No one had thought to search for centralized, pulsing beacons. Until now.
, propose these repeating pulses of radio emission could originate from some sort of rotating beacon. If situated at the center of the galaxy, such a beacon could be a particularly efficient way of communicating across vast distances. The signals from this kind of beacon may also be easier to find while sifting through radio data, which is often contaminated with the omnipresent buzzing of Earth’s technology.
These beacons would be more energy efficient compared to the continuous narrowband signals astronomers previously looked for. What’s more, “their regularly flashing nature makes them easy to detect with algorithms, differentiable from human-based radio interference, and generally obvious as something weird,” Sheikh explains. Looking toward the galactic center is also a great way to increase the odds of spotting something, since the concentration of stars is higher in the middle of the Milky Way.
“It’s a logical technique for searching for events or transmissions that we can’t otherwise predict,” agrees Penn State astronomer, who is not affiliated with the findings. But, there’s a catch— although the center of the galaxy is dense with stars, many astronomers predict the radiation there makes it too dangerous for life to arise, putting it outside the so-called
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