Scientists expand search for signs of alien life – 05/31/2023 – Science

Scientists have expanded the search for technologically advanced extraterrestrial civilizations, monitoring a dense region of stars towards our galaxy’s core for a signal that could be produced by hitherto ignored potential intelligent aliens.

Previous efforts to detect alien technological signatures have focused on a narrowband type of radio signal concentrated in a limited frequency range or in unusual single transmissions. The new initiative, scientists said on Wednesday, will center on a different kind of signal that could perhaps allow advanced civilizations to communicate across vast distances of interstellar space.

These pulsed broadband signals that scientists monitor show repeating patterns — a series of pulses that repeat every 11 to 100 seconds and spread out over a few kilohertz, similar to the pulses used in radar transmission. The search involves a frequency range that covers a little less than one-tenth the range of an average FM radio station.

“The signals investigated in our work would fall into the category of deliberate ‘we’re here’ signals from alien worlds,” said Akshay Suresh of Cornell University and lead author of a scientific paper published in the Astronomical Journal describing the new effort.

“Aliens could possibly use such ‘beacons’ for galaxy-wide communications, for which the Milky Way’s core is ideally positioned. One can imagine aliens using such light-speed transmissions to communicate important events, such as preparations for interstellar migration before the explosive death of a massive star,” added Suresh.

The effort, called Breakthrough Listening Investigation for Periodic Spectral Signals (BLIPSS), is a collaboration between Cornell, the research organization at the Seti Institute, and Breakthrough Listen, a $100 million initiative. ) to search for advanced extraterrestrial life.