Typically, the search for alien life begins with the search for Earth-like planets - but there may be another class of alien world that is just as conducive to life, a study published in the Astrophysical Journal in August contends. (Image credit: Amanda Smith, Nikku Madhusudhan ) (opens in new tab) The researchers are currently developing algorithms to search through existing telescope data in search of those telltale signatures.
That re-radiated energy would create a distinct wavelength signature that astronomers could detect from Earth, the study authors suggested. To do this, aliens could use high-tech structures called Dyson spheres (giant, energy-siphoning orbs first proposed in the 1960s) to steal energy from the disc of white-hot matter swirling around a black hole's horizon, then radiate that energy outward into space. Because black holes can radiate up to 100,000 times more energy than a star like our sun, they may make tempting targets for alien civilizations looking to power their interstellar enterprises, the study authors wrote. While alien hunters spend plenty of time searching for habitable planets beyond our solar system, a study published in July in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society warns that scientists shouldn't overlook nature's most extreme objects: Black holes. (Image credit: Marc Ward/Stocktrek Images/Getty) (opens in new tab)
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