Is this GIF really the first thing we want extraterrestrial beings to see and judge our species? The first GIF was sent into the far reaches of space on Tuesday to celebrate the debut of Lone Signal METI (Messaging Extra Terrestrial Intelligence), a project that enables anyone to send any type of message they want into space, reports PetaPixel.
While the idea of letting citizens freely send information into space isn’t sitting well with scientists – and rightly so if you think about the type of content that human beings are capable of creating (just look at 4Chan), the first GIF sent is of artist Kim Asendorf contemplating art. No Nyan Cat for the final frontier yet.
We can’t say that this GIF is actually representative of who we are as the human species, but I guess you can always take it into your own hands and send your own messages to set the record straight considering the inevitable “junk mail” of information that will be expelled into space.
The message – the Asendorf GIF – is being beamed straight toward Gliese 526, a solar system speculated to contain hospitable planets about 17.6 light years away from Earth. Here is the message in its full animated GIF form:
Let’s just hope that the alien recipients of these messages don’t take interpret anything the wrong way…
