Still discovering any evidence of extraterrestrial life, it is difficult to theorize the types of beings that could exist beyond the achievements of our telescopes. Could there be a terrestrial-like planet with human similar beings and technology looking for us as ardently as we are looking for them?
Although a planet with life and technology similar to ours can be rare, studying how such beings could detect the Earth could help promote our own search for intelligent life. As such, a team of researchers led by Sofia Sheikh’s pursuit of alien intelligence (SETI) Institute analyzed how “twin earth” could detect evidence of humanity on our planet, considering our own standard of modern technology. Their theoretical study was published on Monday in The astronomical magazine.
“One of the most satisfying aspects of this work was to use Seti as a cosmic mirror. What does the earth look like to the rest of the galaxy? And how would our current effects on our planet be perceived? “Sheikh said in Seti -Institute Statement. “Of course, we cannot know the answer, this work has allowed us to extrapolate and imagine what we could assume if we will ever discover a planet, with, for example, high concentrations of pollutants in its atmosphere.”
Sheik and her team studied Earth theologians: possible signs of intelligent life with advanced technology, such as radio signals, artificial light and/or nitrogen dioxide emissions. Indeed, our current or soon to be upcoming instruments, including the Habitable world observatory (HWO), has the potential to detect emissions from nitrogen dioxides up to 5.7 light years away, which is farther than the nearest star of the earth after the sun. However the researchers revealed that powerful radio signals like those previously issued by the now-collapsed Arecibo Observatory It is the most noticeable technology of the Earth-may be detectable up to 12,000 light years away.
“Our goal with this project was to bring Seti ‘down on the ground’ for a moment and to think about where we really are today with Earth’s theory and detection skills,” said Macy Huston from the University of California, Berkeley, co -author of The study. “In Seti, we never have to assume that other life and technology would be the same as ours, but quantifying what means” our “can help put SETI searches in perspective.”
In a hypothetical scenario, the closer alien civilization on Earth, the more technologies it would detect – often picking up multiple signals at once. In addition to radio signals and nitrogen dioxide emissions, they would eventually notice other human signatures such as satellites, lasers, warm islands and urban lights.
“We have Multiwavelong constellation of tea signatures, with more constellation becoming visible, the closer the observer,” the researchers wrote in the study. The Sheikh team claims to be the first to study technologies collectively instead of individually.
While acknowledging that there is probably no Earth Twin there, analyzing our own tea signatures can still inform how we understand evidence of life and therefore how we seek it beyond our planet.