Nasa will search for signs of alien life with its most powerful ever planet-hunting telescope, as part of a major new project.
The space agency hopes that it will be able to spot signals that indicate intelligent extraterrestrial beings exist elsewhere in the universe.
It is part of a major new project alongside Breakthrough Listen, the alien-hunting project that was funded by billionaire Yuri Milner and received support from scientists including Stephen Hawking.
The new project will use NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite, the recently launched telescope which looks deep into the universe for signs of other planets. It does so by watching for "transits" – the brief dips in light that happen when a planet crosses in front of its star, and which can tell us very detailed information about what those planets look like.
Astronomers hope they will also be able to examine those "lightcurves" for possible signs of life. As well as offering indications about the planets themselves, researchers hope to see "biosignatures" and "technosignatures".
The space agency hopes that it will be able to spot signals that indicate intelligent extraterrestrial beings exist elsewhere in the universe.
It is part of a major new project alongside Breakthrough Listen, the alien-hunting project that was funded by billionaire Yuri Milner and received support from scientists including Stephen Hawking.
The new project will use NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite, the recently launched telescope which looks deep into the universe for signs of other planets. It does so by watching for "transits" – the brief dips in light that happen when a planet crosses in front of its star, and which can tell us very detailed information about what those planets look like.
Astronomers hope they will also be able to examine those "lightcurves" for possible signs of life. As well as offering indications about the planets themselves, researchers hope to see "biosignatures" and "technosignatures".
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