'Is humanity alone in the universe?' This question has bedeviled us for generations, although it might seem to be a recent query, a result of our interest in space exploration and the furious technological development that came about after World War 2. Others may lay the blame squarely on the shoulders of science-fiction, blaming our obsession the pulps of the 1920s and 30s, the 'boys' papers' of the 1900s, and the romantic descriptions of worldly life on our neighboring worlds in the late 19th century.