SETI Archives

Schematic of the TRAPPIST-1 planetary system. The seven known planets are shown orbiting the central star. The semi-transparent green annulus marks the optimistic habitable zone, which contains planets e, f, and g the primary targets of this search. -- astro-ph.IM

Astronomy & Telescopes, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Intelligence & Language, Interstellar, SETI & Technosignatures, Status Report, TRAPPIST-1

A Deep SETI Search For Technosignatures In The TRAPPIST-1 System With FAST

by Keith CowingSeptember 10, 2025September 10, 2025

The Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST) is the world’s largest single-dish radio telescope, and the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) is one of its five key science objectives.

Astronomy & Telescopes, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Intelligence & Language, Press Release, SETI & Technosignatures

IAU 404: Advancing The Search For Technosignatures

by Keith CowingAugust 27, 2025August 27, 2025

Abstract submission is now open for IAU symposium #404: Advancing the Search for Technosignatures, which will take place 2-6 March 2026 online everywhere. Submit your abstract using the link below. […]

Color-color plot for asteroids from Sergeyev & Carry (2021), based on the parameter space defined by Ivezi´c et al. (2001) to identify asteroid families and surface compositions. The most likely asteroid family membership for each object determined by Sergeyev & Carry (2021) is noted by point color, and the figure legend. Contours show a kernel density estimator of the density of all 90,893 asteroids in this sample in this space. The three known ISOs show different colors, but are all consistent with populations of known solar system objects. We also show the measured color of the SpaceX Roadster from DES. -- astro-ph.IM

Comets and Asteroids, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Intelligence & Language, Interstellar, SETI & Technosignatures, Status Report

Technosignature Searches Of Interstellar Objects

by Keith CowingAugust 26, 2025

With the discovery of the third confirmed interstellar object (ISO), 3I/ATLAS, we have entered a new phase in the exploration of these long-predicted objects.

In a new study, researchers from Penn State and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory analyzed human deep space communications and found that human transmissions are frequently directed toward our own spacecrafts near Mars (lower left), the sun and other planets. Because planets like Mars do not block the entire signal, an extraterrestrial intelligence positioned along the path of interplanetary communications — when the planets align form their perspective — could potentially detect the spillover. This suggests that humans should look to planetary alignments outside of the solar system when searching for signatures of extraterrestrial communications. Credit: Zayna Sheikh. All Rights Reserved. source at PSU

Astronomy & Telescopes, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Intelligence & Language, Interstellar, Press Release, SETI & Technosignatures

If Aliens Explore Space Like Us, We Should Look For Their Calls To Other Planets

by Keith CowingAugust 21, 2025August 21, 2025

If an extraterrestrial intelligence were looking for signs of human communications, when and where should they look? In a new study, researchers at Penn State and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory […]

The image shows the possible positions of the Wow! Signal in relation to the galactic Hi column density from HI4PI (HI4PI Collaboration et al. 2016). Gray boxes indicate the earlier reported positions (Ehman 1998), while the revised positions are marked with yellow boxes, each accompanied by its respective coordinates. -- astro-ph.HE

AI - Data - Apps - Cybernetics, Astronomy & Telescopes, Intelligence & Language, SETI & Technosignatures, Status Report

Arecibo Wow! II: Revised Properties Of The Wow! Signal From Archival Ohio SETI Data

by Keith CowingAugust 15, 2025August 15, 2025

The Wow! Signal, detected in 1977 by the Ohio State University SETI project, remains one of the most intriguing unexplained radio transients. The most recent significant revision of its properties […]

Star: HD127423, Spectral Type:G0V, Observation Date/Time: 2013-06-01, 04:16:19.375. Top panel: reduced spectrum. Bottom panel: subsection of the corresponding CCD image for this wavelength range. -- astro-ph.IM

AI - Data - Apps - Cybernetics, Astronomy & Telescopes, SETI & Technosignatures, Status Report

A 2821 Star Optical SETI Survey Using ESO HARPS Archival Data

by Keith CowingAugust 13, 2025August 13, 2025

We examined archived observations of 2,821 stars taken by the high-resolution ESO HARPS spectrograph to search for potential narrow-band laser emissions from extraterrestrial sources.

A diagram of the worldbuilding pipeline developed for this study. The pipeline begins with the global and technology factors that define each scenario from Table 5 and other assumptions common to all scenarios (gray). These inputs are given to the Claude LLM, which then generates a description of the world (blue). Additional narrative and descriptions of the planetary bodies are added manually (purple). This information provides the basis for a human needs assessment that determines the different uses of land on each planetary body (orange). These results are used to describe the physical technosphere and potentially detectable technosignatures (yellow), which provide recommendations for technosignature detection (green). (For interpretation of the references to color in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article.) -- astro-ph.IM

Astronomy & Telescopes, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Habitable Zones, Intelligence & Language, Interstellar, SETI & Technosignatures, Societal Issues, Status Report, Stellar Cartography

Projections Of Earth’s Technosphere: Scenario Modeling, Worldbuilding, And Overview Of Remotely Detectable Technosignatures

by Keith CowingJuly 28, 2025July 28, 2025

This study uses methods from futures studies to develop a set of ten self-consistent scenarios for Earth’s 1000-year future, which can serve as examples for defining technosignature search strategies.

VLA Photo: Credit: NSF/NSF NRAO/AUI/B.Foott

Astronomy & Telescopes, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, SETI & Technosignatures, Societal Issues, Status Report

SETI Post-Detection Futures: Directions for Technosignature Research and Readiness

by Keith CowingJuly 18, 2025January 14, 2026

This white paper highlights the work that is needed to anticipate the challenges and societal impacts of a possible technosignature detection.

The average total power of individual airport radar systems, averaged over one-hour intervals as seen from Barnard’s Star. -- Royal Astronomical Society

Astrobiology (general), Barnard's Star, Intelligence & Language, Interstellar, Press Release, Proxima Centauri, SETI & Technosignatures

How Airports Could Help Aliens Spot Earth

by Keith CowingJuly 9, 2025July 9, 2025

Radar systems used by civilian airports and military operations are inadvertently revealing our existence to potential advanced alien civilisations, new research shows.