Stephen Hawking thinks aliens are probably out there, but has issued a warning that we should not try and contact them as they may want to colonise Earth
The world-reknowned theoretical physicist rings the alarm bells about reaching out to ET in a new documentary for the Discovery Channel.
Professor Hawking, the former Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge, claims that spacemen may just want to ravage the Earth's resources should they discover its whereabouts.
He said: 'We only have to look at ourselves to see how intelligent life might develop into something we wouldn't want to meet.
'I imagine they might exist in massive ships, having used up all the resources from their home planet.
'Such advanced aliens would perhaps become nomads, looking to conquer and colonise whatever planets they can reach.
'If aliens visit us, the outcome would be much as when Columbus landed in America, which didn't turn out well for the Native Americans'.
In the documentary, Into The Universe With Stephen Hawking, the professor gives viewers a guide to outer space, taking in time travel, the building blocks of the universe and alien life.
The question for Professor Hawking isn't whether intelligent life exists outside our solar system – but how friendly it would be.
He said: 'To my mathematical brain, the numbers alone make thinking about aliens perfectly rational.
'The real challenge is to work out what aliens might actually be like'.
The Aliens episode premieres tonight at 9pm on Discovery.
Metro.uk
