Jason McClellan | Jan 06, 2012 Famed theoretical physicist
Stephen Hawking will celebrate his 70th birthday on Sunday,
January 8. And to mark his birthday, he recently answered
questions from listeners of BBC Radio channel 4′s Today show.
According to the BBC, “Topics ranged from the origins of the
universe to the prospects for extra terrestrial life and the
impact on Einstein’s theory of relativity should neutrinos be
confirmed to travel faster than light.” The question that
elicited the response about extraterrestrials was submitted by a
Twitter user named @CazCarpSnail. The question asked, “What do
you think the impact will be on humankind if Kepler 22-b [Earth-
like planet found by Nasa's Kepler Space Telescope] does indeed
support life?” Hawking responded: The discovery of intelligent
life elsewhere in the Universe would be the biggest scientific
discovery ever. But it would be very risky to attempt to
communicate with an alien civilization. If aliens decided to
visit us then the outcome might be similar