Patience Really is a Virtue

Sunday, August 30th, 2009 at 9:57 pm

Patience Really is a Virtue Monday August 31, 2009 Have you ever sent an email or text message to someone and got tired of waiting for a response? Sure you have, but you just have to be patient. Not easy, is it? What if you had to wait for over 40 years for an answer? That is exactly what Earthlings must do with their first mass message sent into deep space. 25,000 messages have been sent by the Tidbinbilla Deep Space Communication Complex outside Canberra, Australia, to Gliese 581d, which is the nearest earth-like planet out of our solar system. 195 countries have partipated in the messages, hopefully to be heard by extraterrestrial beings. Now, here comes the problem. If you are one of those who sent a message, don’t hold your breath for a response. It will take a staggering 20.3 years for the message to reach the planet, and assuming they answer promptly, another 20.3 years for a response to get back to Earth. I guess patience really is a virtue. Are you willing to wait that long? Some of us, present company included, won’t even be alive then. What do you think? Is it really worth the effort?

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Patience Really is a Virtue

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