People may not know about any smart beings beyond the earth but if they exist, They may already know about us. New research shows that radar systems at commercial and military airports are unintentionally announcing our presence to some aliens with the ability to listen.
Preparatory results of a study led by Ramiro Caisse Saide, a candidate for astrophysical doctorate at the University of Manchester, suggests aliens up to 200 light years away could theoretically detect electromagnetic signals filtering from global airports such as John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York and Heathrow airport in London. Military Radar systems are also detectable, and thanks to their unique pattern, these signals would look “clearly artificial to all who look from interstellar distances with powerful radio telescopes,” Caisse Saide said in a statement.
“In fact, these military signals can appear up to a hundred times stronger of some points in space, depending on where an observer is,” he added. “Our findings suggest that radar signals – produced unintentionally by any planet with advanced technology and complex aviation system – could act as Universal sign of intelligent life. “It is important to note, however, that many more years will take for signals to reach any extraterrestrial civilizations located 200 light years away from Earth.
Seeing while we live in an unexpectedly vast, ancient universe with billions of billions of planets and moons, it is reasonable that we are not the only intelligent forms of life in it. The desire of humanity to contact aliens Dates Back over 150 years. The first actual communication test took place in 1974, when astronomers passed a radio signal from a powerful transmitter at the Arecibo -Observatory in Porto -Rico into space. This signal, known as the Arecibo message, consisted of a binary code that transferred Information about the basic chemicals of life, the structure of DNA, the location of the earth in the solar system, and even a stick figure of man. If any aliens have received it, They did not respond.
That didn’t discourage scientists to try to find them. Those who work on the pursuit of extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) do this passively, Scanning space for electromagnetic signals This cannot be explained by natural phenomena. Others have taken a more active approach deliberately broadcasting signals or messages to space, such as the Arecibo message. These efforts are called putting (messaging to extraterrestrial intelligence) or CETI (communication with extraterrestrial intelligence). Not everyone believes this is a good idea. Detractors point out that telling aliens where we are, could have catastrophic consequences if these beings are capable of harming us or our planet.
This is a scary thought. Perhaps even more frightening is the fact that the earth unintentionally shouts our existence and place to any radar-detecting alien civilizations within the ears. To get an idea of how noisy our planet is, Caisse Saide and his colleagues simulated as radar signals from airports proliferates through time and space, then analyzed how detectable they would be from stars like the Barnard and Au Microscopii star. These stars are located about 6 and 32 light years away from the sun respectively.
They found that airport radar systems that sweep the sky for aircraft to inform air traffic control, send a combined radio signal strong enough for aliens to detect it from up to 200 light years away using telescopes similar to the Green Bank’s radio telescope in West Virginia. That’s a vast distance. The nearest possible habitable planet outside our solar system-close Centauri B-is a little over 4 light years away, and it would still need the highest-level spacecraft of humanity ten thousand years to reach it. Signals of the Earth’s military radar systems are weaker, but more focused and direct, creating an obviously artificial pattern similar to a lighthouse beam sweeping the sky.
It is important, however, to note that many more years will take for signals to reach any extraterrestrial civilizations located 200 light years away from Earth. Airports and military operations have only issued signals from this force since the 1950s, and therefore the maximum distance at which aliens could currently detect them is about 75 light years in all directions. But the point of the study stands; Aliens located on a planet 200 light years away should be able to detect airport signals-but not for another 125 years.
Understanding how smart aliens could be aware of our existence can also help guide our search for them, according to Caisse Saide. Identify and characterize the technologies of our own planet, or detectable signs of technology, can tell astronomers what to look for from other planets, he said. At the same time, “we gain valuable insights into how to protect the radio spectrum for communications and draw future radar systems,” said co-researcher Michael Garrett, professor of astrophysics at the University of Manchester, in the statement. “The methods developed for modeling and detecting these weak signals can also be used in astronomy, planetary defense and even in monitoring the impact of human technology on our spatial environment.”
“Thus, our work supports both the scientific search to answer the question” are we alone? “And practical efforts to manage the influence of technology on our world and beyond,” Caisse Saide said.
