There is nothing on earth that compares to how time and distance relate in space. We are seeing stars shining bright in the sky tonight that blew up a few million years ago. As we currently understand things, it would be impossible to travel from one planet to another in another galaxy.
Would you want to meet a being from another planet? Its not going to be like ET. I tend to agree with Hawking. We cannot assume aliens would be benign. They would come here to take what they need and move on...like ID4, but without a wisecracking pilot and an eco-nerd who is also a hacker saving the planet.
