Europe’s LOFAR low-frequency radio telescope array has launched the first search for extraterrestrial intelligence signals at megahertz frequencies as part of the Breakthrough Listening project. To work published In the scientific journal The Astronomical Journal (TAJ).
SETI’s search for alien civilizations has traditionally focused on radio frequencies above gigahertz, such as the 1.42 GHz hydrogen line frequency. SETI astronomers generally avoid low frequencies because Earth’s atmosphere makes such observations noisy. However, LOFAR was designed specifically for low-band radio astronomy research.
LOFAR is a complex of radio antennas covering hundreds of kilometers across Europe, with headquarters in the Netherlands, France, Germany, Ireland, Latvia, Poland and the United Kingdom. Stations are equipped with two types of antennas: the lower range from 10 to 90 MHz and the upper range from 100 to 250 MHz.
The latest study used equipment to listen to radio signals at frequencies between 110 and 190 MHz. The purpose of the complex is to detect traces of the operation of sources such as planetary radars and spacecraft communications. The search covered more than 1.6 million target star systems.
“We have billions of star systems to explore and will be relying on some machine learning techniques to analyze large amounts of data. This is interesting in itself; it would be quite ironic if humanity were to discover alien life using AI,” says lead author Owen Johnson of Trinity College Dublin.
Astrophysicists before named It’s a promising place to look for extraterrestrial life in the solar system.