solar panel Archives

Conceptual image of an exoplanet with an advanced extraterrestrial civilization. Structures on the right are orbiting solar panel arrays that harvest light from the parent star and convert it into electricity that is then beamed to the surface via microwaves. The exoplanet on the left illustrates other potential technosignatures: city lights (glowing circular structures) on the night side and multi-colored clouds on the day side that represent various forms of pollution, such as nitrogen dioxide gas from burning fossil fuels or chlorofluorocarbons used in refrigeration. NASA/Jay Freidlander

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

Why We Might Not Spot Solar Panel Technosignatures On Other Worlds

by Keith CowingAugust 3, 2024August 3, 2024

One of NASA’s key priorities is understanding the potential for life elsewhere in the universe. NASA has not found any credible evidence of extraterrestrial life — but NASA is exploring […]

Reflectance of different surface components on a planet as a function of wavelength. The reflectance of silicon-based photovoltaics is shown as dashed curve. The ground model is based on the data from MODIS dataset https://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/about/. The solar cell reflectivity data is from RELAB (Reflectance Experiments Laboratory (Pieters & Hiroi 2004) -- astro-ph.IM

Astronomy & Telescopes, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, SETI & Technosignatures, Status Report

Detectability of Solar Panels as a Technosignature

by Keith CowingMay 9, 2024May 9, 2024

In this work, we assess the potential detectability of solar panels made of silicon on an Earth-like exoplanet as a potential technosignature. Silicon-based photovoltaic cells have high reflectance in the […]