🌅 The Search for Alien Technosignatures

SOURCE

Tremblay & Tingay (2024)

WHAT TO KNOW

• Astronomers at the SETI Institute used the Murchison Widefield Array in Western Australia to search 1,300 galaxies for signs of alien life in a single observation. The first-of-its-kind work represents a significant step forward in the search for alien life, pushing it beyond astronomers’ usual focus within our own Milky Way to look at possible signals from distant galaxies.

WHY IT MATTERS

• The astronomers say their study is one of the most detailed searches for possible super civilizations—civilizations more advanced than ours—ever undertaken, since any civilization that could send a signal from another galaxy would need vastly advanced technology powerful enough to use the energy of their sun or other stars within their galaxy. While the present search didn’t find any technosignatures, the work lays the groundwork and provides valuable insights for future searches.

CONNECT THE DOTS

• Akin to biosignatures being a tell-tale sign of life on another planet, technosignatures are observed technological indicators that may hint at alien life. Most searches for technosignatures focus on radio signals (like the present study), however, astronomers also search for indicators like environmental pollutants, massive energy structures, and signs of nuclear war.