You are able to imagine the size of the universe. She is huge. But where are all the aliens? They have not yet been discovered, but we are almost one hundred percent sure of their existence. So they are investigating, infecting us, invading us, preparing a plan of destruction, aren't they?
The Fermi paradox is the lack of visible evidence of the existence of other intelligent civilizations - on all stars and in all galaxies of the universe. Or do you think that if at least one intelligent civilization could let us know about its existence, it would remain “out of reach”? Either we are on the black list, or we really are the most developed form of life in the Universe (scary to think). Even more terrifying is the fact that we are alone in the universe.
The search for any extraterrestrial life is perhaps one of the most meaningful things that we are able to implement as a species. We are ready for contact with aliens. We believe that they can teach us something. But life beyond the Earth has not yet been discovered, and specialists in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) are beginning to despair. In any case, the search continues, and scientists are devising ever more extreme methods for deeper observation of space in order to see glimpses of intelligence on distant stars.
Keplerian SETI candidates
17% of the stars discovered by the Kepler telescope are orbiting a planet the size of the Earth, emphasizing the predominance of small exoplanets in our galaxy.
We have already shown you a list of the most likely candidates for a container of alien organisms. Moreover, some scientists have come to the conclusion that there can be much more such potentially inhabited zones than we think.
The basic assumption with which we begin to think is this: our hypothetical space neighbors are developing in a similar way to our own. The lack of visible evidence in space will be a strong argument. Although in reality it is unlikely that somewhere outside our solar system people like us are developing - they go shopping and fight among themselves.
However, in the event of such a combination of circumstances, the alien race would have to one day come to the radio waves. We have been on the air for almost 120 years (although our analogue transmitters will soon be silent with the invention of the digital signal), which means that if an extraterrestrial civilization twists the radio knob within 120 light-years from Earth, it will have a great chance to enjoy our good and bad music and listen to news even 120 years ago. That is, they will find us.
Radio leaks are too unreliable. But what if we direct the antenna at the stars and “listen” to the ether in the hope of catching a signal specially directed in our direction? Since the 1960s, the SETI program has been hunting for radio signals from outsiders, but only recently, thanks to the Kepler space telescope, did we have the opportunity to more accurately target potentially inhabited worlds. So, everything is just beginning. Although SETI has not yet heard a single signal, great things await us in millions of other worlds.
On-air interference
A radio signal detected by a 100-meter telescope in West Virginia while scanning an exoplanet candidate KOI 817. This is the type of signal that SETI scientists hope to hear from aliens.
While listening to the broadcast, SETI detected several false signals. As we search in specific narrow ranges (which only certain technologies can generate), terrestrial interference constantly interferes with SETI searches. Fortunately, astronomers are not stupid, and they know the difference between alien signals and Aunt Masha’s gossip on the phone.
Traces of strangers on the moon?
Traces of Apollo and its equipment are still visible on the lunar surface.
But hey. Are we kind of looking for aliens on distant stars, and not on the moon at our side?
Right. Although the main goal of SETI research is focused on the search for suspicious radio signals in deep space, it is worth bearing in mind that the Moon will be a very good stop for aliens accidentally flying to visit us. Finding traces of aliens on the lunar surface will not seem so stupid when you find out that the LRO satellite, which now flies around the moon, found traces of Neil Armstrong in 1969.
Alien artifacts
Mars Phoenix. View from orbit.
Why dwell on the moon? If the advanced form of aliens has ever been in our solar system ever in the history of its existence, perhaps they have severely inherited.
HP 56948: Sun Twin
HP 56948 through the eyes of the artist.
For a moment, forget about the inhabited exoplanets. How about directing our efforts towards finding stars that are identical in temperature, size and chemical composition to our sun? In the end, this object provides our planet with energy, and all the chemicals that formed our planet came from the protoplanetary disk of our newborn sun 4.5 billion years ago. Let's just look for stars like the sun.
