Scientists To Send Signals To Proxima Centauri: Is It Safe?

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Douglas Vakoch was the former Director of Interstellar Message Composition at the SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence). The SETI tries to tune into the messages sent out by aliens to Earth. Now, he has launched an initiative called the METI (Messages to Extraterrestrial Intelligence), which will actively beam out the messages for aliens from Earth.

Vakoch has narrowed down the possible targets for his radio messages to one planet called Proxima b which revolves around Proxima Centauri (the closest star to Earth after Sun). This planet is the closest exoplanet to us with an Earth-like mass, which might be habitable too.

The Astronomy reports that Proxima Centauri is just 4.24 light years away, and the planet is in the habitable zone of its star, which means that it might have liquid water and the right atmosphere for us. Proxima b was found with the help of Kepler telescope which has helped us find so many other planets too.

The message beamed out to extraterrestrials or aliens will use the universal language of Mathematics. Vakoch says, "It seems likely that scientists on any world will need to know at least the essentials of math."

In September 2016, the Independent claimed that the Stephen Hawking has warned the scientists against trying to contact aliens. Stephen said that while we might actually end up discovering life outside our planet, it is very likely that the aliens might invade us and wipe out the humanity. There are other people in the SETI community who agrees with him.

Vakoch, on the other hand, believes that is probable that our position might already be known to extraterrestrials. He said that if there is a civilization somewhere who can travel between the stars, and receive our messages to aliens, it might already know our position by the radio and TV signals that might have leaked out accidentally.