Space Scientists Fear ET May be Stones Fans!

Will the arrival of the Beatles hit "Across the Universe" to inhabitants near the North Star trigger a violent attack on Earth by alien Mick Jagger fans?

Scientists at the Sound of Science Conference on the search for extraterrestrial life at Arizona State University challenged the wisdom of broadcasting the Beatles "Across the Universe" to Polaris, the North Star.

Douglas Vakoch, a researcher with SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence), said in an interview with New Science: “Before sending out even symbolic messages, we need an open discussion about the potential risks. It’s very charitable to send out our encyclopaedia, but that may short-change future generations.”

Vakoch has been very vocal on the subject since NASA announced their decision to shuffle the universe. He said in the Daily Telegraph:

“I have no fear that NASA’s latest transmission exposes Earth to any danger from aliens. However, I do believe that even symbolic transmissions from Earth deserve broad-based discussion before hitting “send.” Although one-time transmissions to distant stars stand little chance of being intercepted, they do set a precedent for intentionally making ourselves known to other civilizations. I think the more important question is what we would want to say about ourselves to other worlds, and that’s something deserving of global input.”

Full article here:

http://www.dailygalaxy.com/my_weblog/2008/02/space-scientist.html