For fifty years, the Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence (SETI) has been scanning the galaxy for a message from an alien civilisation. So far to no avail, but a recent breakthrough suggests they may one day succeed.
Horizon joins the planet hunters who’ve discovered a new world called Gliese 581 c. It is the most Earth-like planet yet found around another star and may have habitats capable of supporting life. NASA too hopes to find fifty more Earth-like planets by the end of the decade, all of which dramatically increases the chance that alien life has begun elsewhere in the galaxy.
“Two possibilities exist: either we are alone in the Universe or we are not. Both are equally terrifying.” So said sci-fi author Arthur C Clarke. We’ve been fascinated by the idea life may exist elsewhere, and for over 50 years the Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence (Seti) has been scanning the galaxy for messages from an alien civilisation to no avail.
But the discovery of planets outside our solar system, or exoplanets, has raised hopes that efforts to contact alien lifeforms may one day succeed. BBC’s Horizon joined the planet hunters who discovered a new world called Gliese 581 c. To date, it is one of the most Earth-like planets found around another star, and it may have habitats capable of supporting life.
