Low frequency beamed to distant galaxies to find aliens

Scientists are targeting distant galaxies to find civilizations more advanced than ours. They haven’t received a response – yet.

The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) has just made a breakthrough. For the first time, scientists used low radio frequencies (100 MHz) to search for signs of alien technology in galaxies beyond the Milky Way. Radio waves are the medium of choice for interstellar communication because they can travel long distances through space and penetrate planetary atmospheres effectively.

Scientists used the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) Telescope’s wide field of view to observe around 2,800 galaxies at once.

“This work represents a significant step forward in our efforts to detect signals from advanced extraterrestrial civilizations,” said Dr. Chenoa Tremblay from SETI Institute, who was one of the research leads.

MWA — The first extragalactic search for technosignatures at low frequencies covers 2,800 galaxies in one search. Source: SETI Institute

During these missions, scientists search for so-called technosignatures, or signs of alien technology. So far, the search for alien civilizations has concentrated on signals within our galaxy.

This new method, however, extends the search to distant galaxies, opening doors to the search for advanced civilizations – those potentially more advanced than our own. For a civilization to send a signal from another galaxy, it would require technology capable of harnessing the energy of its sun or multiple stars in its galaxy.

The first attempt didn’t find any signs of alien life. However, the scientists say that the study provides insights for future searches. “The MWA continues to open up new ways of exploring the Universe for intelligent civilizations and technosignatures, while using the same data to study the astrophysics of stars and galaxies.,” said Prof. Steven Tingay from Curtin University, the Director of the MWA.

“This work is new and novel, but also paves the way for future observations with even more powerful telescopes,” he added.

The research was conducted by The SETI Institute, the Berkeley SETI Research Center, and the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research.