Suresh is a Ph.D. candidate at the Cornell Center for Astrophysics and Planetary Science who leads the BLIPPS project, a partnership between Cornell University, the SETI Institute, and Breakthrough Listen. He and his coworkers were joined by astrophysicists from the Cahill Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics, the Institute for Mathematics, Astrophysics, and Particle Physics (IMAPP), the Institute of Space Sciences and Astronomy, and the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR). Their paper, “A 4– 8 GHz Galactic Center Search for Periodic Technosignatures,” appeared on May 30th in The Astronomical Journal.
It has actually been over sixty years given that the first Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) survey occurred. While the search revealed nothing of interest, it paved the method for years of research, theory, and attempts to discover proof of technological activity (aka.
The search continues today, with researchers utilizing analytical approaches and next-generation instruments to find the “needle in the cosmic haystack.” This is the purpose behind Breakthrough Listen Investigation for Periodic Spectral Signals (BLIPSS), a collective SETI project led by Cornell graduate student Akshay Suresh to try to find technosignatures at the center of the Milky Way. In a recent paper, Suresh and his team shared their initial findings, which were made possible thanks to data obtained by the Greenbank Observatory and a proprietary algorithm they developed.
Eliminate All Ads on Universe Today
Join our Patreon for just $3!
Get the ad-free experience for life
The Karl Jansky Very Large Array at night, with the Milky Way noticeable in the sky. Credit: NRAO/AUI/NSF; J. Hellerman
To date, all SETI surveys have actually been devoted to trying to find proof of artificial radio transmissions. The accepted theory is that radio signatures would fall under one of two classifications: narrowband intentional beacon emissions and broadband radiation leak from radio transmitters. Of the 2, the spectrotemporal qualities (frequency over time) of radiation leak are much harder to speculate about and most likely to be weaker. For this reason, many modern-day SETI efforts have actually focused on looking for wideband searches for narrowband beacons from planetary systems or neighboring galaxies.
In particular, a rotating beacon near Galactic Center (GC) is thought about an appealing technosignature to SETI researchers. For a sophisticated species, such a beacon would offer a method for interacting with the entire galaxy without the requirement for direct contact. For species dying to understand if they are alone in the Universe but not so eager as to advertise their area, a beacon is doubly appealing due to the fact that it would also permit some anonymity to be kept. As Suresh told Universe Today by means of e-mail:
For their search, the team used a quick folding algorithm (FFA), an open-source machine discovering software created to identify periodic occasions within time series information. They then consulted datasets obtained by the 100-meter Green Bank Telescope (GBT)– part of the Breakthrough Listens network– on an area at the center of the Milky Way during a 4.5-hour observing period.
” From a game theory point of view, the core of the Milky Way is a most likely “Schelling point” by which various alien worlds might establish interaction without prior contact. Smart aliens might select to transmit beacons towards the center of the Milky Way to reach an optimal number of targets. Equivalently, such aliens might likewise transfer directly away from the center of the Milky Way, understanding that societies like ours will look towards the core of the galaxy.”
Artists impression of Green Bank Telescope connected to a device finding out network. Credit: Breakthrough Listen/Danielle Futselaar.
Unlike pulsars, which give off signals across a broad variety of radio frequencies, BLIPSS narrowed its search to try to find regularly-spaced sequences of pulses (11 to 100 seconds apart) across a signal variety of a couple of kilohertz– comparable to radar interactions. “Unfortunately, our searches did not expose any pulsating signals that might be of extraterrestrial origin,” stated Suresh. “Our results suggest that from the almost 600,000 stars surveyed at the center of our galaxy, beacons with repetition rates between 11 to 100 seconds were either off or too faint to be discovered throughout our observations.”
While their search did not turn up any clear signs of regular radio signals, it accomplished numerous. The search performed by Suresh and his colleagues is the first-ever comprehensive, thorough search for these signals.
In addition, the methodology utilized by Suresh and his coworkers was novel in its mix of narrow bandwidths with regular patterns that could be technosignatures. And by browsing for timed series in a particular frequency variety, this unmatched survey has actually developed restrictions that future studies can build on. Said Suresh:
” Constraints from our research study assistance fine-tune future studies by excluding specification spaces (e.g., pulse repeating rate, pulse bandwidth, and brightness) and areas of the sky from which we have a non-detection of pulsating extraterrestrial signals of artificial origin. We want to expand our look for pulsating signals from the Milky Way and beyond utilizing several radio telescopes distributed across the world. In doing so, we strive to mine huge undiscovered parameter areas of pulsating signals.
Further Reading: SETI Institute, The Astronomical Journal
Like this: Like Loading …
Unlike pulsars, which release signals across a broad range of radio frequencies, BLIPSS narrowed its search to look for regularly-spaced sequences of pulses (11 to 100 seconds apart) throughout a signal range of a couple of kilohertz– similar to radar communications. “Unfortunately, our searches did not reveal any pulsating signals that might be of extraterrestrial origin,” stated Suresh. While their search did not turn up any clear signs of periodic radio signals, it accomplished numerous. The search carried out by Suresh and his colleagues is the first-ever detailed, thorough search for these signals. We hope to broaden our searches for pulsating signals from the Milky Way and beyond utilizing several radio telescopes distributed throughout the world.