![Ciara Sypherd, Ph.D. candidate in bioengineering (Pil Rosted Christensen) [Harvard]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Decoding-Animal.png?resize=1200%2C721&ssl=1)
[Harvard] Fresh off degrees in astrobiology and aerospace engineering at Arizona State University, Ciara Sypherd took on a one-year research position at the University of Copenhagen to study how neural […]
Intelligence
![Simulated light curve for a periodic laser beacon at fpulse = 413 Hz at d = 15 pc observed with a Dtel = 1 m telescope at a cadence of 10 µs. The upper panels show a short segment of the noiseless pulse signal (left) and the corresponding signal including the estimated noise contributions (right). The bottom panel shows the integrated folded pulse profile after combining 108 pulses, resulting in an expected SNR of approximately 5.99. -- [astro-ph.IM]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/The-Interstellar-Laser.png?resize=1200%2C716&ssl=1)
Posted inSETI & Technosignatures
The Interstellar Laser Beacons Hypothesis and the Cosmic Lighthouses Project
[astro-ph.IM] In this paper, we argue that in a realistic, resource-limited scenario senders whose intent is to maximize successful communication at the lowest cost will utilize very long-lived, pulsed beacons.
![Temporal dynamics of simulated civilizations across ten scenarios. (A) Mean trajectories of global technology T(t) with ±1 standard deviation shaded. (B) Mean resource levels R(t) with ±1 standard deviation shaded. -- [physics.soc-ph]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Projections-of-Earth.png?resize=1200%2C720&ssl=1)
Posted inSETI & Technosignatures
Projections of Earth’s Technosphere: Civilization Collapse-Recovery Dynamics and Detectability
[physics.soc-ph] How long a technological civilization remains active, and what determines whether it collapses or persists, is a central question for both projecting humanity’s future and assessing the prevalence of […]
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Intelligence & Language, Interstellar, Nanotechnology & SynBio, SETI & Technosignatures
Micron-Scale Technosignatures: How a Cubic Metre of Lunar Regolith May Begin to Constrain the Number of Past Technological Civilisations in the Galaxy
[astro-ph.EP] Building on Arkhipov’s proposal that technogenic artefacts may survive natural interstellar transport and accumulate on airless Solar System bodies, we examine the prospects for identifying micron-scale engineered particulate material […]
![Modes of interstellar expansion across two dimensions. The horizontal axis (expansion agent) runs from biological (crewed colonization, settlers, generation ships) to machine (autonomous probes, robotic seed systems). The vertical axis (visibility) runs from quiet (low-mass, low duty cycle, weak technosignatures) to loud (high-power, high waste heat, galaxy-scale signatures). The four quadrants summarize alternative expansion modes considered in the literature; the quiet expansion filter proposed in this paper occupies the lower-right quadrant (highlighted). -- [astro-ph.IM]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Autonomous-AI-Cosmoindustry.png?resize=1200%2C717&ssl=1)
Posted inSETI & Technosignatures
Autonomous AI-Cosmoindustry and the Quiet Expansion Filter: A Threshold-Based Resolution of the Fermi Paradox
[astro-ph.IM] The Fermi paradox is sharpened, not weakened, by plausible extrapolations of artificial intelligence, autonomous robotics, in-situ resource utilization, orbital manufacturing, space-based computing, and uncrewed interstellar probes.
Posted inIntelligence & Language
Signs And Signatures Of Intelligence
[physics.pop-ph] Research into the emergence and evolution of intelligence is underrepresented in astrobiology.
Posted inSETI & Technosignatures
Searching For Extraterrestrial Intelligence With The SKA
[astro-ph.IM] The search for technosignatures (also known as the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence or SETI) depends critically on our ability to distinguish artificial signals from the rich complexity of natural […]
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology, Intelligence & Language, SETI & Technosignatures, Status Report
Dust To Dust: Prospects For Passive Technosignatures As Relics Of ETI
Technological societies are separated in time, not just space — that is the lesson of the Drake equation.
![Using spectra to distinguish a (passive) probe from a natural object. These near-IR spectra were obtained for the object classified initially as 2020 SO. These spectra show characteristics consistent with the object instead being a Centaur rocket body, leading to its identification as such. (Adapted from and reproduced with permission from “Spectral Characterization of 2020 SO,” Reddy et al., original copyright © 2001 Advanced Maui Optical and Space Surveillance Technologies Conference [AMOS], https://doi.org/10.64861/WYST9178)](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Solar-System.png?resize=1200%2C712&ssl=1)
Posted inAI - Data - Apps - Cybernetics, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Intelligence & Language, SETI & Technosignatures, Status Report
Solar System Technosignatures
While prompt-based parameter-efficient continual learning mitigates catastrophic forgetting by isolating task-specific prompts, this isolation also limits later tasks from improving earlier ones, leaving backward knowledge transfer underexplored.
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Habitable Zones, SETI & Technosignatures, Status Report, Terraforming & Geoengineering
Exploring The Orbital Stability Of Large, Lightweight Mirrors Around Exoplanets
Extraterrestrial civilizations might place large, lightweight mirrors into orbit around an exoplanet, either to alter its climate or to provide illumination to the planet’s dark side. We previously analyzed the […]