Alien Signals May Be Hiding in a Radio Band SETI Has Barely Explored
Researchers found no candidate signals in four archived observations, but the study suggests high-frequency radio data could expand SETI searches far beyond the water hole.
- Louisa Mason, a PhD researcher at the University of Manchester, conducted the first SETI survey using archived Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array data in Chile, exploring uncharted high-frequency cosmic bands for potential extraterrestrial signals.
- For decades, SETI searches have concentrated on the "water hole" between 1.42 and 1.66 GHz, a quiet radio band linked to hydrogen and hydroxyl. Mason sought to investigate unexplored millimeter and submillimeter frequencies instead.
- Mason applied the Besancon Galactic Model to previous surveys, revealing observations covered more than 6.1 million stars rather than roughly 288,000 identified by Gaia catalogs. This process identifies "stellar bycatch" within existing data.
- Although the study detected no candidate technosignatures above survey thresholds, the work demonstrated how re-analyzing archived observations expands SETI efforts without requiring expensive new telescope time.
- These results encourage future astronomers to search more widely across the radio spectrum while combining high-frequency observations with galactic simulations to better understand survey volumes and determine where to look next.
14 Articles
14 Articles
In the search for extraterrestrial life, astronomers may have focused too much on a small part of the radio spectrum. As a result, promising signals at higher radio frequencies may have been overlooked. This is the conclusion of new research from the University of Manchester. "The expectation is surely that the universe must be teeming with life, but so far the search has been very limited," says Rob van den Berg, space expert at the Sonnenborgh…
SETI Researchers Are Expanding the Search Beyond the 'Water Hole'
Astronomers searching for extraterrestrial intelligence have traditionally focused on a specific, narrow band of the radio spectrum. However, a new survey presented at the Royal Astronomical Society‘s National Astronomy Meeting (NAM2026) in Birmingham suggests that this approach may overlook a significant portion of the available frequencies. The frequencies most often investigated by SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) programs are …
SETI Alien Signal Search Expands: University of Manchester Researchers Scour ALMA Data
Louisa Mason, a PhD researcher at the University of Manchester, has used archived data from the Atacama Large Millimetre/submillimetre Array (ALMA) in Chile to look for alien signals at radio frequencies that have barely been searched before. Analysing observations, Mason executed the first-ever ALMA telescope technosignature survey to explore uncharted cosmic bands. The study, presented at the Royal Astronomical Society's National Astronomy Mee…
Universe Today
Knowridge Science ReportAlien Signals May Hide in Unexplored High Radio Frequencies
Confirming the existence of extraterrestrial intelligence via radio signals, also called technosignatures, is the cornerstone of radio astronomy. While humanity has been asking since time immemorial whether or not we’re alone in the universe, radio astronomers are at the frontlines trying to tirelessly answer this longstanding question. To accomplish this, they’ve traditionally focused on a specific radio frequency band called the “water hole”, …
For the first time, an ALMA analysis is looking for alien signals in hardly researched high radio frequencies – so far without finding them.
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