Starlink SpaceX satellites could finally make us visible to an Aliens scientist

We are invisible.

If there are advanced alien civilizations out there on distant planets looking at the Earth through telescopes, they do not know that we are here.

Apart from the discovery of completely artificial CFC gases in our atmosphere, there is little evidence of human existence on this planet, if viewed through a telescope. from chian.

Is SpaceX changing that with the growing “mega-constellation” of Starlink satellites?

Yes – but it will take about 8o0 years for Starlink to make the Earth visible with alien telescopes trained on Earth.

That is according to the author behind a new paper that was accepted for publication in the Journal of the British Interplanetary Society that is inspired by the understanding that Starlink is one of the first megaconstructions of our civilization that brings us closer to our first “techno-sign”.

What is SpaceX Starlink?

The company Elon Musk is launching batch after batch of their Starlink satellites into orbit in an effort to build a high-speed broadband internet network.

When the Falcon 9 rocket was launched by Sunday, Sunday, Match 14, 2021, another 60 Starlink satellites went into orbit from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

That makes about a thousand Starlink satellites to date, with SpaceX planning on launching as many as 12,000 by 2030 and possibly up to 40,000 in the long run.

Those in parts of the world right now without fast internet access – about half of humanity – may be able to get online through Starlink (or upcoming competitors like Project Kuiper at Amazon), but there are concerns about increasing space waste and their negative impact on emergencies. celestial observations.

SpaceX Starlink as our first ‘techno-signature’

What has not been discussed before, with Starlink – and other mega-constellations of satellites – is that Earth could be getting its first “techno-signature” from deep space.

A “techno signature” is evidence of the use of technology or business activity in other parts of the Universe. Finding them with giant telescopes is one way we can prove the existence of advanced alien civilizations – or vice versa.

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In a paper published online by Zaza Osmanov, professor of astronomy at Tbilisi Free University, Georgia, it is estimated that the Very Large Telescope (VLT) in Chile and the FAST China radio telescope –if in a deep place – find Starlink.

Osmanov believes that our civilization could manifest itself in 1,000 years to instruments like the Very Large Telescope on planets up to 260 light-years away. Such instruments would be able to detect any megastructure around the Earth in the infrared from that distance. However, for a SpaceX constellation at SpaceX alone to display in any searches it would take around 800 years.

“One of the key factors is the time to look at a telescope,” said Osmanov, who made his calculations based on the clarity of Starlink satellites and an observation time of an hour. “While it also depends on geometry, for the same value one can estimate that the number of satellites to make the construction from 100 light years should be around 30 billion,” he said. That’s a lot of Falcon 9 launches.

He also suggests that since Starlink satellites broadcast radio signals the FAST telescope would be able to detect them as far away as 520 light-years away.

Defined: Kardashev scale

Building a “megastructure” around the Earth – a concept that reminds us of Dyson fields or ring-like structures – would make us a “Type-1” civilization on the Kardashev scale, something we have not yet achieved. .

It is a measure of how advanced technology is in civilization based on the amount of energy that can be used. Here is the scale:

• “Planet civilization” (type-1): we can harness the energy that falls on a planet from its parent star – something we have not yet achieved and may not be for about 1,000 years if used Our energy is rising at 1% per year, according to the paper. We are currently considered a “type 0.7” civilization.
• “Stellar civilization” (type-2) can: harness all the energy produced by their parent star – perhaps through Dyson’s realm.
• “Galactic civilization” (type-3) can: harness the full energy of the Milky Way.

The large structures needed for “stellar” and “galactic” civilizations were, of course, easier to find because they emitted intense radiation seen in the infrared. What Osmanov’s paper questions is whether anything we could build – a progressive “planet” civilization – could be built now (especially Starlink) from “out there.”

So with Starlink SpaceX may be building the first planetary megastructures on Earth, but it’s going to take a long time before we get humans anywhere near our own “techno signature”.

Wishing you clear skies and wide eyes.