My French is a bit rusty, but evidently this site (mildly NSFW link) is about “Cosmic Connexion”, a French TV broadcast with, um, naked hosts. Why are they naked? Do they need a reason?
Well, they have one. The show is about humanity as it might be explained to aliens, and they include human evolution in that, which is why they’re nude. They’re broadcasting this show to a binary star called Errai, also known as Gamma Cephei, in hopes (tongue-in-cheek, I think) that aliens living on a planet there will eventually respond.
They may have to wait a while. First off, Errai is 45 light years away, so any return signal won’t be received for 90 years. Second, and more problematic, is that the main star in the Errai system is a K subgiant, meaning it’s a star like the Sun that has run out of fuel in its core, and is in the process of turning into a red giant. It’s known to have a planet orbiting it, and it might have more, but they’re doomed: as the star expands, they’ll fry under its heat. That’ll take some time, like thousands of years or more, but still. The TV show writers could have though this through a little better.
The show will be broadcast, they claim, by an antenna used by the French National Centre for Space Studies. They are also asking people to add messages they want the aliens to read. I might add mine: “If you can read this message, sorry about your star evolving into a red giant and all. Maybe this TV show starring naked French people will make you feel better. If not, please don’t come here and invade us, even though your planet is dying. The TSA will make entering the US really aggravating, and you’ll wish you’d stayed at Errai and vaporized instead.”
Tip o’ the chapeau to Ray Kurzweil for this bit of naked ambition.
