I’m watching the NatGeo documentary on planets and they are commenting on voyager, and the famous golden record announcing where earth is, and what human are etc…etc… Voyager was launched in 1977, so for 30 years she’s been speeding past all the planets, discovering new ones and the whole nine. The golden plaque on her was noted to have been discounted by Steven Hawking. Hawking went on to say that it shouldn’t be placed on the voyager and that one doesn’t “call out in the Jungle”. I wonder if there has been an increase in UFO sightings since 77’. Obviously, if you don’t subscribe to the ufo phenom then don’t worry about it, but if Douglas Adams lights your fire what do you think? Anyone know where we can see any psuedo science stats on ufo sightings?
Voyager is barely a stone’s through away from Earth in cosmic terms. I don’t think it’s even left our solar system yet. If anyone has had contact with it then they were already close enough to Earth to know about us.
No, there haven’t. Since Voyager hasn’t reached any other solar system but ours, what did you expect?
Or do you mean confirmed alien craft sightings? If so, there haven’t been any of those ever. Ever.
Thats the thing, I have no idea to expect. I wonder what Hawking was thinking when he mentioned caution putting that plaque on?
Yep, neither Voyager has traveled very far, really. Anyone stumbling onto it would have already noticed the TV and radio signals from Earth.
Voyager I is about 14.6 light hours from Earth - less than 0.04% of the distance to the closest star.
Possibly that it may not be such a great idea to give potentially hostile races a roadmap to our planet, samples of all our languages, and a pretty good estimate of our level of technology.
Granted, odds are the thing will never be found. But if it is found by…something…we have no way of knowing if that something is hostile.
Or they could use that knowledge to inadvertently almost destroy themselves like in ST-Voyager–the Friendship One incident.
The first could be a problem, but the other two are going to be well out of date by the time anyone might find it.
For that matter, I wouldn’t be that surprised if another spacecraft overtook it before it gets anywhere important.
Kinda depends on when it gets found. We are able to read and understand thiings written thousands of years ago.
On the technology level…whatever finds Voyager will know how far it has travelled, and can likely calculate how long that trip took. That would allow them to have a rough idea of how far technology has likely advanced since Voyager was launched. It won’t be exact…but close enough.
>Possibly that it may not be such a great idea to give potentially hostile races a roadmap to our planet, samples of all our languages, and a pretty good estimate of our level of technology.
A very understandable sentiment, but I think of no practical significance. Our radio voice has put way, way more information out there which has gone several thousand times further. And, anybody that finds Voyager would have little trouble figuring out where it came from, if they care. But most important, the distances involved probably mean that at least for regions like the one we live in, civilizations listen to each other, they don’t visit, and they may not even converse in any meaningful way.
Hawking was probably just cheesed that the engraved images depicted humans standing up.
“This is an outrage. Human beings spend most of their lives in a seated or reclining position. Most of humanity’s greatest scientific advances have been made while sitting down. I am shouting with anger.”
Note: while preparing this highly inappropriate joke, I learned that the engravings of people were only included on the Pioneer 10 plaque, not on the Voyager spacecraft. So a small amount of personal ignorance has been fought, even while being a dick about the physicial infirmities of a brilliant man for no good reason at all.
It was a good joke, and there are images of humans on Voyager. I loaned out my copy of The Dragons of Eden, but ISTR the woman on Voyager is pregnant, and the woman I found on Pioneer 10 through googling is not.
“Why does Ross, the largest Friend, not simply eat the other five?”
–Lrr, Emperor of Omicron Persei Eight, approx. 1000 light years away, approx. 1000 years from now.
Why don’t those people in the bar simply kill Cliffy and worship Norm?
–Lrr, Emperor of Omicron Persei Eight, approx. 1000 light years away, approx. 1000 years from now
Oh, no you didn’t! You did not just go there. Dude, she has high fluid retention.
Ok, so what I am hearing you say is that “they” are already living among us? 
True. But there is still… din-din-dinnnnnnn… right angled turns to dismiss! 