Jesuit Astronomer Says Extraterrestrial Communication Possible
Article by J-P Mauro August 28, 2020 (aleteia.org)
• In a study paper published in the International Journal of Astrobiology, co-author Father Jose Funes, a Catholic priest and an expert in galaxies and extragalactic astronomy who holds the chair in Science, Religion and Education at the Catholic University of Cordoba, Argentina, theorizes that in a long-enough timeline, Earth could intercept messages from intelligent extraterrestrial civilizations.
• The researchers created a simulation to study “casually connected nodes,” ‘nodes’ being the term for unknown intergalactic civilizations. They then ran these thousands of nodes through the simulation to conclude that communication with an ET civilization is directly related to how many sophisticated civilizations exist in the Milky Way.
• As a result, the study suggests that the probability of Earth receiving intergalactic messages is low, overall. But the likelihood of such a discovery is greatly increased if the galaxy is “densely populated with long-standing civilizations.” The longer a civilization exists, the greater the chance that it will develop technology that could be used for intergalactic messaging.
• “[T]hough the odds are not very high, there is a chance to communicate with ET,” says Father Funes. “All this effort in studying probabilities and communicating with alien civilizations helps to understand better who we are. It is important to step out from our anthropomorphic and anthropocentric way of thinking to deal with a very profound diversity, the cosmic otherness.”
• The study team notes that we can increase our chances of interacting with extraterrestrial civilizations by enacting our own interstellar exploration, colonization, and settlement. They also suggested probes that could self-replicate as a means of exploring the furthest reaches of space.
• [Editor’s Note] Is the Catholic church getting people used to the notion that the galaxy could be “densely populated with long-standing civilizations”? Is this part of the long, drawn-out, drip drip drip of disclosure?
A Catholic priest has co-authored a study on intergalactic communications, which theorizes that, on a long enough timeline, it is possible that Earth could intercept messages from extraterrestrial civilizations.
The paper, published in the International Journal of Astrobiology, suggests that communication with an intelligent civilization is directly related to how many sophisticated civilizations exist in the Milky Way. The study came to this conclusion by creating a simulation that studied “casually connected nodes,” nodes being a term for unknown intergalactic civilizations.
The researchers ran these thousands of nodes through the simulation, which led them to suggest that the probability of Earth receiving intergalactic messages is overall low. They do note, however, that the likelihood of such a discovery is greatly increased if the galaxy is “densely populated with long-standing civilizations.” They suggest that the longer a civilization exists, the greater the chance that it will develop technology that could be used for intergalactic messaging.
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Catholic University of Cordoba Argentina, Father Jose Funes, interstellar exploration, Jesuit, Milky Way
