If lost in the forest, people will try to find a settlement where civilization is located, or seek help by making fire easy to find. Well, there are scientists who are inspired by this way to summon aliens to easily find Earth.
For more than 70 years, these astronomers scanned radio or optical signals from other civilizations to look for other intelligence in space, called SETI (search for extraterrestrial intelligence). Most scientists believe that life exists on 300 million potentially habitable planets in the Milky Way galaxy.
Astronomers also think it is possible that some form of life out there has developed human -like intelligence and technology on Earth. But, no signal from any other civilization has ever been detected, so this is called a mystery "The Great Silence".
While SETI has long been part of mainstream science, METI (extraterrestrial intelligence messaging) or extraterrestrial intelligence messaging is less common.
"I am an astronomy professor who has written extensively about the search for life in the universe. I also serve on the advisory board for a nonprofit research organization that designs messages to be sent to extraterrestrial civilizations," Chris Impey, Professor of Astronomy at the University of Arizona, was quoted as saying. from Science Alert.
In the coming months, two teams of astronomers will send messages into space in an effort to communicate with intelligent aliens who may be out there to listen to signals sent from Earth.
This effort is like making a big bonfire in the woods and hoping someone finds it. But some people question whether it is wise to do so.
Sending messages to aliens
Astronomers transmitted the first radio message designed for aliens from the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico in 1974. Series 1 and 0 were designed to convey simple information about humanity and biology and were sent to the M13 sphere 25,000 light -years away.
In addition to deliberate attempts to send messages to aliens, divergent signals from TV and radio broadcasts have been leaking into space for nearly a century. This growing signal bubble has reached millions of stars.
Nearly half a century after Arecibo's message, two teams of international astronomers are planning new efforts in alien communication. One uses a new giant radio telescope, and the other picks up an interesting new target.
One of these new messages will be sent from the world's largest radio telescope, in China, around 2023. The 500 -meter -diameter telescope will emit a series of radio signals over a vast expanse of sky.
The message is called "The Beacon in the Galaxy" and includes prime numbers and mathematical operators, the biochemistry of life, human form, the location of the Earth, and time stamps. The research team sent a message to a group of millions of stars near the center of the Milky Way galaxy, about 10,000 to 20,000 light -years from Earth.
Although this method maximizes the collection of potential aliens, it means it will take tens of thousands of years before Earth can get revenge.
Other efforts only target one star, but with the potential for a much faster response. On October 4, 2022, a team from the Goonhilly Satellite Earth Station in the UK will send a message to the star TRAPPIST-1.
The star has seven planets, three of which are Earth -like planets in an area called the "Goldilocks zone", which means the zone has the potential for life.
TRAPPIST-1 is only 39 light-years away, so it only takes 78 years for intelligent life out there to receive the message and the Earth to get the answer.
To date, there are no international regulations governing METI, so this experiment will continue, despite a number of concerns.
"So far intelligent aliens are only in the realm of science fiction. Books like The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu offer a bleak and thought-provoking perspective on how successful METI's efforts are. If humans ever make contact in real life, I hope aliens come in peace, "Impey closed.