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The Big Thinkers

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Series of investigative science documentaries.

The Big Thinkers: Aliens

BBC Four

Aliens: The Big Thinkers

Martin Rees

Jonathan Renouf

Aliens: The Big Think

21/04/2016

Aliens

BBC Four - The Big Thinkers, Aliens

Astronomer royal Martin Rees and scientists take up the search for extra-terrestrials.

Professor Martin Rees, the astronomer royal, searches for extra-terrestrials in a film that gets inside the minds of the scientists considering whether we're alone in the universe.

The hunt for aliens is on! After a distinguished career in cosmology Professor Martin Rees, the astronomer royal, has taken up the search for extra-terrestrials. Looking for aliens is no longer science fiction - it is a question that's engaging some of the greatest minds in science.

As our knowledge of the universe has increased, we're getting closer to answers. Many scientists now think we live in galaxy with a billion Earth-like planets, many of which may be teeming with life. But what kind of life? Has anything evolved into beings we could communicate with? This film gets inside the minds of the scientists considering one of the most exciting and profound questions we can ask - are we alone in the universe?

Professor Rees thinks we may have our idea of what an alien is like all wrong. If he's right, it's not organic extra-terrestrials we should look for, it's machines.

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