stars, one of them has a planet in the right place for life to form, meaning that liquid water could form."
The scientist expressed that the chances of life existing in space have "vastly increased" and "solar systems can certainly be inhabited". He continued: "There's vastly more places that we now know of where life can form. Now, of course, until you look and you find it, statistics is still just a guess. But in terms of at least having places to look, there's been an explosion of possibilities."
The astronomer and author is a renowned expert on the final stages of star evolution. He holds a position as a Professor of Astrophysics at the University of Rochester, New York, US, and has received numerous awards for his efforts in promoting public understanding of science.
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