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6h ago

Airport and Military Radars Unintentionally Broadcast Earth’s Presence to Aliens

A University of Manchester study shows that Earth’s radar emissions are detectable up to 200 light-years, offering a blueprint for future SETI searches.

Airport Radar
An image of London's Heathrow Airport, with an inset stock image of an alien. Radar systems used by civilian airports (like this at Heathrow) and military operations are inadvertently revealing our existence to potential advanced alien civilizations because of the hidden electromagnetic leakage they emit.
Alien civilizations hundreds of light years away may be able to lock in on Earth's radar systems
Image

Overview

  • The research quantifies civilian airport radars emitting a combined 2×10^15 watts and military systems producing directional bursts up to 1×10^14 watts.
  • Simulation models presented at the Royal Astronomical Society meeting demonstrate how these emissions would appear from nearby stars such as Barnard’s Star and AU Microscopii, with military beams up to 100 times stronger from certain vantage points.
  • Extraterrestrial observers within a 200-light-year radius equipped with radio telescopes comparable to the Green Bank Telescope could detect these unintentional technosignatures.
  • Highlighting routine aviation and defense signals as detectable markers refocuses SETI efforts toward passive monitoring of common technological emissions.
  • Co-author Michael Garrett says insights into radar leakage can guide radio-spectrum policy and the development of next-generation radar technologies.