NASA to Hunt for ‘Technosignatures’ of Alien Life, Hopes Giant Structures and Even Pollution Will Give Away Extraterrestrial Activity
by Cheyenne MacDonald September 25, 2018 (dailymail.co.uk)
• NASA hosted a ‘Technosignatures Workshop’ in Houston TX, September 26th thru 28th, to assess current efforts to find radio signals, atmospheric pollutants, or other emissions caused by extraterrestrial activity coming from deep space, that can be traced to an advanced civilization.
• Scientists have been searching for technosignatures for decades, with NASA’s own SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) work beginning in 1971. Today, NASA’s Kepler and TESS missions lead the search for worlds outside of our solar system. But even on Earth, scientists can detect signals emanating from distant sources far beyond our own skies, such as the mysterious ‘fast radio bursts’ that have been repeatedly detected in the last few years, with no solid explanation as to where they’re coming from.
• “Although we have yet to find signs of extraterrestrial life, NASA is amplifying exploring the solar system and beyond to help humanity answer whether we are alone in the universe,” NASA says.” But, signatures alone won’t confirm the existence of alien life. “We will need more than an unexplained signal to definitively prove the existence of technological life.”
NASA is ramping up its search for life outside of our solar system. The space agency is hosting a workshop in Houston this week to assess the state of current efforts to find ‘technosignatures’ coming from deep space and explore new areas. These signatures are those that could be traced to an advanced civilization, reaching Earth as radio signals or other emissions caused by extraterrestrial activity.
The space agency’s Technosignatures Workshop in Houston will take place from September 26 to 28 to address promising areas in the field and possible investment.
‘Technosignatures are signs or signals, which if observed, would allow us to infer the existence of technological life elsewhere in the universe,’ NASA explains.
‘The best known technosignatures are radio signals, but there are many others that have not been explored fully.’
NASA’s Kepler, and now TESS mission, have led the search for worlds outside of our solar system.
But even on Earth, scientists can detect signals emanating from distant sources far beyond our own skies.
Such is the case with the mysterious fast radio bursts (FRBS) that have been repeatedly detected in the last few years, with no solid explanation as to where they’re coming from.
Technosignatures could be radio or laser emissions, for example, or even an atmosphere full of pollutants, NASA explains.
‘Complex life may evolve into cognitive systems that can employ technology in ways that may be observable,’ NASA’s 2015 Astrobiology Strategy states.
‘Nobody knows the probability, but we know that it is not zero.’
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Houston TX, NASA, Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence, technosignatures
