The Search for Alien Technology

Keplar | Dyson Sphere | Technosignatures | Solar Power Satellite | Pulsars

One of the methods used by telescopes to search for exoplanets is by detecting the slight dip in brightness caused when a planet crosses the face of the star. But what if some of these dips were caused by something else, such as an alien "megastructure"?

In 1960, Freeman Dyson, now a professor emeritus at the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, suggested that an advanced civilization might be detectable by looking for the excess heat given off by its space-based construction, perhaps a habitat or other such structure. Astronomers call signs of technologically-advanced activity “technosignatures”. These may include evidence of alien structures, pollution and debris. “Optical SETI” (OSETI) is even on the lookout for alien lasers unleashing powerful pulses of light in or around the visible portion of the spectrum.