A NASA scientist has offered perhaps the most sensible explanation as to why aliens have been ghosting us for all these years.
No matter what camp you're in - either you think aliens are real or aliens are not real - it is mad how unfathomably big the universe is without having any visitors.
Even if a handful of the 'UFO sightings' over the years were actually legit, surely it wouldn't take too long for a quick 'hello' or a nod. While Ridley Scott and others may portray aliens as frightening, it's uncertain what the reality might be.
Well, according to scientist Dr Robin Corbet, aliens are probably having these exact same thoughts about us.
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The astrophysicist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center reckons extraterrestrial civilizations may not be as technologically advanced as we make them look in the movies.
In his new research paper, 'A Less Terrifying Universe?', he says there is a 'lack of strong evidence for the presence of technology-using extraterrestrial civilizations (ETCs) in the Galaxy'.
This principle is also known as the 'Fermi paradox', where no species has 'achieved technology levels sufficient to accomplish large-scale astro-engineering or lack the desire to do so'.
"In the mundane perspective, where other civilizations are not that much more advanced, a limit to exploration would arise," he said.
For instance, if you take a look at a 'promising' location for life to exist, such as Proxima Centauri b, it would take 100,000 years for human beings to even reach it.
Dr Corbet hypothesises that aliens' tech isn't much better than ours, and the idea of sending out 'swarms of interstellar robotic probes' just isn't possible.
"The Fermi paradox may be explained if the galaxy contains a modest number of technological civilizations, with technology levels that, while more advanced than contemporary Earth, are nowhere near the 'super-science' levels that could result in readily detectable astro-engineering," Dr Corbet said in his paper.
Other scientists also reckon that aliens might actually be scared of us, which sort of makes sense.
The fact that a human-made nuclear war could wipe out the planet in a matter of minutes must be a scary sight if you're watching from another planet.
Dr Gordon Gallup, a biopsychologist at the University of Albany, said in a 2022 paper: "If there is intelligent life elsewhere, they may view humans as extremely dangerous.
"Maybe this is why there is no proof or compelling evidence of extraterrestrial intelligence.
"We pose too great a risk, and they do not want to be discovered."
You can just imagine the conversation: "Fancy a trip to Earth?"
"Pollution, greed, wars, traffic, waste, lies, politics, nah I'm good thanks pal," is how I think it would go down.
Anish Vij