Professor Brian Cox reveals his theory on aliens and why he thinks their existence would be a 'weight off our shoulders'
Professor Brian Cox has revealed his true theory about aliens and why he hopes they exist out there somewhere in the universe.
Speaking to LADbible for the Explainer For A Stranger series, he opened up about why he would find the presence of aliens reassuring and why it would be 'terrifying' if humans were alone in the universe.
The physicist has always stood by his belief microbial alien life is likely common in the universe, but that intelligent and technological civilisations are extremely rare.
He has previously argued that our search methods for other lifeforms are flawed because we look for human-scale technology.
Brian Cox says what terrifies him about us being alone in the universe
Speaking exclusively to LADbible, he explained exactly what he thinks about aliens and why we 'don't know' if they exist.
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"The reason I say we don't know is because in terms of astronomical evidence," he explained.
"We've had a project called SETI, the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence, which has really been running since the invention of the radio telescope pretty much or not long after, so at least 50 years.
"It's still ongoing... this search for signals or signs of other civilisations. And to date, they have detected nothing at all. Astronomers call it the great silence, this kind of ominous name.
"It is a tremendous mystery, I would say, why we haven't detected any signal or any evidence of any civilization out there.
"I do genuinely think it's one of the great mysteries because there's been plenty of time and so many worlds and it seems inconceivable that there wouldn't be other civilizations far ahead of us."
Despite us not having the answers, Cox said that the presence of other lifeforms would be reassuring, and explained that humans being alone in the universe is a 'terrifying' thought.
"I'm guessing that microbes are common, even in the solar system," he said. "So life may begin on Mars, life may begin on Europa and so on.
"My guess is that the length of time it takes to go from single cells to intelligence is enormous, and that's why civilisations are rare.
"If it is true that intelligence is extremely rare, then it seems to me that there's a responsibility that falls on us to ensure that meaning exists in our little corner of space, which might be the Milky Way galaxy, that little corner of space.
"And that sort of worries me. That is terrifying to me.
"The most optimistic of all is that there are actually other civilisations out there and they're close by and they visit.
"I would absolutely love that because given what you said, I feel it would take a weight off our shoulders
"I'd prefer it if there was someone else out there. So even if some idiot presses the wrong button, there's meaning somewhere else close by."
He continued: "That's one of the strongest objections that we... you know, in cosmology, when we talk about the universe as a whole, there is a really important principle, which is we're not special.
"We're not in a special place. We're at a special time in the sense that it's not long after the universe began and it seems like there's an infinite amount of time in the future."
"I don't think there's anything at Area51"
During the conversation, Cox also revealed his thoughts on Area 51 and why he 'doesn't think there's anything there'.
Ever since its creation in 1955, Area 51 has been the subject of questions and conspiracies.
It was originally built as a test facility for the Lockheed U-2 Spy Plane, but in the decades since, it's rumored to have been home to UFO activity, alien autopsies and clandestine investigations.
The scientist was asked about what he thought was there, to which he responded: "I would find it astonishing, given my experience of governments and the competence of them, that they're managing to keep these very big things secret.
"There are obviously secrets like the technology to build nuclear weapons, for example, and things like that. So there are obviously secrets there.
"But what we're talking about here is, if it's Area 51, for example, is an enormous base with flying saucers in it. That's a big secret, right?
"So that would be my view. I don't think there's anything there at all."
Watch the full conversation here.
James Holt