You, too, can give a shout-out to another planet
| August 14, 2009 | 11:10 AM
More journal entries from Cindy House »
If you ever wanted to beam your own message into space, here’s your chance. Australian magazine COSMOS is gathering Twitter-style short posts to send to Gliese 581d, an Earth-like planet covered in water.
Don’t expect a response anytime soon, though. Gliese is 20 light years away, so messages will take 20 years to get there, and another 20 years to return.
Here’s a sample of the thoughtful, insightful, bridging-the-light-years messages that Earthlings would like to send, as seen at the magazine’s HelloFromEarth Web site:
- Greetings from Earth to our neighbours. Allow us to become friends with you. I am sure we have much to learn from one another. We eagerly await your response.
- Hello from Earth. Our home is beautiful beyond words. A beauty made possible by our system’s star we call Solaris. Hope to hear from you soon.
- hello, hoping all is well. would really like to know if life is really out there
- Hi, from Nick and Carla. Come visit us. You can stay at our place. We’ve got a pullout couch!
- Hello! Well, if you read this message, and I don’t know if you can read the english, I just wanted to say you we are eager to meet you… You’ll come, right?
- Dear Aliens, If your reading this is 20+ years, that means the Cubs still haven’t won a World Series, please send us some decent alien ball players.
- Hello. I like bacon and you should too. “Top Gun”, 1986 AD, starring Tom Cruise, Kelly McGillis and Val Kilmer is the best movie ever. The end.
- If you should get this message and come to earth in the distant future, please do me a favor. My name is Jarod Reback if I’m dead please bring me back to life.
- Hi There To one and all, please send space warp drive schematics asap
- Hi, just like to say if you want feel free to take me away to a nice place, then eat the rest. Thanks Howard
- Hello from Earth. If you receive our TV transmissions, don’t think too bad of us. We are mostly harmless… young and fool, but eager to learn.
- In the silence of our loving universe, humanity screams in pain. The consciousness of our species is in dire need for contact with you. Save us from Illuminati
- Please do not attempt to contact us. Besides, you ought to be ashamed of yourselves, what with your alien ways and all. I won’t let you bathe in my sauna!
And, after reading all that, perhaps the most important message:
- If you visit, please be aware that we’re not ALL idiots, and go easy on us. Blake Bevin
aliens, cosmos, gliese, planet, universe
