First extragalactic survey of low-frequency technosignatures covers 2,800 galaxies in one search. Credit: SETI Institute
The SETI Institute, the Berkeley SETI Research Centre and the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research have announced research using the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) in Western Australia. Led by Dr Chenoa Tremblay of the SETI Institute and Professor Steven Tingay of Curtin University, the study is the first to focus on low radio frequencies (100 MHz) and search for traces of alien technology in the galaxy beyond Earth.
This groundbreaking research used MWA's wide field of view (FOV) to enable the team to observe approximately 2,800 galaxies in a single observation, with distances to 1,300 of them known. Typically, the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) focuses on signals within our galaxy; this new approach goes further, observing distant galaxies as well.
This new approach to observing distant galaxies is one of the most detailed ways to search for super-civilizations — those more advanced than our own. To send a signal from another galaxy, a civilization would need technology powerful enough to harness the energy of the sun and multiple stars within the galaxy.
This research has been published on the arXiv preprint server.
“This study marks a major step forward in our efforts to detect signals from advanced extraterrestrial civilizations,” Tremblay said. “MWA's wide field of view and low-frequency range make it an ideal tool for this type of study, and the limits we set will help guide future research.”
Although this initial study did not find a technosignature, it did provide insights that can help focus future searches, highlighting the importance of continuing to search different radio frequencies and leveraging the unique capabilities of telescopes like MWA.
“MWA continues to pioneer new ways to search for intelligent civilizations and technological signatures in the universe, while using the same data to study stellar and galactic astrophysics. This research is new and novel, but it also paves the way for future observations with even more powerful telescopes,” said Tingay, who is also MWA's director.
This research highlights the importance of international collaboration and the use of advanced technology to improve our understanding of the universe. The SETI Institute works to search for and explore the universe for signs of intelligent life and to advance our knowledge of the universe.
Further information: Chenoa D. Tremblay et al., “Extragalactic wide-field survey of technosignatures with the Murchison Widefield Array,” arXiv (2024). DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.2408.10372
Journal information: arXiv
Provided by the SETI Institute
Citation: Researchers Launch First Low-Frequency Search for Alien Technology in Distant Galaxies (August 26, 2024) Retrieved August 26, 2024 from https://phys.org/news/2024-08-frequency-alien-technology-distant-galaxies.html
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