An observer looking at Earth's past history

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    History Observer
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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the implications of humanity's signals sent into space and the potential for extraterrestrial beings to locate Earth based on those signals. Participants explore the feasibility of locating Earth in the context of its movement within the galaxy and the limitations of the signals sent.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Debate/contested, Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • One participant questions the practicality of extraterrestrial beings locating Earth after receiving signals, suggesting that Earth's position may have changed significantly over time.
  • Another participant argues that Earth's movement within the galaxy is relatively small, implying that it would be easily locatable if the signals are received.
  • A third participant adds that the motion of Earth and the Solar System is predictable, indicating that aliens could determine the current location of the signal's origin.
  • A link is provided to an external source that illustrates the vastness of the galaxy, suggesting that the distance of ~100 light-years is minor compared to the scale of the galaxy, which may affect the power and reach of human transmissions.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on the ability of extraterrestrial beings to locate Earth based on received signals, with some asserting it is feasible while others raise concerns about the implications of Earth's movement over time. The discussion remains unresolved regarding the effectiveness of signals in establishing Earth's location.

Contextual Notes

Participants do not fully explore the mathematical or cosmological references that could clarify the relationship between signal transmission and Earth's movement, leaving some assumptions unaddressed.

happyhacker
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I was thinking about the signals Mankind has sent out from Earth greeting other races out there. Is it reasonable to think that even if some being received the signals (data) they would have no idea about locating Earth because it would be in somewhere else in the Galaxy/Universe by then?

So some people's worry about giving a conquering race our coordinates is groundless and a waste of effort anyway unless by some Galactic or Cosmological reference one can compute the path. I do not have the knowledge to apply any maths to this even if there is any.
 
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The Earth doesn't travel that far with respect to the galaxy. We would be easily locatable as long as they can pick up the signal.
 
Also, the motion of the Earth and the Solar System is quite predictable. It would be no problem for the aliens to figure out where the emitter that sent the signal is currently located.
 
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