1st 'interstellar tourism campaign' urges aliens to visit Lexington, Kentucky

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'We included imagery representing the elements of life, our iconic Lexington rolling hills and the molecular structure for water, bourbon and even dopamine … because Lexington is fun!'

a man sits at a table with a laptop and telescope during a nighttime event. the american flag and two people on horseback are visible to his left.
Scientists beamed a message to the TRAPPIST-1 system in December 2023, urging any aliens who might live there to visit Lexington, Kentucky. (Image credit: VisitLEX)

Hey, aliens! Lexington, Kentucky would be a good place to spend your next deep-space vacation.

This was the message that a group of Kentucky scientists, linguists and scholars recently beamed at the TRAPPIST-1 system, which lies 40 light-years from Earth and harbors multiple potentially habitable planets.

The missive represented the very first interstellar travel advertisement, according to VisitLEX, the group behind the effort.

Related: The search for alien life

VisitLEX's tourism team at the Lexington Convention and Visitors Bureau partnered with the Cornett ad agency to devise a playful campaign with sci-fi flavor. The team used a modified infrared laser to deliver a specially coded message, which was approved by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration. 

Here are details from the VisitLEX press release:

"When the message reaches its destination in 2063, TRAPPIST-1 inhabitants will find a coded bitmap image with clues as to its origin and intent of the transmission. They'll also see bucolic photos of the Horse Capital of the World, noting the wide-open spaces perfect for landing a spacecraft. They'll learn why Lexington has the best food, bourbon and music on Earth — getting a taste via an audio recording from legendary blues musician Tee Dee Young."

If E.T. does eventually receive the message and pack their bags for our solar system, eager to take in The Bluegrass State's hospitality, thoroughbred race horses and bourbon industry, they'll have to cover 235 trillion miles (378 trillion kilometers) to get here. That's a bit of a trip, but who knows how fast their craft can go?

VisitLEX's coded bitmap image broadcast to the TRAPPIST-1 system. (Image credit: VisitLEX)
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"We are targeting the TRAPPIST-1 system because we might actually get an answer in somebody's lifetime if there's somebody there watching," said astrobiologist and SETI (search for extraterrestrial intelligence) scientist Robert Lodder. "But the reason scientists have been interested in it lately is because of the large number of planets it has in what is considered to be the habitable zone. So, there could be life there. Why not send a signal and see if they answer?"

This message was sent last month from Lexington's Kentucky Horse Park museum and event center, during a festive evening ceremony that drew a sign-waving crowd. 

An image from the VisitLEX "beam-out" event in December. (Image credit: VisitLEX)

"The bitmap image is the key to it all. We included imagery representing the elements of life, our iconic Lexington rolling hills and the molecular structure for water, bourbon and even dopamine … because Lexington is fun!" added linguistics expert Andrew Byrd.

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Jeff Spry
Jeff Spry
Contributing Writer

Jeff Spry is an award-winning screenwriter and veteran freelance journalist covering TV, movies, video games, books, and comics. His work has appeared at SYFY Wire, Inverse, Collider, Bleeding Cool and elsewhere. Jeff lives in beautiful Bend, Oregon amid the ponderosa pines, classic muscle cars, a crypt of collector horror comics, and two loyal English Setters.

12 Comments Comment from the forums
  • Questioner
    They have no idea what's out there.

    "Come enjoy the mindless morons of Earth!"
    "By the time you arrive the oceans should all be 'hot tub' warm!"
    "Get here too late and we could already be extinct."
    Reply
  • Unclear Engineer
    Um, did they say anything about contacting Washington DC for a visa?

    And, did they consider that the biological differences between the horse-riding, bourbon-drinking, dopamine engorged Kentuckians might be stark? What if they look like horses, sweat bourbon, and get sick on dopamine? That might lead to some serious "misunderstandings" with a species that would most likely have the technology to incinerate our whole ecosystem just by tossing their equivalent of a cigarette butt.

    Just sayin' - be careful what you ask for.
    Reply
  • Atlan0001
    Unclear Engineer said:
    Um, did they say anything about contacting Washington DC for a visa?

    And, did they consider that the biological differences between the horse-riding, bourbon-drinking, dopamine engorged Kentuckians might be stark? What if they look like horses, sweat bourbon, and get sick on dopamine? That might lead to some serious "misunderstandings" with a species that would most likely have the technology to incinerate our whole ecosystem just by tossing their equivalent of a cigarette butt.

