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[Gigaz]

Perhaps we're just looking for the wrong things? They could be using different wavelengths to us, for example.

From thermodynamics alone you can argue that the wavelengths must be well above CMB, but well below visible light. Not too many possible wavelengths, actually. Just about two orders of magnitude.

[Dutrius]

And the SpaceX launch was a success!

[olemars]

Stage one reached the pad, but landed hard again unfortunately.

They'll get it right eventually.

[MDFification]

Perhaps we're just looking for the wrong things? They could be using different wavelengths to us, for example.

Or there's no proper way of transmitting stuff in the EM spectrum over such a large distance without it appearing as natural or being undetectable due to blooming or some other effect?

Or the great filter.

Or Reapers.

When you think of life as a system with exponentially increasing complexity and factor in the distances involved, this makes sense. We're not looking at those galaxies as they are today, but as they looked millions of years ago. Assuming life became possible in the Milky Way and these galaxies at the same time, their life hasn't reached a level of complexity that can support galaxy-spanning civilizations by the time the light we're viewing was produced.

[Dorsidwarf]

Even in our own galaxy, a spacegoing civilization's messages could take over a hundred thousand years to reach us.

Worse, unless they're specifically broadcasting in all directions at an immensely high power, we might not even get their signal anyway - as the signal spreads out, it weakens. Our broadcast 'leakage' from the 20th century (Now largely gone with the fall of high-power radio transmitters as a communications technology) won't reach all that far either.

Worse, if aliens do pick up our signals by a miraculous chance, there's a damn good chance that the first broadcast they'd recieve is that 1936 Olympic Games.

That could get a little socially awkward later on.

[Graknorke]

Why would it? They'd have no cultural context to even know anything about the Nazis. As far as an unaware observer would be concerned it's just a series of competitions of physical prowess, presided over by a state comprised of people who are long-dead.

[Dorsidwarf]

Why would it? They'd have no cultural context to even know anything about the Nazis. As far as an unaware observer would be concerned it's just a series of competitions of physical prowess, presided over by a state comprised of people who are long-dead.

I did say later on.

[alway]

They just released video of the landing from a chase plane:

Spoiler: img (click to show/hide)

https://vine.co/v/euEpIVegiIx

[Sheb]

To be honest they didn't look for radio emissions, but for what would be the results of some kind of galaxy-wide dyson sphere: the waste heat signature of a civilization that manage to harvest and use a significant portion of their galaxy's power output. I'm actually glad they didn't, that kind of power would scare me shitless.

[zchris13]

To be honest they didn't look for emissions, but for what would be the results of some kind of galaxy-wide dyson sphere: the waste heat signature of a civilization that manage to harvest and use a significant portion of their galaxy's power output. I'm actually glad they didn't, that kind of power would scare me shitless.

Yeah okay I'm going to go have nightmares about that now, thanks.

[MDFification]

To be honest they didn't look for radio emissions, but for what would be the results of some kind of galaxy-wide dyson sphere: the waste heat signature of a civilization that manage to harvest and use a significant portion of their galaxy's power output. I'm actually glad they didn't, that kind of power would scare me shitless.

Especially considering that power of that magnitude could doubtlessly send ships as the speed of light to acquire evermore resources. And, in fact, as soon as we saw their civilization they could already be on their way...

[Parsely]

A Type II civilization isn't going to give a crap about us. We don't have anything they could possibly want that they couldn't get from somewhere else.

[Morrigi]

Why would it? They'd have no cultural context to even know anything about the Nazis. As far as an unaware observer would be concerned it's just a series of competitions of physical prowess, presided over by a state comprised of people who are long-dead.

We also have no context for what alien culture and politics would be like. For all we know, they could look down upon democracy on principle, and would be best buddies with the Nazis. We just don't know.

[PTTG??]

Why would it? They'd have no cultural context to even know anything about the Nazis. As far as an unaware observer would be concerned it's just a series of competitions of physical prowess, presided over by a state comprised of people who are long-dead.

We also have no context for what alien culture and politics would be like. For all we know, they could look down upon democracy on principle, and would be best buddies with the Nazis. We just don't know.

Unlikely. The Nazis had an inefficient, self-sabotaging social order, and their eugenic theories aren't upheld by science. It strains credulity that any alien civilization that was alike enough to them to like them would ever reach II without some kind of reform.

[TempAcc]

Even in our own galaxy, a spacegoing civilization's messages could take over a hundred thousand years to reach us.

Worse, unless they're specifically broadcasting in all directions at an immensely high power, we might not even get their signal anyway - as the signal spreads out, it weakens. Our broadcast 'leakage' from the 20th century (Now largely gone with the fall of high-power radio transmitters as a communications technology) won't reach all that far either.

Worse, if aliens do pick up our signals by a miraculous chance, there's a damn good chance that the first broadcast they'd recieve is that 1936 Olympic Games.

That could get a little socially awkward later on.

I once saw a theory that quasars could be manipulated by sufficiently advanced aliens to emit light bursts in frequencies that would allow another less civilized species, on the other side of the galaxy, to maybe detect the artificial nature of the light bursts and see it as a "hey, we're over here!" sign. Its an interesting theory IMO, but due to the speed of light, we'd only actualy receive the message much later :v

Damn you, cosmic scale.