INQUISITR.COM / Science & Tech

Yes, Aliens Exist, No, You Won’t Be Able To See Them In Your Lifetime, Study Says E.T. Contact Centuries Away

By Coburn Palmer
Published on: 12:56 PST, Jun 18, 2016

Rejoice, UFO aficionados!

A new study out of Cornell University says that space aliens from other planets in our galaxy do exist; the problem, however, is we probably won’t find them for another few centuries.

Scientists used fancy math equations from the Fermi paradox and the mediocrity principle to research the amount of time it would take to discover space aliens, and they found we should meet E.T. in about 1,500 years.

The television and radio signals we’re beaming into space should be discovered by aliens within 1,500 years or we could receive their signals within that time, Cornell University researcher Evan Solomonides told the Daily Galaxy.

“We haven’t heard from aliens yet, as space is a big place, but that doesn’t mean no one is out there.”

The Fermi paradox, used by physicist Enrico Fermi, says the galaxy is full of Earthlike planets, but no aliens have yet been found, meaning the possibility of meeting extraterrestrials still exists.

The mediocrity principle, written by Copernicus, says Earth’s physical attributes aren’t unique and evolution is possible elsewhere, therefore aliens won’t visit us for a while, says the Daily Galaxy.

“Even our mundane, typical spiral galaxy – not exceptionally large compared to other galaxies – is vast beyond imagination. Those numbers are what make the Fermi Paradox so counterintuitive. We have reached so many stars and planets, surely we should have reached somebody by now, and in turn been reached … this demonstrates why we appear to be alone.”

The researchers at Cornell used these principles in their investigation and examined the time it takes for Earth’s TV and radio signals to reach other planets. They determined the signals, which have been traveling away from the Earth for 80 years, have reached about 8,531 stars and 3,555 Earth-like planets.

Our Milky Way galaxy contains some 200 billion stars, and even if aliens have received our signals by now, there’s no guarantee they can understand them. They would first need the ability to decode light waves into sound and then learn the many human languages to understand the message. They would also need the desire and ability to respond or there’s no way we would meet them.

Using this information, the researchers determined earthlings should hear from alien cultures in about 1,500 years when around half of the Milky Way has been signaled, so we shouldn’t be expecting them anytime soon, according to RedOrbit.

“It’s possible to hear any time at all, but it becomes likely we will have heard around 1,500 years from now. Until then, it is possible that we appear to be alone, even if we are not. But if we stop listening or looking, we may miss the signals. So we should keep looking.”

The research paper, “A Probabilistic Analysis of the Fermi Paradox,” will be presented at San Diego’s American Astronomical Society.

To speed the discovery of space aliens and help ensure earthlings meet E.T. sometime in our lifetime, there’s a Silicon Valley businessman who has teamed with Stephen Hawking to send a fleet of ships out into space.

The tiny nanocraft will be powered by laser beams from Earth that can propel the wafer-thin spacecraft up to 30 percent the speed of light. With that speed the tiny spaceships could reach Alpha Centauri in 15 years compared to the 30,000 years it would take today’s ships.

Private space transportation companies like SpaceX, Mars One, and Blue Origin have also entered the space race with plans to send cargo trips to Mars as a first step to colonizing the red planet.

How long do you think it will be before we make contact with space aliens from another planet?

Photo by NASA/JPL-Caltech/R. Hurt via Getty Images

Share this article: Yes, Aliens Exist, No, You Won’t Be Able To See Them In Your Lifetime, Study Says E.T. Contact Centuries Away
aliens mars space ufo Milky Way SpaceX
More from Inquisitr