Level 1 — Absolute Beginner
Scientists look for radio signals from aliens. This search is called SETI.
For many years, scientists only listened to one small part of the radio waves. A new study says they should listen to other parts too.
Scientists used a big telescope in Chile called ALMA. They looked at old data from it in a new way.
They found a way to check many more stars at once. Now they can check over 6 million stars instead of about 288,000. They have not found aliens yet.
- signal
- a sound, light, or radio wave that carries information
- radio wave
- an invisible wave used to send sound and information through the air
- telescope
- a tool used to see far away objects in space
- alien
- a living being that might come from another planet
- data
- information collected by scientists, often from instruments
- technique
- a special way of doing something
- explore
- to travel through or study something to learn more about it
- spectrum
- the full range of a type of wave, like light or radio
Level 2 — Elementary
New research presented at the UK's National Astronomy Meeting suggests that astronomers may have been listening for alien civilizations in only a small slice of the radio spectrum, while a much larger range of higher frequencies has gone almost completely unexplored.
For decades, most SETI searches have focused on the 'water hole,' a narrow band of frequencies between those naturally given off by hydrogen and hydroxyl molecules, which together form water.
The new study argues that millimeter and submillimeter radio bands remain almost untouched by SETI research, and researchers used archived data from the ALMA telescope in Chile to conduct the observatory's first dedicated SETI survey, searching for narrow signals that could indicate advanced technology.
The project also revealed a useful bonus: because a telescope pointed at one target also captures many other stars in its field of view, applying this idea to a previous survey increased the number of stars effectively searched from around 288,000 to more than 6.1 million, even though no technosignatures have been detected so far.
- frequency
- how often a wave repeats, measured in cycles per second
- civilization
- a society with its own culture and technology
- hydrogen
- the lightest and most common chemical element in the universe
- hydroxyl
- a chemical group made of one oxygen and one hydrogen atom
- archived
- stored for future use, often after being collected earlier
- survey
- a broad study or examination of something, often collecting data
- field of view
- the area that can be seen through an instrument at one time
- technosignature
- a sign of advanced technology that could indicate an alien civilization
Level 3 — Intermediate
New research presented at the UK's National Astronomy Meeting by Louisa Mason of the University of Manchester contends that astronomers conducting SETI searches may have restricted themselves to a narrow slice of the radio spectrum, leaving the millimeter and submillimeter bands almost entirely unexplored despite decades of observational effort.
Traditional SETI campaigns have concentrated on the so-called 'water hole,' a band spanning 1.42 to 1.66 gigahertz situated between the natural emission frequencies of hydrogen and hydroxyl, molecules that together constitute water, a convention rooted in the assumption that any civilization would recognize its symbolic significance.
To test frequencies beyond this convention, researchers repurposed archived data from the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array in Chile, conducting the observatory's first dedicated SETI survey by searching for narrow, artificial-looking signals embedded within data collected for unrelated astronomical purposes.
The project yielded an unanticipated methodological advance: because any single telescope pointing inevitably captures numerous additional stars within its field of view, applying this insight retroactively to a prior survey of 1,327 telescope pointings expanded the effective stellar sample from approximately 288,000 stars identified via the Gaia catalog to more than 6.1 million using a galactic population model, even though no confirmed technosignatures emerged from the analysis.
- contend
- to assert or argue that something is the case
- convention
- an accepted way of doing something, based on tradition or common practice
- symbolic
- representing or standing for something beyond its literal meaning
- repurpose
- to use something for a different purpose than originally intended
- artificial
- made or caused by humans or another intelligent source, not occurring naturally
- methodological
- relating to the methods or procedures used in research
- retroactively
- applying to or affecting things that happened in the past
- stellar
- relating to stars
Level 4 — Advanced
New research presented at the UK's National Astronomy Meeting by Louisa Mason of the University of Manchester contends that astronomers pursuing the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence may have confined their efforts to a disproportionately narrow slice of the radio spectrum, leaving the millimeter and submillimeter bands almost entirely unexplored notwithstanding decades of sustained observational investment.
Conventional SETI campaigns have concentrated overwhelmingly on the so-called 'water hole,' a band spanning 1.42 to 1.66 gigahertz situated between the natural emission frequencies of hydrogen and hydroxyl, constituent molecules of water, a convention grounded in the presumption that any sufficiently advanced civilization would independently recognize its symbolic resonance.
To interrogate frequencies beyond this entrenched convention, researchers repurposed archival data from the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array in Chile, conducting the observatory's inaugural dedicated SETI survey by scanning for narrow, artificial-looking signals embedded within observations originally collected for unrelated astronomical objectives.
The undertaking yielded an unanticipated methodological dividend: recognizing that any single telescope pointing inherently captures numerous supplementary stars within its field of view, researchers retroactively applied this insight to a prior survey encompassing 1,327 telescope pointings, thereby expanding the effective stellar sample from approximately 288,000 stars catalogued via Gaia to upward of 6.1 million derived from a galactic population model, notwithstanding the absence of any confirmed technosignature.
- disproportionately
- to an extent that is too large or too small in relation to something else
- interrogate
- to examine or investigate closely and critically
- entrenched
- firmly established and difficult to change
- archival
- relating to records or materials kept from the past
- inaugural
- marking the beginning or first instance of something
- dividend
- a beneficial result gained from an action or investment
- supplementary
- added to something else to complete or enhance it
- notwithstanding
- despite something; in spite of
Talk about this article with KatePractice this story's vocabulary in a real spoken conversation with your AI tutor