A New Technique for Detecting Extraterrestrial Radio Signals Applied to the TRAPPIST-1 System.
Scientists from two research institutions in the United States, Pennsylvania State University and the SETI Institute (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence), have discovered a new method for detecting signals from potential extraterrestrial civilizations in the future.
In a recent experiment published in the scientific journal Astronomical Journal, the famous TRAPPIST-1 star system was scanned for 28 hours using the Allen Telescope Array employing a novel approach.
They searched across a wide frequency range, looking for narrowband signals considered potential indicators of extraterrestrial technology.
Seven special planets in the TRAPPIST-1 system – (Graphic: NASA).
From this, 11,000 of the most promising signals were filtered for further analysis, with researchers focusing on a phenomenon known as planetary transits, which occurs when one planet moves in front of another.
If intelligent life exists in this star system, disruptions in the radio signals sent between planets might be detectable from Earth.
Ultimately, 2,264 signals that could indicate planetary transits were filtered out. However, in this search, none of the signals were identified as originating from extraterrestrial sources.
Nonetheless, researchers believe that the most important outcome is that they have developed a method, a suitable direction for the hunt for extraterrestrial civilizations.
According to Sci-News, the lack of success at the TRAPPIST-1 system was not unexpected.
TRAPPIST-1 is located 38.8 light-years from Earth and consists of seven planets orbiting an extremely cold dwarf star.
Interestingly, any planet in this system shares some characteristics with Earth, even having similarities in size and environmental conditions.
However, there are also several hindrances: The radiation from the parent star may be too high, some planets are tidally locked to the mother star, and others may have too much water.
Scientists do not have high expectations of finding extraterrestrial beings capable of building civilizations on these worlds, but they believe that some planets in TRAPPIST-1 may still harbor life in the form of microorganisms.
