A team of scientists will scan the sky near a supernova explosion in search of signals from an advanced civilization. Credit: International Gemini Observatory / NOIRLab / NSF / AURA // Image Processing: J. Miller (Gemini Observatory / NSF’s NOIRLab) / M. Rodriguez (Gemini Observatory / NSF’s NOIRLab) / M. Zamani (NSF’s NOIRLab) / T.A. Rector (University of Alaska Anchorage / NSF’s NOIRLab) & D. de Martin (NSF’s NOIRLab)
Scientists around the world have turned their telescopes in the direction of the Ursa Major constellation to gaze at a supernova discovered there last month.
When something awesomely bright and powerful explodes, humans are instinctively compelled to look.
That's exactly what James R. A. Davenport and his team of collaborators were thinking when they designed a new study that will scan the space around the supernova over the next few months. What they're looking for are potential radio signals from an advanced alien civilization that might use the star's blast as something akin to a flare gunshot or a Batman-esque bat signal.
Astronomers have mulled this concept since at least the 1970s, Davenport told Mashable, though this is the first observation coordinated to look for alien technology around a supernova.
"It's an old idea that goes back to how you get somebody's attention, especially if you don't have the ability to just put up a giant neon sign that says 'We are here,'" he said. "It's hard to transmit a signal over light-years, even for presumably an advanced civilization." READ MORE...
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