All articles tagged with #seti
A SETI-inspired proposal suggests that microscopic particles from extinct or technologically advanced alien civilizations could accumulate on the Moon. By sifting about a cubic meter of lunar soil, researchers aim to search for traces that could indicate we are not alone, a concept under peer review in the International Journal of Astrobiology.
Over two decades, the SETI@home project used millions of volunteers’ idle computers to analyze Arecibo data for technosignatures, producing about 12 billion detections. A decade-long Nebula back-end pipeline compressed those into roughly a million candidate groups, which were then manually reviewed to yield around 100 sky locations for follow-up with FAST. No confirmed alien signal has been found; the work illustrates that detections are software events, and that careful filtering and cross-observatory verification are essential before any claim of detection. The study also highlights that the bottleneck is expert interpretation and follow-up, not processor power.
David Kipping argues a birth–death model of civilizations better captures the likelihood of intelligent life than the Drake equation, suggesting the cosmos is likely not crowded with technosignatures; he highlights exomoons as promising habitable targets, explains JWST and future missions' roles in studying atmospheres and moons, and warns that biosignature detections are easily confounded—advocating an A/B testing approach to robustly infer life signals.
The 2026 update to the International Academy of Astronautics' post-detection protocols for SETI requires independent, multi-instrument verification before any public announcement of a potential extraterrestrial signal, with data and methods opened after confirmation; it strengthens researcher safety and spectrum protection amid rising interference, calls for broad international consultation (via the UN) before any messaging to aliens, and establishes a permanent Post-Detection Sub-Committee to guide long-term societal implications, treating the framework as a living document to be presented at the 2026 International Astronautical Congress.
A team from SETI Institute and Breakthrough Listen used the Allen Telescope Array to scan 3I/ATLAS across a wide range of radio frequencies, filtering 74 million raw hits down to about 2 million candidates and then to 211 signals; none exhibited artificial signatures and all were attributed to radio-frequency interference. The result provides no evidence of alien technosignatures in this interstellar object but demonstrates that current technology can detect signals if present and supports continuing searches for technosignatures in future observations.
Broadcast in 1974, the Arecibo message was aimed at the M13 globular cluster about 25,000 light-years away and encoded 1679 bits in a 23-by-73 grid to reveal numbers, DNA components, a DNA helix, a human figure, a solar-system map with Earth highlighted, and the transmitter dish. Designed as a demonstration rather than a dialogue, its earliest possible reply would not reach Earth for roughly 25,000 years, with any response arriving no sooner than about 52,000 CE.
SETI researchers warn that solar storms and plasma turbulence around stars can broaden and weaken ultra-narrow radio signals from potential alien transmitters, making them harder to detect with traditional searches and prompting researchers to rethink observation strategies, including higher-frequency surveys; the finding explains, in part, why technosignature signals remain elusive while suggesting aliens might still be out there.
Scientists have scanned the interstellar object 3I/ATLAS for alien signals using the Green Bank Telescope but found no evidence of artificial radio emissions, supporting the idea that it is a natural comet. Despite ongoing investigations and some anomalies noted by Avi Loeb, current data suggest 3I/ATLAS is likely a natural icy body rather than an alien probe.
Recent research suggests that advanced civilizations could reside near the galactic core, utilizing black holes for time dilation to expand their lifespan and exploration capabilities, which may explain why we haven't detected them and offers new avenues for SETI efforts.
Scientists suggest that galaxies with high radio emissions could harbor advanced civilizations, but such galaxy-spanning ETIs are extremely rare, with less than 1 in 100,000 large galaxies potentially hosting them. The research uses models to set upper limits on the prevalence of these civilizations based on radio observations, and proposes expanding searches to other frequencies and technosignatures beyond radio waves.
In 2008, Earth sent a message to the exoplanet Gliese 581c, which is about 21 light-years away, and the message is expected to arrive in 2029. The message included images of celebrities and Earthlings, with the hope of making contact if extraterrestrial life exists. The earliest possible reply could be in 2050, but the likelihood remains uncertain, making it a fascinating but speculative endeavor.
Scientists have discovered that humpback whales create smoke ring-like bubbles as a playful and possibly communicative gesture towards humans, which could provide insights into how extraterrestrial civilizations might attempt contact, supporting the idea that intelligent non-human species use curiosity and friendly interactions to communicate.
Scientists have observed humpback whales creating symmetrical bubble rings during peaceful encounters with humans, suggesting a possible form of communication or playful interaction, which may offer insights into non-verbal intelligence and interspecies signaling.
Researchers from the SETI Institute and UC Davis have observed humpback whales creating bubble rings in a manner that may indicate intentional communication, potentially offering insights into non-human intelligence and serving as a terrestrial analog for understanding extraterrestrial communication.
Using data from the now-collapsed Arecibo radio telescope, SETI scientists have studied how pulsar signals are distorted by the interstellar medium, revealing that current models of the universe may need revision. This research, led by Sofia Sheikh, highlights the importance of archived data and its role in understanding cosmic phenomena like gravitational waves. The findings suggest that galactic structures, such as the Milky Way's spiral arms, influence these distortions, which could refine gravitational wave detection methods.