“The universe is a pretty big place. If it's just us, seems like an awful waste of space.”

What a great quote.

"How do you create a message for a completely alien species? What do you put in it? How can you help them understand? What are the risks of reaching out, and is it worth it?"

Good questions! I don't have the answer, a lot of people have thought about it, but I mean.. Who's to say they'd be able to even recognize any of the symbols we send? For example one of the popular ones is a picture of us humans with some other info, but.. If they've never seen humans before.. How will they know what to make of the image? Likewise with any other symbol we send whether it be math or words or almost anything? How can we expect them to know what to make of it?
We would almost need to have a back and forth to be able to take the time to point to and show associations.

The cat awiens meme made me laugh! Good one. :D

Absolutely love the artwork at the end with the alien baby! I resonate a lot with that image.

At first I was going to vote for you, but then I read both of your entries again and this time I felt like magicalmoonlight did a better job of presenting information on the subject. The alien baby artwork almost made me vote for you, though.. I just think she did a more detailed and comprehensive post in the end. I know you were rushed and busy, though.. I'm glad you tried and still submitted your entry!

Thanks for the great entry either way, and this doesn't mean you lost.. You might still win if enough other judges vote for you. But if you're out this round, thanks for playing in our game! :) It was a lot of fun to have you join us. And.. If you do go out this round, at least you're going out on a curie! :D Cheers wholeself-in!