> It would have been a very cruel joke if the first opportunity for interaction with extra terrestrial intelligence flew past us so unceremoniously. It won't l

> It would have been a very cruel joke if the first opportunity for interaction with extra terrestrial intelligence flew past us so unceremoniously. It won't leave the solar system (Oort cloud) for 20,000 years. I'd hope our technology improves enough to be able to catch up in that time.