A top scientist said contacting alien life is a 'terrible idea', and his words have been interpreted as a warning of inviting other species to 'rule Earth'.
It comes as NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is set to launch later this year and it will peek into worlds at the far reaches of the universe, reports The Next Web.
Currently, the Hubble Space Telescope is Earth's most famous piece of space seeing technology but the JWST will go much, much further.
Such is the power of NASA's new telescope that some scientists fear it could disturb alien species that are unaware of our existence and maybe they will not all be friendly.
String theorist Michio Kaku told the Observer that the new telescope will allow people to look at thousands of planets but we should think carefully about reaching out to their inhabitants.
Michio Kaku said: "Soon we’ll have the Webb telescope up in orbit and we’ll have thousands of planets to look at, and that’s why I think the chances are quite high that we may make contact with an alien civilisation.
"There are some colleagues of mine that believe we should reach out to them. I think that’s a terrible idea. We all know what happened to Montezuma when he met Cortés in Mexico so many hundreds of years ago.
Get latest news headlines delivered free
Want all the latest shocking news and views from all over the world straight into your inbox?
We've got the best royal scoops, crime dramas and breaking stories – all delivered in that Daily Star style you love.
Our great newsletters will give you all you need to know, from hard news to that bit of glamour you need every day. They'll drop straight into your inbox and you can unsubscribe whenever you like.
You can sign up here – you won't regret it…
"Now, personally, I think that aliens out there would be friendly but we can’t gamble on it. So I think we will make contact but we should do it very carefully."
The Montezuma and Aztec Empire were eventually destroyed by the Spanish so Kaku may have concerns for the future of humanity in the wake of superior evolved species in space.
Sending a message of 'we come in peace' if we discover the alien lifeforms, could lead to them interpreting it as "come rule us", writes the website.
The new telescope's home will be around 1.5 million kilometres away from Earth and should be in place by May 2022.
It will be 100 times stronger than Hubble and scan thousands of potentially habitable worlds for signs of life.
Once in place, researchers will be able to look at the origins of the universe and search for planets that may well be able to support life.
Source: Read Full Article