If we assume that somewhere in space there is an intelligent civilization similar to a human one, then, most likely, it is also trying to detect life outside its planet. It is likely that it sends laser signals to the universe, but until recently scientists could not detect such messages due to the lack of the necessary tools.
However, the situation has finally changed. According to the University of Hawaii, two fundamentally new devices detecting laser signals were recently installed on the top of the Haleakala volcano. They will work together with similar instruments installed at the Robert Ferguson California Observatory in Sonoma. Together, these scanners will explore the sky in the hope of detecting powerful laser pulses sent by an extraterrestrial civilization.
Unlike the previous SETI project, which searches for strange radio signals, this optical network is ready to detect artificially created light signals. It is quite logical that “advanced aliens” will want to use lasers for communication, since messages transmitted through light have a “fundamental advantage over radio” — they transmit half a million more information at a time, according to the SETI Institute, which implements the LaserSETI program.
The new system is based on the assumption that “alien flashes” will be monochromatic. The fact is that stars emit a full spectrum from blue to red, and lasers emit only a wave of a certain length, so astronomers will look for “monotonous” signals.
The laser detection system is just beginning to take shape. In addition to these two bases, it is planned to place 10 more devices in Puerto Rico, the Canary Islands and Chile.
New Year’s sale: discounts up to – 60%
Anna Lysenko
Even more interesting things about science and technology