Albert Einstein was once asked “What is the most important question facing humankind?” Einstein responded by asking another question: “Is the universe a friendly place?”. Throughout our history, humanity has speculated about major issues like do sentient beings exist on other worlds in the universe and is professional wrestling scripted? We think about these things when we’ve been sitting at the computer all day and finally have to ask ourselves if we should reply to the idiot who believes pro wrestling is real.
We linger on the issue of intelligent life on other worlds because right now we have the time to do that. We fervently hope that whoever or whatever is out there likes us. We realize that with the entire world population on Facebook, getting likes is as important as wearing shoes on the corporate outing during the hot coals walk that teaches us how to work together.
We know how it feels when someone responds right away to our often-hasty posts with a smarmy emoji. If, in fact, there are beings out there in our own solar system, we don’t want to anger or annoy the extra-terrestrials and risk their ire. Do they have weapons or is it just a mind meld from afar kind of thing? A sad-faced emoji could be interpreted as an act of inter-planetary war. Let’s not go there, although we have no compunction to post pics of cats doing whatever they want anywhere they want. The aliens may think of us humans as a species who will do whatever we want anywhere we want and they’re right!
Now the news. NASA informs us that the Juno spacecraft orbiting Jupiter has discovered an FM radio signal coming from its moon Ganymede. According to Britannica.com, Jupiter’s radio emissions were discovered in 1955, and since then more and more discoveries have been made about how the signals work. According to NASA. “Juno will observe Jupiter’s gravity and magnetic fields, atmospheric dynamics and if there are pharmaceutical commercials placed strategically within the broadcasts”. If this is so, scientists feel that if and when aliens age, they have the same type of ailments we on Earth have. This is valuable information when we plan on arriving on these worlds. We should pack various doctor’s samples and offer them up. They don’t weigh a lot. But back to the radio signals.
When first discovered, the transmissions seemed to exhibit a morning drive time format which astounded scientists because Jupiter, to the best of their knowledge, has no vehicles, no roads and no work-places that we know of.
To compound the situation there’s nothing to drive to and even if there were, the Exxon-Mobil people would have a gas station there already. So, bad format. They should have been playing adult contemporary.
The find is a first-time detection from Ganymede, a moon of Jupiter. Ganymede is like Disneyworld; we want to go there but don’t know how much it will eventually cost. We’ll have to save up.
Juno was traveling across the polar region of Jupiter when it crossed the radio source. Scientifically, it is called a “decametric radio emission.” Here on Earth, we know it as Wi-Fi, and we use it every day. Seems like the universe is a small place after all.
