Earth may receive alien communication sooner than expected – study

A group of scientists sent a radio signal into space and have listed the stars that will likely receive the message within the next century. The scientists predict that a response will be heard by 2029.

The details of their communication calculations were published in the journal Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific.

The scientists were able to calculate, in light years, how long the messages would take to be received and how long a reply would take to arrive.

The research, led by University of California, Los Angeles engineering student Reilly Derrick, “gives Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence [SETI] researchers a more narrow group of stars to focus on,” Popsci reported.  

How do messages sent to space work?

As radio signals travel through space, they spread and become weaker. The detection of the signals becomes harder and less likely. To combat this, scientists have sent more powerful broadcasts using NASA’s Deep Space Network.

Numerous attempts have been made with the hope to breach the communication gap with alien life and finally prove the existence of life on other planets. One of these technologies, the Pioneer 10, was able to send a signal to a dead star estimated to be 27 light-years away in 2002. The message will likely be received in 2029.

In 1980 and 1983, messages were sent to two stars, and the stars received those communications in 2007. If a return message was sent, it will be received in the year 2030.

Skeptics of alien communication

Even if a return message is sent, there is concern about Earth’s ability to receive the messages.

“If a response were to be sent, our ability to detect it would depend on many factors,” said Macy Huston, an astronomer at Penn State not involved in the research, PopSci reported. Scientists have only managed to reach 1/1000000 of the volume of the Milky Way with radio transmissions. 

“Our puny and infrequent transmissions are unlikely to yield a detection of humanity by extraterrestrials,” said Jean-Luc Margot, a University of California, Los Angeles radio astronomer who was also uninvolved in the paper, according to PopSci. “The probability that another civilization resides in this tiny bubble is extraordinarily small unless there are millions of civilizations in the Milky Way,” he added.

Are we already in touch with aliens?

Haim Eshed – who served as the head of Israel's space program for nearly 30 years and is a three-time recipient of the Israel Security Award – explained that Israel and the US have both been dealing with aliens for years.

The 87-year-old former head of the Defense Ministry's Space Division gave further descriptions about exactly what sort of agreements have been made between the aliens and the US, which ostensibly have been made because they wish to research and understand "the fabric of the universe." This cooperation includes a secret underground base on Mars, where there are American and alien representatives.