Image details:
The Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) by night, under the Magellanic Clouds
Credit: ESO/C. Malin (christophmalin.com)
https://www.eso.org/public/images/ann13016a/
As only they were invented we have pointed our radio-telescopes at the sky, similar as our predecessors with their "deaf" and non-sophisticated counterparts. However, we do this not to primarily admire the stunning beauty of the mysterious space but to listen peculiar sounds coming from distant worlds hidden somewhere amid the plenitude of stars.
We perceive them as indispensable signs of interstellar communication between sufficiently enough, and a way better advanced civilizations than ours, or a deliberate signal send to us in order to say: Hello! We are here! A wonderful message and simultaneously the answer to the one of the most profound questions we've been asking since centuries.
Nevertheless, nothing like this has happened so far. At least officially… Even despite the substantial "noise" we continuously generate in connection with our technological development and efforts undertaken by various institutions, including famous SETI. Instead of this we are capable to detect, among other things, the so-called cosmic microwave background radiation (CMB); constituting the remnants of electromagnetic radiation from the early stages of the Universe's evolution.
Therefore, philosophers, thinkers, artists, space enthusiasts and scientist can still consider about the presence of life in the cosmos. Luckily, for the latter ones this is no longer a topic of ridiculous chit-chat. The attitude has changed many years ago alongside with the discovery of the first exoplanets; new worlds resembling Earth. Moreover, the oldest messengers we sent into space, i.e. Voyager 1, Voyager 2, reached farther we could have ever imagined and somehow survived in an inhospitable environment. We still receive data from them. It's both surprising and amazing!
Is it all not enough then? And here comes an essential question, namely: why the skies keep (eerie) silence? By widening our knowledge about the rules and laws that govern the Universe, we try to resolve this puzzling riddle. Paradoxically, this still brings new questions. Regardless on this fact, we express the view that there must be a kind of universal language comprehensible for any inteligent beings is the cosmos. The hydrogen line (21-cm, approx. 1 420 MhZ) is perceived as the suitable one. But we may be wrong because the enigmatic FRBs and GRBs (Fast Radio Bursts and Gamma Ray Bursts) could fit even better, bearing in mind vast distances and the efficiency of communication. This assumption is connected with the KHECTALe scale.
Following it, the message should be adapted to the receiver's technical capabilities. In that context we were probably assigned solely the role of passive observers. So, it isn't only about our willingness/intention of finding the signal but a widely-understood readiness for such a crucial event. With all the implications it will trigger. But there is always some "and what if…" What then?
Which of the already existing contact protocols, taking into account various scenarios – waiting in the desks or computers of radio-astronomers and decision-makers – will be the most appropriate? If any, not necessarily the officially announced one, like the SETI's, for example. The second question is whether they will be strictly applied. Especially, in case of finding something that will astound the scientist and world leaders to such an extent that they will need weeks or even months to get accustomed to the paradigm-debunking discovery.
At the moment this post is posted, something interesting is happening in our nearest neighbourhood due to the visit of the third interstellar traveller, called 3I/ATLAS. The latest observations of this intriguing object, made by the JWST, have revealed a regular (im)pulses repeating every four hours compared to "a heartbeat". Not quite typical behaviour for a typical comet. Although it poses no threat for Earth, it focused our attention, engaging all available, ground/space-based instruments. As a result their routine activities were almost immediately overridden.
Are we then on the edge of a turning point forcing us to the redefinition of previous knowledge? This still need to be judged. Gradually, but patiently and consistently. First, at least initially, while finally as precisely as possible. That's why a scrupulous international-coordinated observational-research campaign is scheduled to start at the end of November this year, with a time-limit dated on the 27th January, 2026.
By paraphrasing Jill Tarter's* words; a pretty big fish has unexpectedly sailed into a "one 8-ounce glass" we have plunged in the ocean of infinity. Perhaps this way the skies decided to brake eerie silence (but why the main space agencies do?) replacing it by the no less puzzling "whisper" of an interstellar guest. According to some theories, its trajectory can be somehow connected with the region of space where a famous "WOW!" signal** came from. An epilogue, is that so?
Alongside with new data, the excitement among the scientific community and the general public grows. Meanwhile, contradicted, more or less far-going, opinions and claims appear. Nevertheless, for the good of science, we should keep it on a reasonable level, however not narrowing possible solutions and answers only to the ones that don't defy hitherto binding paradigms.
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- *
- an astronomer and the former director of the Centre for SETI Research..
- **
- detected od 15th August, 1977 by the Ohio State University's Big Ear radio telescope.