Astronomers scan heart of Milky Way for alien radio pulses

If an alien civilisation wanted to communicate with Earth, where would the E.T.s be likely to put a radio beacon to be picked up by other intelligent life?

Researchers from the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence believe that the centre of our own Milky Way galaxy - with a dense concentration of stars and potentially habitable planets - would be the perfect place.

If an alien civilisation wanted to communicate with other civilisations throughout the Milky Way, the galaxy’s core holds potential as a strategic site for a beacon, the researchers say.

Akshay Suresh is leading a groundbreaking mission to uncover repeating radio signals emanating from the core of the Milky Way.

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Called the Breakthrough Listen Investigation for Periodic Spectral Signals (BLIPSS), the researchers hope to find signals which could be key to unlocking the mysteries of extraterrestrial intelligence in our galaxy.

Suresh said: "BLIPSS showcases the cutting-edge potential of software as a science multiplier for SETI."

SETI Institute Astronomer Dr. Vishal Gajjar, one of Suresh’s advisors on the project said: "Until now, radio SETI has primarily dedicated its efforts to the search for continuous signals.

"Our study sheds light on the remarkable energy efficiency of a train of pulses as a means of interstellar communication across vast distances. Notably, this study marks the first-ever comprehensive endeavour to conduct in-depth searches for these signals."

The team began by testing their algorithm on known pulsars, successfully detecting the expected periodic emissions.

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Subsequently, they turned their attention to a dataset of scans of the Galactic Center captured by the Breakthrough Listen instrument on the Green Bank Telescope (GBT) in West Virginia.

Unlike pulsars, which emit signals across a broad range of radio frequencies, BLIPSS narrowed its search to repeating signals within a narrower frequency range — covering less than a tenth of the width of an average FM radio station.

Dr. Steve Croft said this approach combines narrow bandwidths with periodic patterns that could signify deliberate technological activities by intelligent civilisations.