Searching for ET with Lasers: A New Observatory Joins the Hunt!

Have you heard about LaserSETI, a SETI Institute project to search for lasers originating from extraterrestrial intelligence? The idea is that advanced civilizations might be using lasers for a variety of purposes, and we could detect those laser signals from Earth.

In a recent video on the SETI Institute's YouTube channel, Dr. Franck Marchis, a researcher and the director of Citizen Science at the SETI Institute, and Dr. Lauren Sgro, the Outreach Manager for LaserSETI and SETI Institute researcher, discuss this exciting project.

LaserSETI uses specialized observatories that continuously scan the sky for brief, powerful laser pulses. These pulses would be monochromatic, meaning they consist of only a single wavelength of light. Since there are no known naturally occurring optical lasers in space, detecting one would be a indicate either extraterrestrial technology or a newly discovered astrophysical process — an exciting finding either way.

The project recently installed a third observatory in Sedona, Arizona, bringing its total sky coverage to about 30%. The goal is to eventually observe the entire sky all the time.

The researchers explain that advanced civilizations might be using lasers for things like:

• Communication: Lasers can send vast amounts of information across vast distances. Perhaps a "cosmic internet" connects civilizations across different star systems!
• Travel: Advanced civilizations could potentially use powerful lasers for beamed energy propulsion, using beams of light to propel spacecraft through space.

The video also highlights that LaserSETI can be used to study natural phenomena as well, such as meteors, satellite reentries, and even vanishing stars. Because the observatories are constantly watching the sky, they can capture and analyze these events, giving us valuable data about our universe.

To learn more about LaserSETI and the search for extraterrestrial intelligence, be sure to check out the full video: "Exploring the Science of LaserSETI: ET Civilizations, Bolides, Satellite Reentries, and Beyond" on the SETI Institute's YouTube channel.

Visit the LaserSETI website HERE!