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Can Aliens Find Us & Rubin Observatory Update
🕑 Added 2023-05-17 19:15:00 +0000 UTCCan Aliens Find Us? It’s Complicated.
We look for signs of alien civilization elsewhere, but what if aliens are looking for us, too? Could they find us? Two new studies have now investigated the matter.
The first comes from researchers from UCLA and UC Berkeley. They explored the possibility that civilizations around nearby stars intercept signals from NASA's Deep Space Network (DSN), a system of powerful transmitters that communicate with five spacecraft that have left or are leaving our solar system: Voyager 1, Voyager 2, Pioneer 10, Pioneer 11, and New Horizons. The study suggests that alien eavesdroppers might be successful and that some of them may even be able to send a reply to us before the end of the century. Paper here. More here.
The second study comes from researchers from Mauritius and the U.K. It investigated how detectable radio leakage from mobile towers would be for alien civilizations around stars in our neighborhood, including Barnard's star, six light years away from Earth. The researchers say that with a technological level similar to ours, chances are slim, but that some advanced civilizations may be able to pick up on us. Paper here. Press release here.
A Big Machine That Twists Rocks
A team of researchers at Washington University in St. Louis have developed a device that can simulate the conditions deep inside the Earth. It can heat rock to temperatures up to 1,300 °C (2,500 °F), and twist and squeeze them with a force equivalent to the weight of 100 tons. The device, called the large volume torsion (LVT) apparatus, is unique in the world and can help scientists understand how rocks deform and how faults move. The team used the LVT to study talc, a soft mineral that forms ripples and voids when compressed, which could affect how water flows through the rocks and how earthquakes happen. Paper here. Press release here.
Rubin Observatory Update
The Vera C. Rubin Observatory, a telescope under construction in Chile that will conduct a 10-year survey of the sky, has reached a major milestone. The telescope structure is now ready, and can be equipped with the camera. The Rubin Observatory will help investigate dark matter, dark energy, and other cosmic phenomena. More here.
Comments
In my opinion, it is unlikely that life could be discovered twice within the same system, as the conditions for its development are specific to a particular spacetime unit. However, since we live in this system, we can gather data and information to understand what prevents the emergence of life
Rad Antonov
Actually, the question of extraterrestrial life is getting plenty of attention and we may even learn in our lifetime if there’s life on other celestial bodies: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-01666-x
"I fully agree with the observations. In addition, given our limited knowledge of the universe and its composition (dark matter and dark energy are metaphysical concepts to me, albeit beautifully enriched with profound mathematical mastery), we have no idea how signals from space may be distorted. It is not, in my opinion, a coincidence that we have arrived at a new calculation of the Hubble constant and numerous contradictory measurements that periodically emerge with unscientific and highly dramatic announcements, often aimed at attracting funding. The question of extraterrestrial life is a central issue for science and our destiny, but I have the impression that it has been treated more seriously by science fiction since the inception of SETI than by actual science. Best regards.
I agree. I also think that the distances involved make any contact highly problematic as the time it takes to span these distances range from great to too great, between us and any habitable planet. Then there is the tech alignment coincidence that requires our technologies and aims to align at the right times. If they are off by a bit, then we will miss each other. I also doubt that any visitations would ever occur due to the distances involved coupled with the fact that there are no real reasons for interstellar travel simply because any given solar system has more resources available for any given civilization than they could ever need, assuming that they haven't destroyed themselves like we are in our driving an extinction event due to our delusions of importance and capability.
What is the likelihood that an alien scientist would be able to detect us? It depends on two unknown factors: their understanding of living beings and advanced civilizations, and their level of scientific and technological development. These factors should be considered seriously when assessing our efforts to search for extraterrestrial life. Up until now, it has been a significant waste of resources and intelligence driven by a very anthropocentric notion that all civilizations are similar to ours
Mr. Breeze
Can the machine make diamonds out of coal?
D Brown
I think "really" determining if a planet is habitable comes long before you can detect a signal from such a planet. And such detection is unlikely to happen on earth. I believe Webb was a first step to developing deep space probes. Regarding aliens finding us, assume they are out there and have advanced to the point we will be at in ten thousand years. At a minimum they would be able to send probes to nearby stars, likely choosing the ones where habitable planets reside. So if they are out there and near by and advanced enough, I believe they can find us.
Thank you
