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Aliens 200 Light-Years Away Could Detect Our Airports, Scientists Say

DURHAM, ENGLAND, JUL 8 – Radar signals from major airports and military systems emit a combined 2x10¹⁵ watts, detectable by extraterrestrial observers with advanced telescopes up to 200 light-years away.

  • On July 8, 2025, at the Royal Astronomical Society meeting in Durham, UK, Ramiro Caisse Saide and his team revealed that radar signals from airports and military sites emit electromagnetic waves strong enough to be detected by advanced extraterrestrial civilizations located as far as 200 light-years from Earth.
  • This research builds on simulations of unintended electromagnetic leakage from radar systems at major aviation hubs like Heathrow, Gatwick, and JFK that could act as universal signs of intelligent life across interstellar distances.
  • Saide and co-researcher Professor Michael Garrett emphasized that military radar signals can appear up to 100 times stronger depending on an observer’s location and would look clearly artificial to extraterrestrial radio telescopes.
  • Professor Michael Garrett explained that understanding how signals propagate through space helps inform strategies for safeguarding the radio frequency range used in communications and guides the development of next-generation radar technology. Additionally, the techniques created to identify faint signals have applications in fields such as astronomy and planetary defense.
  • These results support both the scientific search for extraterrestrial intelligence and practical efforts to manage technology’s impact on Earth and space environments by revealing how our tech broadcasts our existence unintentionally.
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Phys.org broke the news in United Kingdom on Tuesday, July 8, 2025.
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