THE HUNT
ANYBODY OuT THERE ?
In the search for extraterrestrial life , a new method of communication reaches light years beyond .
BY SuSAN BROWN
SCiEnTiSTS HAVE SEARCHED FOR SignAlS FROm inTERSTEllAR CiVilizATiOnS FOR THE PAST 30 yEARS . SO FAR , SilEnCE .
They ’ ve listened for radio waves and looked for light , but extraterrestrial intelligence could still send messages on a more efficient channel : infrared light .
The infrared spectrum shines through the dust and gas that fills interstellar space . Pulses from an infrared laser could even outshine a star , if only for a billionth of a second . However , detectors capable of capturing flickering light at such minuscule intervals have only recently been developed .
Astronomer Shelley Wright , an assistant professor of physics at UC San Diego , has waited eight years for this technology to emerge . She now leads a team that has developed an instrument to record nanosecond pulses of infrared light , which was deployed this spring at University of California ’ s Lick Observatory .
The project , called NIROSETI , or near-infrared optical search for extraterrestrial intelligence , will extend the search to stars thousands of light years away , rather than hundreds . As it ’ s the first time anyone has looked for infrared pulses at nanosecond time scales , the search could reveal new astrophysical phenomena — or answer the question of whether we are really alone .
Astronomers Shelley Wright , Frank Drake and Remington Stone flank the Anna B .
Nickel telescope at Lick Observatory .
Photo : Laurie Hatch
22 TRITON | FALL 2015