We come in peace! Scientist reveals exactly what our first contact with aliens will look like – and it’s nothing like the movies

As astronomers scour the universe for signs of alien life, one researcher has revealed exactly what first contact would look like.

But this meeting will not be like the close encounters of a Hollywood blockbuster.

According to the ‘Eschatian Hypothesis’, the first extraterrestrial civilization we encounter is likely to be in the final moments of complete collapse.

This is because, like dying stars and supernovae, civilizations will burn out their brightest just before falling into darkness.

from Columbia University. According to David Kipping, this theory means the first aliens were likely to be ‘unusually noisy’.

Dr Kipping says in a YouTube video: ‘Hollywood has conditioned us to expect one of two types of alien contact; either a hostile invading force or a benevolent species bestowing wisdom on humanity.

‘But the Eschatian hypothesis is neither.

‘Here the first contact is with a civilization in its death throes, struggling violently before its end.’

In a new article, To appear in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical SocietyDr Kipping argues that finding aliens should follow the same rules as all other astronomical discoveries.

This means that the early examples we discovered were not unique to their class, but rather ‘rare, extreme cases’.

To understand how this ‘detection bias’ works, imagine looking at the night sky on a clear night.

Of the thousands of stars you can see, about a third will be giant stars that died in the final stages of their lives.

This transition period lasts less than 10 percent of a star’s lifetime, and only one percent of the stars in the universe are in this giant phase.

But because dying stars are much brighter than their typical neighbors, they make up the bulk of the stars we can detect with the naked eye.

The same goes for more extreme events such as supernovae (massive explosions that occur when massive stars run out of fuel and collapse).

These explosions are surprisingly rare; In a galaxy the size of the Milky Way, an explosion occurs only once every 50 years.

Supernovae from dying stars (pictured) are incredibly rare, but because they are so bright, we see thousands of them every year. Scientists say alien civilizations should be the same, as we’re more likely to find one that burned brightly in its final moments, even if it’s rarer.

For example, a nuclear war would create a massive energy explosion that intelligent civilizations could detect. Image: Castle Union Nuclear Test, 1954

But astronomers regularly discover thousands of supernovae every year simply because they are incredibly bright.

According to Dr Kipping, there is no reason why our first discovery of alien life could not follow exactly the same rules.

He says: ‘So we should expect the first detection of an alien civilization to be someone unusually noisy.

‘Their behavior is likely to be unusual, but their enormous size makes them the most likely candidate to be discovered.’

This means that the first aliens we meet will be like a loud, obnoxious party guest; Most people in the room don’t act like this, but the ones that are noticed by everyone are noticed.

But when we consider what could cause a civilization to be noisy, the situation becomes much more depressing.

As civilizations develop, they become more efficient; They consume less energy and use the energy they have in a more sustainable way.

Just as a well-kept modern house leaks less heat than an old, dilapidated house, healthy civilizations should not emit large amounts of excess energy.

This means our first encounter with aliens won’t be a purposeful encounter like in the new movie Disclosure Day. Instead, we are more likely to hear the last desperate cries of a civilization.

In this sense, the volume of a civilization is a sign of ‘extreme imbalance’, a harbinger of impending collapse.

For example, the intense heat and energy released by a nuclear war will cause a planet to illuminate in a way that sensitive telescopes can detect.

Similarly, some scientists have suggested that aliens may even use rapid human-caused climate change as a sign of intelligent life on our planet.

Some civilizations in complete freefall may even begin broadcasting signals into space in an attempt to reach other life.

Dr Kipping famously said ‘Wow! The ‘Signal’ detected by scientists in 1977 could have been a civilization broadcasting a final desperate cry.

Dr. Instead of doing in-depth studies of promising star systems or patiently waiting for a coherent message, scientists should frequently scan the entire sky, Kipping says.

Unexplained brief blips, sudden flashes, or systems undergoing rapid, abnormal changes can all be signs of the collapse of a noisy civilization.

So, while it’s not a happy thought, this theory could help us find our first signs of life among the stars.

WHAT IS THE FERMI PARADOX?

The Fermi Paradox questions why there are no signs of alien life, given the estimated 200-400 billion stars and at least 100 billion planets in our galaxy.

The contradiction takes its name from its creator, Italian physicist Enrico Fermi.

He first asked this question in 1950.

Fermi believed that it was very unusual that not a single extraterrestrial signal or engineering project had yet been detected in the universe, despite its immense vastness.

Fermi concluded that there must be a barrier limiting the rise of intelligent, self-aware, technologically advanced, space-colonizing civilizations.

This barrier is sometimes referred to as the ‘Great Filter’.

Italian physicist Enrico Fermi devised the Fermi Paradox in the 1950s, investigating why there are no signs of alien life despite 100 billion planets in our galaxy.

Scientists suggest that if the main obstacle to the colonization of other planets is not in our past, the obstacle that will stop humanity’s chances of reaching other worlds must be in our future.

Professor Brian Cox believes that the advances in science and engineering required for a civilization to begin conquering the stars will ultimately lead to its extinction.

He said: ‘One of the solutions to the Fermi Paradox is that it is not possible to govern a world that has the power to destroy itself.

‘The development of science and engineering may inevitably exceed the development of political expertise, leading to disaster.’

Other possible explanations for the Fermi Paradox include that intelligent alien species exist but lack the technology necessary to communicate with Earth.

Some believe that the distances between intelligent civilizations are too great to allow any two-way communication.

If two worlds are thousands of light years apart, it is possible for one or both civilizations to disappear without dialogue being established.

The so-called zoo hypothesis claims that intelligent alien life is out there, but deliberately avoids any contact with life on Earth to allow for its natural evolution.