SETI Researchers Propose Eavesdropping on Alien Civilizations The only way an alien civilization can be found, is if it is already sending us a beacon, hailing us across the great emptiness. A civilization that chooses to stay quiet, as we ourselves do, would never be found by current SETI projects. This, however, is about to change.
In a presentation today at the American Astronomical Society meeting in Seattle, Washington, Avi Loeb of the Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA) proposed a radically new type search for extraterrestrial intelligence. Instead of looking for a beacon, he suggested, we should rather look for normal (?!?!) electromagnetic signals that are produced by a civilization such as our own.
In our case these would include radio and television broadcasts, as well as military radar signals that are the strongest of all.
According to Loeb it is reasonable to expect that alien civilizations also produce these types of electromagnetic signals, that spill out naturally into space. Most importantly, he argued, we will soon be in a position where we can eavesdrop on them. (more)
...as if "Over 250 Channels and Counting!" on Directv isn't enough.
