GabyIf advanced alien civilizations were trying to discover life elsewhere in the galaxy, scientists believe they would likely place radio receivers near their own habitats. That’s why researchers have focused their efforts on detecting potential signals from extraterrestrials near the center of the galaxy.
The Heart of the Milky Way: The Best Place to Search for Aliens
According to astronomers, the region around the supermassive black hole Sagittarius A* is one of the most promising areas in the Milky Way to transmit broad, repeating radio signals to anyone listening. That’s where a team led by astronomer Akshay Suresh is focusing its search for “messages” from other civilizations.
The BLIPSS software was specifically developed to detect and amplify pulses from the galactic center that could potentially be signals from intelligent extraterrestrial beings. As Suresh explains, this tool plays a key role in the quest to uncover cosmic transmissions.
The galactic center is a dense region filled with stars, gas, and dust clouds. Compared to other parts of the sky, it’s highly cluttered. Yet because of its incredible density of stars, the galactic center also offers the greatest potential for locating habitable exoplanets.
Suresh notes that this region is ideal for searching for alien signals—but it comes with challenges. Many natural objects in the galactic center can produce repeating radio pulses, making it difficult to distinguish artificial signals from natural “noise.”
How Scientists Search for Messages from Space
One cost-effective method for transmitting signals across vast interstellar distances is using periodic pulsed beacons. On Earth, similar technology is used in remote sensing and aviation navigation. With advanced tech, these beacons can be scaled to send signals much farther into space.
The BLIPSS software uses a technique called fast folding, a highly sensitive method for detecting and identifying periodic pulses. This approach has previously helped astronomers discover pulsars—stars that emit rhythmic radio waves.
Suresh’s team repurposed this algorithm for a different goal. Using galactic center data gathered by the SETI Institute through long-term radio telescope observations, they adapted BLIPSS to scan for potential artificial signals.
The team first tested the algorithm on known pulsars to confirm the system could detect the types of pulses they were seeking. Then, they narrowed the frequency range, focusing on pulse intervals between 11 and 100 seconds.
Although no signals matched their specific criteria, the experiment proved the software’s effectiveness. Encouraged by the results, Suresh’s team plans to apply this technique to future searches using different parameters.
Anyone Can Join the Search for Cosmic Messages
Astronomer Vishal Gajjar notes that earlier searches mainly focused on continuous signals. Today, however, there’s growing recognition that pulsed signals may be more effective for interstellar communication over great distances. Suresh’s project marks the first comprehensive effort to deeply explore this approach.
As ScienceAlert reports, the BLIPSS software and research tools are publicly available. That means anyone with an interest in space exploration can join the hunt for alien civilizations—analyzing data from the heart of the Milky Way and perhaps uncovering the first message from beyond Earth.