    Just sayin' - be careful what you ask for.
    Then again, they might be from Tatooine's Mos Eisley and it's "cantina." Kentucky bourbon might be right down their alley.
    Reply
  • Dave
    On a more serious note a message to intelligent lifeforms in our galaxy should read more like this

    HELP!
    We are the human race, an intelligent lifeform in the milky way galaxy.
    We wage mindless wars with each other. We are having difficulty integrating our own ideologies.
    We are having trouble living in our own natural world. We harm it, only taking steps, when we are in dire need of taking the right course of action.
    Over one billion people have lived in extreme poverty for 100 years on our world.
    We are having difficulty coming together as one race, the human race. For all of our failings we are at heart a good people.
    We will save a drowning man, at risk to our self. We are capable of great compassion and love.
    Amazing inventions we have created.
    And most of all we are capable of forging a lasting friendship. An alliance between us and other intelligent lifeforms in the milky way. An alliance built on trust to live in harmony, helping each other. Working together. Living together.
    Reply
  • Questioner
    Dave said:
    On a more serious note a message to intelligent lifeforms in our galaxy should read more like this

    HELP!
    We are the human race, an intelligent lifeform in the milky way galaxy.
    We wage mindless wars with each other. We are having difficulty integrating our own ideologies.
    We are having trouble living in our own natural world. We harm it, only taking steps, when we are in dire need of taking the right course of action.
    Over one billion people have lived in extreme poverty for 100 years on our world.
    We are having difficulty coming together as one race, the human race. For all of our failings we are at heart a good people.
    We will save a drowning man, at risk to our self. We are capable of great compassion and love.
    Amazing inventions we have created.
    And most of all we are capable of forging a lasting friendship. An alliance between us and other intelligent lifeforms in the milky way. An alliance built on trust to live in harmony, helping each other. Working together. Living together.
    Alien response:
    "Pray tell, what exactly is your definition of 'intelligence'???
    "Thx ever so much."
    Reply
  • Atlan0001
    Dave said:
    On a more serious note a message to intelligent lifeforms in our galaxy should read more like this

    HELP!
    We are the human race, an intelligent lifeform in the milky way galaxy.
    We wage mindless wars with each other. We are having difficulty integrating our own ideologies.
    We are having trouble living in our own natural world. We harm it, only taking steps, when we are in dire need of taking the right course of action.
    Over one billion people have lived in extreme poverty for 100 years on our world.
    We are having difficulty coming together as one race, the human race. For all of our failings we are at heart a good people.
    We will save a drowning man, at risk to our self. We are capable of great compassion and love.
    Amazing inventions we have created.
    And most of all we are capable of forging a lasting friendship. An alliance between us and other intelligent lifeforms in the milky way. An alliance built on trust to live in harmony, helping each other. Working together. Living together.
    Their return message, "Join the universal club of life." Intelligent alien talking: "It's called, in your terms, 'differentiation' and 'the branching tree of evolution.'. Also 'complexity' and 'chaos'. Also, 'Life is always beautiful' (always from a distance) but never look at it too closely because it is also ugly (it is also various beyond any want to comprehend). Also, a Utopian world is stone monolith, no energies, no revolutions, no evolutions, no creations, no exodus (no expanding universe), really no rounding of life, in it, Un-free. Un-liberated. Unintelligent (As J. Hector St. John de Crevecoeur said, among many others, 'contracting' / 'contracted', 'no development of mass genius' (no opening and expansive frontier state . . . including of the mass mind)), Savage. Tyrannical. Anarchic. 'Dark Age' Un-civilized." (The physics, "What cannot or will not divide outwardly more benignly, will divide inwardly more malignantly!")
    Reply
  • AboveAndBeyond
    Questioner said:
    Alien response:
    "Pray tell, what exactly is your definition of 'intelligence'???
    "Thx ever so much."
    Lol. Humans may be smart, but they don't have good sense.

    Plus there's one problem with them visiting here: just like our money is no good there, theirs is not likely to be any good here. That bourbon ain't free, ya know.
    Reply
  • Atlan0001
    AboveAndBeyond said:
    Lol. Humans may be smart, but they don't have good sense.

    Plus there's one problem with them visiting here: just like our money is no good there, theirs is not likely to be any good here. That bourbon ain't free, ya know.
    Any gold, or silver, or diamond, or other precious commodity of any kind, coin (of energy ("money is a token of energy")) will do for energy exchange.
    Reply
  • brad.t
    I think Lexington is on to something. Been there, not impressed. But I do think they have the right idea to advertise to extraterrestrials to visit them. Start out simply.
    We need their experience, guidance and technology. Unless of course they plan to colonize and eat us...
    Reply
  • Dave
    The greatest evolution will occur with our military. In time, if all goes well, we will become one as the human race and there will be no need for military entities on earth. The military will in the future do what they were always meant to do. Explore space. Coming in peace to alien worlds.

    If we visit a primitive alien race we may find them at war. We might wonder, why are they at war amongst themselves? Why are they killing their own? They are very dangerous, we humans will think. Let's observe, but we should keep our distance.
    Reply