Humans may have to wait 400,000 years to make contact with alien civilizations, scientists say
In a new study published in the Astrophysical Journal, researchers at Beijing Normal University offer a bold answer: Even if there were tens of thousands of civilizations out there, they would still need to survive for thousands of years before they had a chance to talk to anyone. Optimistically, this process will take about 2,000 years. On the pessimistic side, aliens may not make contact with humans for another 400,000 years. For that matter, this rules out a Star Trek-like scenario happening anywhere in our lifetimes, even to our grandchildren.