A recent survey revealed that a large number of people believe we have been visited by aliens from another planet and many also claim to have seen UFOs.
The nearest star from us is Proxima Centauri - 4.2 light years away. Light travels at 186,000 miles a second.
So, if this star has a planet capable of sustaining living creatures, you can get an idea of the time it would take a traveller to come here. There may be plenty of planets capable of life, but what form?
Some may be in a primitive stage. Others may have had life millions of years ago but now it is extinct.
If aliens from a planet, say, ten light years away, are setting out to visit us, they had better pack plenty of food and drink.
-RW Carden, Brighton
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