In 2012, astronomers discovered HP 56948 - a “clone” of the Sun, located just 200 light years from us. And although no planets have yet been discovered in its orbit, it is very curious whether such stars can be a potentially habitable zone for alien civilizations. We wrote more about these same zones in an article on binary systems of stars: the suns that rotate around each other, providing a sufficiently large field for the development of alien forms.
Artificial Exoplanets
From the point of view of Kepler, since he observes the “dips” of light flying from the stars, the telescope analyzes the curve of light. Well, since the planets are known to be round, it will be a surprise to get a light curve of a non-standard shape. Planets of non-spherical shape do not exist in nature, therefore, as soon as Kepler discovers, for example, a massive pyramid, this may indicate intrigues of aliens.
What is noteworthy, there is a separate search program in this direction - the search for extraterrestrial technologies (SETT) and its main difference from SETI is that we are looking for indirect evidence of high technology in space.
Where did this star go?
Spiral Galaxy M51: At least one dark spot visible?
Can the absence of stars in the galaxy reveal the presence of superintelligent aliens?
In 1964, the Soviet astronomer Nikolai Kardashev suggested that some alien civilizations could be so advanced that they would use all the energy coming from the star. These are civilizations of the second type on the Kardashev scale.
How will they do this? For example, by creating a Dyson sphere beloved by science fiction fans around the star. This shell will collect all the energy from the star, thereby hiding it from any outside observer. From our point of view, if we notice the darkness in one of the segments of the galaxy, perhaps these aliens are having fun hiding the stars in huge spheres.
Asteroid eaters
Asteroids in orbit - mining of aliens?
On the streets they say that humanity is on the verge of turning asteroids into a whole power plant. And although the reality is that most technologies are not yet adapted to the extraction of ore in space, this does not mean that alien civilizations are at the same stage of development.
We know that asteroids are full of valuable materials and that they revolve around stars, which means that if there is someone smarter than us in space, he will come to the same conclusion: you need to take an asteroid, split it and get rich. (Although "getting rich" can be a special difference between human nature). Can we detect debris scattering in all directions during the operation of such an orbital mining station? Quite.
Black holes - spacecraft engines
Being sufficiently developed, some aliens could even make their own black holes the size of an atom and with a mass of millions of tons. If you include this black hole in any way in the engine, it will generate a huge amount of gamma rays, which, in turn, will be converted into energy for the spacecraft. According to experts, such a source of energy could be inexhaustible. And as far as we know, the radiation emitted by these artificial black holes would be easy to fix, which means - hello, earthlings, we came in peace.
Aliens, are you still alive?
SETI lookup problems suggest various assumptions. One of them - aliens use radio transmitters. Another - aliens have always used radio transmitters. The latter is unlikely to be true unless a very advanced civilization broadcasts 24 hours a day for billions of years.
As the false results of SETI have shown, most likely the signal from outsiders will be unstable. But how can we catch it if the life of civilization is too short?
Alien Dolphins
Female human and female dolphin.
Dolphins are intelligent. Perhaps as intelligent as humans. But as far as we know, they do not use the radio. What if an extraterrestrial mind is like a dolphin? Will we never be able to detect them until we fly to them on the planet and talk face-to-face? This assumption not only generated heated debate in SETI, it made us rethink the concept of "intelligence" on a galactic scale.
Green men
Space Greenpeace.
Because the universe is silent, some astronomers - prematurely - have stated that there is no intelligent life among stars. From the point of view of science, this is fine, even if it is very short-sighted. But what if an extraterrestrial civilization does not want to make contact? What if she happily does her job, not wanting to talk to us? Moreover, what if they live so efficiently that too little energy escapes into space to detect?
Invasion!
Films like “Battle: Los Angeles” and “Independence Day” hinted to us that we are not only one step away from the alien invasion, but we don’t really know how to deal with them. Many wondered: why would they even invade? The answer, of course, will be "why not?" But the story of the “train that could” will not surprise anyone.
Thinking about this, SETI decided to revise their strategy and launched the WETI program - waiting for extraterrestrial intelligence. Then all the programs of searching and getting in touch with extraterrestrial civilizations will have to be curtailed, and then, with his head in the sand, sit and hope that no one will find us.
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