Published on StarDate Online (https://legacy.stardate.org)

Home > Still Listening

Still Listening [1]

VERITAS array in Arizona [2]
Joining the Search [2]

This array of telescopes in southern Arizona has joined Breakthrough Listen, the most extensive search for extraterrestrial intelligence to date. The search relies primarily on radio telescopes, which listen for signals from other civilizations. The project also searches for visible light beamed into space, and this array, VERITAS, is joining that effort. The array normally searches for flashes of light triggered when gamma-rays strike particles high in Earth's atmosphere. [VERITAS]

ET may be phoning home, but he’s not calling anyone else — not that we’ve heard, anyway. So far, the most extensive search for extraterrestrial intelligence to date has turned up empty. But the project isn’t giving up. In fact, it’s expanding the search by adding new telescopes.

Breakthrough Listen has been operating for about four years. It uses giant radio telescopes in the U.S. and Australia. They monitor billions of frequencies for signals from other civilizations. The project has kept an “ear” on more than 1300 stars that are within about 160 light-years of Earth. It’s also looked toward the center of the Milky Way Galaxy, and at several other galaxies.

But a couple of months ago, project scientists reported they haven’t heard a peep. All the interesting signals have been made either by human technology, or they’re produced naturally, by stars and other objects.

Yet the search is just getting started. It recently added a large array of radio telescopes in South Africa. The array should be able to “hear” more-distant signals. That will allow the project to monitor a million individual stars.

In addition to radio telescopes, Breakthrough Listen has used an optical telescope to look for laser beams. Such beams might be used for interstellar communication, or to push sail-powered spacecraft. And the project has added an array of four telescopes in Arizona to that part of the search — extending its efforts to find ET.


Script by Damond Benningfield

Keywords:

  • Extraterrestrial Life [3]
  • Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) [4]
StarDate: 
Monday, September 30, 2019
Teaser: 
Still searching for aliens
VERITAS array in Arizona [2]
VERITAS array in Arizona [2]
  • About StarDate
  • Underwriting
  • SkyTips Sign-Up
  • Change mailing address
  • Privacy Policy
  • Copyright and Usage
  • Contact

StarDate is brought to you in part through the generous support of our underwriters.
Interested in underwriting? Let us know

 

FacebookTwitterYouTube

©2022 The University of Texas McDonald Observatory


Source URL:https://legacy.stardate.org/radio/program/2019-09-30

Links
[1] https://legacy.stardate.org/radio/program/2019-09-30 [2] https://legacy.stardate.org/astro-guide/gallery/joining-search [3] https://legacy.stardate.org/astro-guide/extraterrestrial-life [4] https://legacy.stardate.org/astro-guide/search-extraterrestrial-intelligence-seti