When and How Can Aliens Contact Us? New Study Suggests Answers
Last Updated: January 07, 2023, 17:39 IST
The study leader, Sofia Sheikh, while explaining why it is the best chance to beam a signal stated that it will be easier to be calculated by both sides to those on Earth and the observer’s end as well. (Credits: Reuters)
The study leader, Sofia Sheikh, while explaining why it is the best chance to beam a signal stated that it will be easier to be calculated by both sides to those on Earth and the observer’s end as well.
Scientists are still looking for signs of alien life on other planets. But how can we know if they’re ever trying to make contact? Can we predict when can they make contact? A new study indicates that extraterritorial beings might be waiting for a cosmic version of ‘high noon’ to send signs of their existence. Why is that? A report by Live Science suggests that in a study, researchers are finding technological signs when an exoplanet passes directly in front of their suns. For those unaware, exoplanet is a term used to refer to any planet outside our solar system.
From Earth’s point of view, experts suggest that these exact moments are the perfect occasion for an alien world to send out signals to the Earth if they ever wish to make contact. The study leader, Sofia Sheikh, while explaining why it is the best chance to beam a signal stated that it will be easier to be calculated by both sides to those on Earth and the observer’s end as well. “Exoplanetary transits are special because they can be calculated by both us on Earth, as the observers, and also any potential technological species in the exoplanetary system itself, as the transmitters,” said Sheikh who is reportedly a postdoctoral researcher in radio astronomy at the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) Institute.
The study claims these are predictable and repetitive transits wherein aliens can send messages and people on earth can receive and deduce them. Sheikh further explained that the strategy of the new study can help them decipher the million-dollar question of when and where to look for signs in the vast area of space.
It was on December 9 when the new research was published on the preprint site namely arXiv. If the report is to be believed, then the study is now scheduled for peer-reviewed publication in The Astronomical Journal. One of the limitations of this research is that it only includes about a dozen far-off planets as of yet. Maybe, with the advent of technology, researchers might be able to look further with various telescopes.
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