Rather than wait for aliens to find us, a bold scientific project recently sent a message into space with the hopes that it will be heard by intelligent ETs.
Researchers with the Messaging Extraterrestrial Intelligence organization announced that they beamed the binary-coded missive via radio waves last month.
The target for the message is a star known as 'GJ 273,' which is believed to be orbited by a planet which could harbor life and is only 12 light-years from Earth.
Contained within communique, astronomers at METI explained, are a rudimentary explanation of various mathematical concepts, insights into how humans measure time, and 33 songs.
Although the message, due to reach GJ 273 around 2029, sparks the imagination, not everyone thinks that declaring our presence to ETs is necessarily a good idea.
More on the potential hazards of letting aliens know we are here at the Coast to Coast AM website.