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Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Can't find ET? Just look for city lights to locate alien civilisations, professors claim

The hunt for ET could be made all the more easier by searching for artificial light which creates a signature that could point to other-worldly civilisations, astronomers have claimed.

The suggestion comes from two American professors who say we should start surveying the edges of our solar system right away.

Harvard's Abraham Loeb and Princeton's Edwin Turner admit that detecting aliens by looking for the glow of their cities would be a long shot, but pointed out that the cost of the exercise would be low.

Let there be light: A view of London at night as seen from the International Space Station. Two professors believe searching for similar bunches of artificial light could finally reveal alien civilisations

Let there be light: A view of London at night as seen from the International Space Station. Two professors believe searching for similar bunches of artificial light could finally reveal alien civilisations

Prof Loeb, who chairs Harvard's astronomy department, told msnbc.com: 'We say that we can piggyback on existing surveys that people are doing anyway.

'There's no need to use extra resources. My philosophy is simple: If we can do it, why not do it and check? Why put blinders on ourselves?'

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2056691/Cant-ET-Just-look-city-lights-locate-alien-civilisations-professors-claim.html

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