--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Right now, there could well be messages…" description: "\"Right now, there could well be messages from the stars flying right through this room. Through you and me. And if we had the right receiver set up prop..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fed/frank-drake-29398_astronomy_right-now-there-could-well-be-messages-f_905414.jpg" --- # Right now, there could well be messages from the stars… ![“Right now, there could well be messages from the stars flying right through this room. Through you and me. And if we had the right receiver set up properly, we could detect them. I still get chills thinking about it.” quote by Frank Drake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fed/frank-drake-29398_astronomy_right-now-there-could-well-be-messages-f_905414.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fed/frank-drake-29398_astronomy_right-now-there-could-well-be-messages-f_905414.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fed/frank-drake-29398_astronomy_right-now-there-could-well-be-messages-f_905414.jpg) > “Right now, there could well be messages from the stars flying right through this room. Through you and me. And if we had the right receiver set up properly, we could detect them. I still get chills thinking about it.” [Frank Drake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-drake/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker suggests that if we could tune into the right frequencies, we might detect extraterrestrial signals passing through our immediate environment. **In simple terms:** Listening carefully could reveal hidden messages from space. Key Takeaway Develop better detection technology. Themes science exploration communication possibility Mood curious hopeful Type scientific speculative When to use this quote - radio telescope upgrades - data analysis workshops - public outreach events Key Concepts SETI signal processing astrophysics Questions to Reflect On - What technologies could improve our listening capabilities? - Are we prepared to interpret unexpected signals? A Different Perspective Signal noise and interference may mask faint extraterrestrial messages. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Astronomy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/astronomy/) [Stars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stars/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [I think if we're going to send messages to the stars then it needs a great deal of thought that it's something that should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-davies/i-think-if-we-re-going-to-send-messages-to-the-stars-then-it-needs-a/) [Paul Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-davies/) > [My favorite New York memory is that blizzard in '96. I get chills thinking about it. It's my favorite time here - call me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shalom-harlow/my-favorite-new-york-memory-is-that-blizzard-in-96-i-get-chills/) [Shalom Harlow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shalom-harlow/) > [When I was with you, I felt like we were shooting stars, flying through the sky. But one day, we crashed to the ground…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francisco-garcia/when-i-was-with-you-i-felt-like-we-were-shooting-stars-flying-through/) [Francisco Garcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francisco-garcia/) > [We have the capacity to receive messages from the stars and the songs of the night winds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-st-denis/we-have-the-capacity-to-receive-messages-from-the-stars-and-the-songs/) [Ruth St. Denis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-st-denis/) > [People presume we've been somehow monitoring the entire sky at all frequencies, all the time, but we haven't yet been able to do any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-drake/people-presume-we-ve-been-somehow-monitoring-the-entire-sky-at-all/) [Frank Drake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-drake/) > [Twinking tears in a sea of black. Soft light in a world of darkness. Tiny wishes in a place of dreams. Do you see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-gentile/twinking-tears-in-a-sea-of-black-soft-light-in-a-world-of-darkness/) Nicole Gentile > [“If there are no stars on the sky, you must try to be happy with the shining streetlights!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/if-there-are-no-stars-on-the-sky-you-must-try-to-be-happy-with-the/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [“Sentinels of trees breathe life into bodies of earthly flesh As their mighty arms reach to the stars we join in their quest for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramon-ravenswood/sentinels-of-trees-breathe-life-into-bodies-of-earthly-flesh-as-their/) [Ramon Ravenswood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramon-ravenswood/) > [From the grasses in the field to the stars in the sky, each one is doing just that; and there is such profound peace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/from-the-grasses-in-the-field-to-the-stars-in-the-sky-each-one-is/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [Astronomers have built telescopes which can show myriads of stars unseen before; but when a man looks through a tear in his own eye,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/astronomers-have-built-telescopes-which-can-show-myriads-of-stars/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [In the movie, the stars above the ship bear no correspondence to any constellations in a real sky. Worse yet, while the heroine bobs...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/in-the-movie-the-stars-above-the-ship-bear-no-correspondence-to-any/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [Home is behind, the world ahead, And there are many paths to tread Through shadows to the edge of night, Until the stars are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/home-is-behind-the-world-ahead-and-there-are-many-paths-to-tread/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Wen daylight turns to a darkened hue, D lovely stars hinting at u, ur heart beat tells u something true, That some 1 badly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/butterfly-kisses/wen-daylight-turns-to-a-darkened-hue-d-lovely-stars-hinting-at-u-ur/) Butterfly\_Kisses > [Mankind have been slow to believe that order reigns in the universe-that the world is a cosmos and a chaos.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-garfield/mankind-have-been-slow-to-believe-that-order-reigns-in-the-universe/) [James A. Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-garfield/) > [I have inside me the winds, the deserts, the oceans, the stars, and everything created in the universe. We were all made by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/i-have-inside-me-the-winds-the-deserts-the-oceans-the-stars-and/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) ## More by Frank Drake > [The story seems to be that almost every star has a planetary system... and, also, the definition of 'habitable zone' has expanded. In our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-drake/the-story-seems-to-be-that-almost-every-star-has-a-planetary-system/) [Frank Drake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-drake/) > [People presume we've been somehow monitoring the entire sky at all frequencies, all the time, but we haven't yet been able to do any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-drake/people-presume-we-ve-been-somehow-monitoring-the-entire-sky-at-all/) [Frank Drake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-drake/) > ["I know perfectly well that at this moment the whole universe is listening to us," Jean Giraudoux wrote in The Madwoman of Chaillot, "and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-drake/i-know-perfectly-well-that-at-this-moment-the-whole-universe-is/) [Frank Drake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-drake/) > [In 1957, I was studying the Pleiades star cluster at Harvard University's radio observatory. On one occasion, we