Post by auntym on Nov 17, 2011 12:44:21 GMT -6
www.dailyprincetonian.com/2011/11/17/29378/
Princeton Professor leads strategic shift in alien search[/color]
By Anjali Menon Staff Writer
Published: Thursday, November 17th, 2011
When Princeton astrophysics professor Edwin Turner and Harvard astronomy professor Abraham Loeb traveled to a conference in Abu Dhabi last year, they attended a guided tour of Dubai. Neither expected that this trip would mark the birth of a new idea that may revolutionize modern astrobiology and the search for extraterrestrial intelligent life.
“The tour guide was bragging that Dubai is so bright at night that you can see it from space,” Loeb said in an interview. “This led us to think, if we can actually locate a city the size of Tokyo or Dubai from space, how far away could we still see it from an existing telescope?”
Furthermore, they reasoned, if telescopes can be used to see city lights on Earth, can they be used to detect artificial illumination from alien civilizations as well?
Loeb and Turner said they originally left the idea on the back burner, questioning its feasibility. However, they added that they were inspired to take another look at it recently with the encouragement of Freeman Dyson, a physicist and former professor at the Institute for Advanced Study.
“[Dyson] advised us to write it up. [Turner] and I then came across the idea to distinguish sunlight-illuminated objects from artificially illuminated objects. At that point, it was clear that we could make a scientific paper out of this,” Loeb said.
The pair quickly developed a mathematical algorithm to determine the source of illumination emanating from a planet in the solar system by analyzing how its brightness varies with its distance from the Sun. Any artificial illumination could be attributed to the presence of an extraterrestrial civilization.
The findings are detailed in a paper titled “Detection Technique for Artificially-Illuminated Objects in the Outer Solar System and Beyond,” which has been submitted for publication in the journal Astrobiology.
CONTINUE READING: www.dailyprincetonian.com/2011/11/17/29378/
Princeton Professor leads strategic shift in alien search[/color]
By Anjali Menon Staff Writer
Published: Thursday, November 17th, 2011
When Princeton astrophysics professor Edwin Turner and Harvard astronomy professor Abraham Loeb traveled to a conference in Abu Dhabi last year, they attended a guided tour of Dubai. Neither expected that this trip would mark the birth of a new idea that may revolutionize modern astrobiology and the search for extraterrestrial intelligent life.
“The tour guide was bragging that Dubai is so bright at night that you can see it from space,” Loeb said in an interview. “This led us to think, if we can actually locate a city the size of Tokyo or Dubai from space, how far away could we still see it from an existing telescope?”
Furthermore, they reasoned, if telescopes can be used to see city lights on Earth, can they be used to detect artificial illumination from alien civilizations as well?
Loeb and Turner said they originally left the idea on the back burner, questioning its feasibility. However, they added that they were inspired to take another look at it recently with the encouragement of Freeman Dyson, a physicist and former professor at the Institute for Advanced Study.
“[Dyson] advised us to write it up. [Turner] and I then came across the idea to distinguish sunlight-illuminated objects from artificially illuminated objects. At that point, it was clear that we could make a scientific paper out of this,” Loeb said.
The pair quickly developed a mathematical algorithm to determine the source of illumination emanating from a planet in the solar system by analyzing how its brightness varies with its distance from the Sun. Any artificial illumination could be attributed to the presence of an extraterrestrial civilization.
The findings are detailed in a paper titled “Detection Technique for Artificially-Illuminated Objects in the Outer Solar System and Beyond,” which has been submitted for publication in the journal Astrobiology.
CONTINUE READING: www.dailyprincetonian.com/2011/11/17/29378/