Observatory searching for infrared beacons from aliens

Chuck Bednar for redOrbit.com - @BednarChuck Astronomers at the University of California, San Diego have broken out a new tool in the search for intelligent extraterrestrial life: an instrument that can scan the sky for pulses of infrared light that may be indicative of messages from advanced civilizations on other worlds. The instrument, known as NIROSETI (Near-Infrared Optical Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence), was developed by current UCSD assistant professor of physics Shelley Wright and colleagues while she was at the University of Toronto's Dunlap Institute for Astronomy & Astrophysics. [STORY: Stephen Hawking warns of contacting aliens] Wright explains that infrared light “would be an excellent means of interstellar communication,” as pulses from a powerful enough infrared laser could shine brighter than a star for a fraction of a second. Since interstellar gas and dust is almost transparent to near infrared, such a signal would be visible from a far greater distance, and sending a signal using infrared light would require less energy than sending the same amount of information using visible light, she added.



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