Smarter Alien Hunt: New Strategy to Find Extraterrestrial Signals

08/23/2025 Technology

For decades, the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) has been on the lookout for alien signals, like radio waves. But let's be honest, the universe is HUGE, and finding a needle in a haystack feels easy compared to this task. Now, some new research suggests a clever way to refine our search: studying our own deep-space broadcasts.

The idea, published in Astrophysical Journal Letters, suggests focusing on how we beam strong signals when communicating with our deep space missions. The researchers, including folks from Penn State and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), figured that if aliens are also spacefarers, their signals would probably pop up under similar circumstances. It's like saying, "If they're doing what we're doing, where would we expect to see the evidence?"

Think about it: we've been leaking radio signals for over a century. Airports are practically radio wave fountains! So, what if aliens are just as noisy? That's where NASA's Deep Space Network (DSN) comes in. This network is a system of ground-based facilities that communicate with everything from satellites to probes like Voyager. As Joseph Lazio, a JPL project scientist, points out, the DSN sends some of humanity's most potent radio signals out into the cosmos.

By matching DSN broadcasts with spacecraft locations, the team could pinpoint the timing and direction of Earth's deep space transmissions. The researchers discovered that deep space radio signals are mainly aimed towards Mars, but also other planets and telescopes. If aliens were watching during an Earth-Mars alignment, there's a 77% chance they would be in the path of our signals. Pretty neat, huh?

The research suggests that SETI should focus on moments when exoplanets align with each other or their host star, as seen from Earth. Our solar system is relatively flat, so our transmissions travel along that plane. It is plausible that aliens might use similar strategies, thus SETI should also target the same kinds of alignments.