saw an added feature in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-drake/in-1957-i-was-studying-the-pleiades-star-cluster-at-harvard/) [Frank Drake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-drake/) > [There was a magic about pulsars... no other things in the sky had such labels on them. Each one had its own distinct pulsing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-drake/there-was-a-magic-about-pulsars-no-other-things-in-the-sky-had-such/) [Frank Drake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-drake/) > [No company is hiring anyone to search for messages from aliens. Most people don't seem to think there's much benefit to it. The lack…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-drake/no-company-is-hiring-anyone-to-search-for-messages-from-aliens-most/) [Frank Drake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-drake/) > [Nature never uses prime numbers. But mathematicians do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-drake/nature-never-uses-prime-numbers-but-mathematicians-do/) [Frank Drake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-drake/) > [To use Newton's words, our efforts up till this moment have but turned over a pebble or shell here and there on the beach,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-drake/to-use-newton-s-words-our-efforts-up-till-this-moment-have-but-turned/) [Frank Drake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-drake/) > [While NASA talks about 'Are we alone?' as a number one question, they are putting zero money into searching for intelligent life. There's a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-drake/while-nasa-talks-about-are-we-alone-as-a-number-one-question-they-are/) [Frank Drake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-drake/) > [The pulsar map is not dangerous at all. It will likely never even be seen by extraterrestrials.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-drake/the-pulsar-map-is-not-dangerous-at-all-it-will-likely-never-even-be/) [Frank Drake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-drake/) > [Other intelligent life-forms will differ greatly in appearance - they may resemble the creature in E.T. or startle us with their beauty - but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-drake/other-intelligent-life-forms-will-differ-greatly-in-appearance-they/) [Frank Drake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-drake/) > [Forty years as an astronomer have not quelled my enthusiasm for lying outside after dark, staring up at the stars. It isn't only the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-drake/forty-years-as-an-astronomer-have-not-quelled-my-enthusiasm-for-lying/) [Frank Drake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-drake/) > [It now appears that essentially every star has a planetary system. In the very beginning, we thought at best half.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-drake/it-now-appears-that-essentially-every-star-has-a-planetary-system-in/) [Frank Drake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-drake/) > [Only by doing the best we can with the very best that an era offers, do we find the way to do better in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-drake/only-by-doing-the-best-we-can-with-the-very-best-that-an-era-offers/) [Frank Drake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-drake/) > [We send messages all the time, free of charge. There's a big shell out there now, 80 light-years around us. A civilization only a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-drake/we-send-messages-all-the-time-free-of-charge-there-s-a-big-shell-out/) [Frank Drake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-drake/) [Explore all 18 Frank Drake quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-drake/) ## More Astronomy quotes > [I have inside me the winds, the deserts, the oceans, the stars, and everything created in the universe. We were all made by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/i-have-inside-me-the-winds-the-deserts-the-oceans-the-stars-and/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [Mankind have been slow to believe that order reigns in the universe-that the world is a cosmos and a chaos.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-garfield/mankind-have-been-slow-to-believe-that-order-reigns-in-the-universe/) [James A. Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-garfield/) > [Wen daylight turns to a darkened hue, D lovely stars hinting at u, ur heart beat tells u something true, That some 1 badly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/butterfly-kisses/wen-daylight-turns-to-a-darkened-hue-d-lovely-stars-hinting-at-u-ur/) Butterfly\_Kisses > [Home is behind, the world ahead, And there are many paths to tread Through shadows to the edge of night, Until the stars are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/home-is-behind-the-world-ahead-and-there-are-many-paths-to-tread/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [In the movie, the stars above the ship bear no correspondence to any constellations in a real sky. Worse yet, while the heroine bobs...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/in-the-movie-the-stars-above-the-ship-bear-no-correspondence-to-any/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [Astronomers have built telescopes which can show myriads of stars unseen before; but when a man looks through a tear in his own eye,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/astronomers-have-built-telescopes-which-can-show-myriads-of-stars/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [From the grasses in the field to the stars in the sky, each one is doing just that; and there is such profound peace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/from-the-grasses-in-the-field-to-the-stars-in-the-sky-each-one-is/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [“Sentinels of trees breathe life into bodies of earthly flesh As their mighty arms reach to the stars we join in their quest for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramon-ravenswood/sentinels-of-trees-breathe-life-into-bodies-of-earthly-flesh-as-their/) [Ramon Ravenswood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramon-ravenswood/) > [“If there are no stars on the sky, you must try to be happy with the shining streetlights!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/if-there-are-no-stars-on-the-sky-you-must-try-to-be-happy-with-the/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [Twinking tears in a sea of black. Soft light in a world of darkness. Tiny wishes in a place of dreams. Do you see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-gentile/twinking-tears-in-a-sea-of-black-soft-light-in-a-world-of-darkness/) Nicole Gentile > [Your head's like mine, like all our heads; big enough to contain every god and devil there ever was. Big enough to hold the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grant-morrison/your-head-s-like-mine-like-all-our-heads-big-enough-to-contain-every/) [Grant Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grant-morrison/) > [“Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss it you will land among the stars." ... quote has been credited to Les Brown.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylviek/shoot-for-the-moon-even-if-you-miss-it-you-will-land-among-the-stars/) Sylviek > [When certain stars take you under their wing, it does help as they gauge your potential and are willing to work with you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-bhatt/when-certain-stars-take-you-under-their-wing-it-does-help-as-they/) [Vikram Bhatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-bhatt/) > [We were put here as witnesses to the miracle of life. We see the stars, and we want them. We are beholden to give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/we-were-put-here-as-witnesses-to-the-miracle-of-life-we-see-the-stars/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [The reason so many of us are obsessed with becoming stars is because we are not yet starring in our own lives. 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