Scientists say bad space weather may be one reason alien tech signals have not reached our telescopes in a usable form, after astronomer Vishal Gajjar and colleagues reported in The Astrophysical Journal that radio transmissions from extraterrestrial civilisations could be smeared out by the plasma and activity around their own stars before they are detected on Earth. The claim goes to the heart of a familiar question in astronomy, why years of listening have still not produced a clear sign of intelligent life.
The long running search for alien technology has often focused on narrowband signals, sharp radio features that researchers treat as especially interesting because they are not usually produced by natural astrophysical processes. The new argument is that scientists may have been too committed to that neat pattern. Gajjar said a signal broadened by its own star's environment can slip below detection thresholds even if it is really there, which is a rather awkward twist for anyone hoping the universe would announce itself cleanly. None of this confirms alien civilisations exist or are broadcasting, and IBTimes UK cannot independently verify that any such signals are out there, so the broader idea should be treated with caution.
