The chair of the Harvard Astronomy Department, Avi Loed has been dealing with the long and complicated question as to whether or not humans are the only one’s living in the universe.

Loed has been speculating that the fast radio bursts that have been heard may be messages sent from extraterrestrials. According to Loeb, if we were to actually one day come into contact with aliens, it would be one of the most extraordinary things in history.

Thinking back to the history of humans, our perspective has changed a great deal over time. From a person, to a family, to a tribe, to a country, and then eventually even finding that there are other continents with people living there. Finding other beings outside of earth would be the biggest step yet.

What the first alien interaction would be like, is nearly impossible to predict, even for an expert such a Loeb. But it would without a doubt be completely shocking, and they may be entirely different than what we have always imagined them to be.