Welcome to Lab three sixty, for all latest happenings from the world of astronomy.
Our attitude towards aliens has evolved in recent years. Whether they are tiny microbes, or little
multi-limbed grey men, extra-terrestrials have never failed to capture our imagination.
Our perception of aliens has come directly from movies, and hence, our imagination is limited.
There have been multiple theories and stories, throughout the course of history.
One such story is that of Barney and Betty Hill.
In September of 1961, the couple was driving late at night, in the middle of the mountains
of New Hampshire, when they saw, what they believed to be a flying object in the sky.
The first thought that came to their mind was, that it must be a plane. But that changed,
as soon as they saw it swiftly change directions. It is impossible for an aeroplane,
to change directions so quickly.
If this were to happen to you, it would make sense to just keep driving.
And the couple did just that. But the mysterious flying object wasn’t
done with them. Next thing they knew, the flying spacecraft confronted them. What happened next,
will send chills down your spine. The couple saw humanoid-like creatures come
out of the spaceship. Not only that, but pinging sounds started reverberating from their car trunk.
Suddenly, there was a flash and they found themselves 35 miles further along the highway,
with almost no memory of what had just transpired.
While regaling the Air force with their tale, they said that they had been abducted. This became
one of the most famous stories of that time, and became the subject of a book
and the plot of a movie.
Their experience was widely considered, the start of our collective fascination, with aliens!
The belief that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe, continues to fascinate 75% of
Americans. But opinions have shifted, and most people no longer believe, that aliens pose a
threat to national security, or are hostile to them.
Over the years, there have been a number of missions.
From massive satellites studying distant galaxies, to broadcasting radio transmissions
into the cosmos, a lot of methods have been implemented, but we have failed every time.
So, instead of us finding them, wouldn’t it be better for us to leave clues, in order for them to
find us! A group of
scientists have flipped the situation, and are trying to find a way for the aliens to find
us, in this vast universe. A group of astronomers from Japan, Thailand,
the UK, and France, studied the various ways that extra-terrestrial life can detect our
existence, and focused on a technique known as microlensing.
According to the study, technological civilizations,
might theoretically use a long-range detection-method, like microlensing,
to identify the Earth at galactic distance scales.
Using powerful microscopes to examine the objects, the technique of microlensing, is employed
to find distant planets or stars. The study is carried out, when a star shines brightly for any
reason, and the atmosphere acts as a lens, to magnify the phenomena for those watching it.
Even NASA's James Webb Space Telescope uses a similar procedure. In fact, with Webb starting
its science operations, we could be on the verge of making some intriguing discoveries.
According to a study, any extra-terrestrial civilization
would be able to recognise our planet, by studying the Milky Way, and depending on the
alignment of the stars, the earth would be shining very brightly at a particular period. The same
amount of technology was assumed while creating this scenario, though.
It is a method to detect extremely distant planets, that are tens of thousands of years away.
Astronomers are constantly looking for stars, that suddenly become bright. The reason being,
that when a star becomes bright abruptly, it can be viewed and studied in detail.
When a planet positions itself between us and the unknown star, its atmosphere acts as a
magnifying glass, intensifying the star’s light from the observer’s point of view.
So far, researchers have found 130 planets by using microlensing.
The question that has everyone baffled is, what are the chances of aliens discovering Earth, using
the same microlensing technique? Scientists think, that if at all aliens are trying
to find us, they would be on an unknown planet orbiting a star, somewhere at the edge of our
Milky way galaxy, and waiting for our planet, to position itself between them and our Sun.
This logic is just based on an assumption, that aliens also have the same technology we have, if
not better. But this is not a safe assumption, is it.
Many people believe that other civilizations might be years
and years ahead of us, when it comes to technology.
This doesn’t mean that they are constantly spying on us.
Undoubtedly, aliens may be able to hear us even if they cannot see us.
After all, the majority of our own SETI efforts are auditory.
Huge radio receivers are pointed into space by scientists, who
are looking for signals that may have originated from intelligent beings.
But this also doesn’t mean that we have given up all hope in detecting
extra-terrestrials. It is just a game of, who finds whom first.
In fact, our latest effort to inform alien species of our existence, is something that we’ve never
tried before. In 2023, when the Euclid spacecraft takes off into
the dark cosmos, it will be carrying with it a unique signature into deep space.
After it has completed its mission, of making a 3D map of the universe,
it will float in the vastness of space.
What if it is found by other species? And, how would they know anything about us?
This is why scientists are sending a special fingerprint painting,
that is affixed to the spacecraft, in order to portray the human civilisation.
The Milky Way Galaxy was depicted on the fingertip
painting, by visual artist Lisa Pettibone and scientist Tom Kitching, who is the instrument
scientist of Euclid. A total of about 250 scientists and engineers worked on the artwork.
Once the artwork was finished, it was photographed,
laser-engraved, and attached to Euclid as a plaque. A passage from a short poem by poet Simon
Barraclough, has also been engraved beside the artwork.
The poem has been etched onto the plaque in a typewriter font, that swirls around the galaxy of
fingerprints. The Euclid team wanted something authentic,
not perfect, and not shaped too much. So, they came up with a piece of art, with a wonderful
energy to it, that captures all the energy of the people involved.
Euclid’s concept is very beautiful, but it does not convey anything about the people and
humanity involved in it. Hence, the painting. It is adding an element of humanity,
to a dark, vast space, where, as far as we can see, there is no
other intelligent life. The Euclid spacecraft was created, to learn
how the universe came into being. How did the circumstances immediately following the Big Bang,
lead to the large-scale structures we observe today?
The project will also clarify why the universe is currently expanding at a faster rate, and whether
dark energy, a term frequently used to denote the enigmatic component responsible for this
cosmic acceleration, actually exists. What do you guys think! Drop in your comments
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