A new supernova could be used by aliens
- June 15, 2023
- 0
A team of astronomers from the University of Washington, the SETI Institute, Yale University, and Smith College are investigating a new neighborhood of supernovae in the spiral arms
A team of astronomers from the University of Washington, the SETI Institute, Yale University, and Smith College are investigating a new neighborhood of supernovae in the spiral arms of the Pinwheel Galaxy, hoping to find a signal from an alien civilization. In his article published on the Preprints server arXivThe research team suggests that because of its brightness and proximity, they could be used as a signal by aliens living nearby to get our attention.
Dubbed SN 2023ixf, the supernova was first detected on May 19 by Japanese astronomers Koichi Itagak. The Pinwheel Galaxy lies in the same direction from Earth as the Big Dipper, and the supernova that exploded in one of its arms is one of the closest to be seen. world in decades.
The supernova is about 21 million light-years away. The research team speculates that if there are any advanced alien civilizations near the supernova, they could use the explosion as some kind of signal. The idea is that if the explosion causes us to look in that direction, a nearby civilization may send some kind of signal thinking we’ll be able to see the supernova while observing it.
A supernova is a Type II supernova, meaning it was once a star at least eight times the size of the Sun. The team notes that the light from such an explosion could remain visible for months or even years. The researchers use what they describe as a “SETI ellipsoid,” an egg-shaped area around the region where the supernova exploded, to look for alien signals. The shape was determined by the time frame in which both the aliens and researchers on Earth could see the light of the explosion. The region contains about 100 stars. The team is examining data from both the Allen Telescope Array and the Robert S. Byrd Green Bank Telescope.
The team plans to examine data around the supernova once a month for the next few months. They admit the probability of finding an extraterrestrial signal is very low, but they argue that if the signal did come and no one on Earth had heard it, it would be a shame not to try. Source
Source: Port Altele
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