Novel network of more than 100 telescopes will hunt for signs of alien life in space

The search for E.T continues… Soon, hundreds of telescopes will come together to peer into the depths of space and find alien life. A joint project called PANOSETI by a team of researchers from the University of California San Diego, University of California Berkeley, University of California Observatories, and Harvard University, already has two prototype telescopes set up at the Lick Observatory near San Jose, USA. They aim to create a network of SETI telescopes that will observe the entire observable sky — approximately 10,000 square degrees — instantaneously. [caption id=“attachment_8136211” align=“alignnone” width=“1280”] The search for E.T continues and a dedicated network of telescopes will come into play.[/caption] PANOSETI stands for Panoramic SETI or Pulsed All-sky Near-infrared Optical SETI. SETI stands for Search for ExtraTerrestrial Intelligence. These telescopes will work on a billionth of a second timescale and will help astronomers to understand and study how the universe behaves in those brief moments.

What is the goal for PANOSETI?

When finally assembled, PANOSETI will be the first dedicated observatory capable of constantly searching for flashes of optical or infrared light. Such pulsed signals occurring on nanosecond-to-second time scales may be from either artificial origin (e.g., extraterrestrial communication) or astrophysical phenomena (e.g., counterparts to fast radio bursts). Dan Werthimer, chief technologist at UC Berkeley’s SETI Research Center said in a statement, “When astronomers examine an unexplored parameter space, they usually find something surprising that no one predicted. PANOSETI could discover new astronomical phenomena or signals from E.T.” [caption id=“attachment_8136201” align=“alignnone” width=“1280”] Two PANOSETI telescopes installed in the recently renovated Astrograph Dome at Lick Observatory. Image credit: Laurie Hatch/UC San Diego[/caption] “The goal is to basically look for very brief but powerful signals from an advanced civilization. Because they are so brief, and likely to be rare, we plan to check large areas of the sky for a long period of time." said Werthimer  in a statement,