Skip to main content

Two new telescopes join the search for extraterrestrial intelligence

Two PANOSETI telescopes installed in the recently renovated Astrograph Dome at Lick Observatory. PANOSETI will utilize a configuration of many SETI telescopes to allow simultaneous monitoring of the entire observable sky.
Two PANOSETI telescopes installed in the recently renovated Astrograph Dome at Lick Observatory. PANOSETI will utilize a configuration of many SETI telescopes to allow simultaneous monitoring of the entire observable sky. Laurie Hatch

Astronomers have a new tool in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) with the installation of two new dedicated SETI telescopes. The pair of telescopes, located in the Lick Observatory near San Jose, California, are the first of hundreds of telescopes planned as part of the PANOSETI, or Pulsed All-sky Near-infrared Optical SETI, project.

The telescopes will search for flashes of light, either in the optical wavelength or in the infrared wavelength, which could be as short as a few nanoseconds. The researchers believe that such flashes could originate from either intelligent life, indicating extraterrestrial communication, or astronomical phenomena similar to fast radio bursts.

Recommended Videos

By looking at such short time scales that are rarely studied in astronomy, the PANOSETI project may have the chance to discover something unexpected. “When astronomers examine an unexplored parameter space, they usually find something surprising that no one predicted,” Dan Werthimer, chief technologist at UC Berkeley’s SETI Research Center and co-investigator, said in a statement. “PANOSETI could discover new astronomical phenomena or signals from E.T.”

“The goal is to basically look for very brief but powerful signals from an advanced civilization,” Werthimer went on to say. “Because they are so brief, and likely to be rare, we plan to check large areas of the sky for a long period of time.”

When asked what the likelihood was of the project detecting extraterrestrial signals, UC San Diego astronomer Shelley Wright, leader of the PANOSETI project, said, “The short and correct answer is we have no idea on the likelihood of detection. With PANOSETI we will be observing an unexplored phase space for SETI and astronomical observations. Our goal is to make the first dedicated SETI observatory that is capable of observing the entire visible sky all of the time.”

With the new telescopes now installed, the team must now finish the final assembly and testing of the instruments before measurements can begin. Each telescope will image and area of just 10 degrees by 10 degrees, so they will be able to look in-depth at a single area of the sky. Eventually, the project aims to install 80 telescopes each in two locations, which will be able to cover 10,000 square degrees or the entire observable sky.

Georgina Torbet
Georgina has been the space writer at Digital Trends space writer for six years, covering human space exploration, planetary…
NASA’s Roman telescope could spot Earth-like planets
NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope

The James Webb Space Telescope might be grabbing all the headlines right now, but NASA has big plans for another space-based telescope too: The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. Set to launch in 2027, Roman will survey the sky in the infrared wavelength to learn about big topics in cosmology like dark energy as well as perform a census of exoplanets. Now, NASA has shared more information about the kinds of planets that Roman could find, including the possibility it could take the first image of a Jupiter-like world.

Directly Imaging Distant Planets With a Coronagraph

Read more
NASA announces two new missions to study the sun
A mid-level solar flare that peaked at 8:13 p.m. EDT on Oct. 1, 2015, captured by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory.

The sun affects the space environment in more ways than just being a source of heat and light. It also gives off radiation and charged particles which interact with Earth's magnetic fields in a complex phenomenon called space weather. This can affect both the health of astronauts traveling beyond the protection of Earth's magnetosphere and electronics like satellites in high orbits. To learn more about the sun and how it affects the space environment, NASA has recently announced two new space missions: The Multi-slit Solar Explorer (MUSE) and HelioSwarm.

“MUSE and HelioSwarm will provide new and deeper insight into the solar atmosphere and space weather,” said Thomas Zurbuchen, NASA's associate administrator for science, in a statement. “These missions not only extend the science of our other heliophysics missions — but they also provide a unique perspective and a novel approach to understanding the mysteries of our star.”

Read more
James Webb Space Telescope reaches destination, so now what?
James Webb Space Telescope illustration.

Four weeks after launching atop an Ariane 5 rocket in French Guiana, the James Webb Space Telescope has reached the location from where it will explore deep space in a bid to unlock the mysteries of the universe.

The most advanced space telescope ever built reached the point known as Lagrange Point 2 (L2) on Monday, January 24, after a journey of almost a million miles.

Read more