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Two MIT researchers think it's time for us to take the first steps and contact extraterrestrials, and we've described what might be the right tools for this work in a new study.
Assuming that extraterrestrial intelligence exists somewhere in the galaxy, the pair tested the concept of a laser beacon powerful enough to attract the attention of aliens up to 20,000 light years
This "feasibility study" carried out by MIT scientists, published in The Astrophysical Journal explains that all the technology needed to design a such a lighthouse is already available.
Although the idea of such a lighthouse can attract extraterrestrials, it seems to increase. the likelihood of a handshake with extraterrestrial extraterrestrials who could explore our nook in the galaxy of the Milky Way.
The nearest planetary system of our Sun – Proxima Centauri, or the TRAPPIST-1 system, which hosts 3 Potato planets at only 40 light-years of the year – could be a good starting point , said the authors to the university press .
A well-designed, continuous signal in space, conveying a brief message in the form of legumes, such as Morse code, for example, would require heavy equipment. The researchers think in particular that a laser source of 1 to 2 megawatts of high energy pbading through a mbadive telescope 35 to 45 meters oriented in the space would do the trick.
Hello from Planet Earth! Image reproduced with kind permission of MIT
The powerful beam produced by such a configuration would be powerful enough to be distinguishable from the rays of the Sun.
Researchers are waiting, like some of the largest space observatories, for such a laser beacon. summit of a mountain so that the laser retains as much energy as possible when it goes through the atmosphere.
"The types of lasers and telescopes built today can produce a detectable signal … an astronomer could take a look at our star and immediately James Clark, graduate student of the School of Aeronautics and Astronautics of MIT and author of the study, told the academic press .
"I do not know if any intelligent creatures around the sun would be their first hypothesis, but that would certainly attract more the attention. "
Clark's study discovered that such a laser is actually technically feasible. It may even be that months later see the light of day if more people feel that the effort is worth it. One of the biggest problems with acceptance is the probability that the beam will be detected by intelligent life.
"[Français] Clark told the press that" the infrared spectra of exoplanets are being investigated for traces of gas indicating the viability of life, and that open-air surveys are reaching greater coverage and becoming faster, we can be more certain that, if ET calls, we detect it. "
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