ADVANCED alien civilisations might be talking to each other across the vast reaches of space using a “firefly” technique.

Socotra Island has been called the most alien-looking place on Earth, and with good reason. Sitting off the coast of Yemen in the Arabian Sea, it’s home to plants and landscapes found nowhere else.

British beaches have all the usual suspects like shells, seaweed, and maybe the odd crab scuttling for cover. But look a little closer, and the shoreline starts to feel more like another planet.