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Astronomers Say That Lasers Can Hide Our Earth From Deadly Aliens.
A simple laser beam could disrupt aliens’ observations of Earth, making it look like there’s nobody home on the third rock from the sun, a new study suggests.
Professor David Kipping, an astronomer at Columbia University in New York, has said the relatively simple concept could make the world invisible to intelligent life forms from another galaxy.
He said that beaming controller laser emissions into outer space could disguise the dimming of light caused by the planet each time it passed in front of the Sun.
He believes it would effectively render Earth invisible to any alien astronomers with advanced stargazing capabilities.
NASA’s Kepler space telescope has discovered around 1,000 new planets by looking for tiny dips in light as planets cross in front of their nearest star.
Professor David Kipping and his student Alex Teachey believe alien astronomers may be able to use a similar technique to spot Earth.
He said the dip in light that the Earth caused could be masked by sending a continuous 30MW laser blast for 10 hours each year.
He said: “There is an ongoing debate as to whether we should advertise ourselves or hide from advanced civilisations potentially living on planets elsewhere in the galaxy.
“Our work offers humanity a choice, at least for transit events, and we should think about what we want to do.”
Alex Teachey added: “Alternatively, we could cloak only the atmospheric signatures associated with biological activity, such as oxygen, which is achievable with a peak laser power of just 160 kW per transit.
“To another civilisation, this should make the Earth appear as if life never took hold on our world.”
Agencies/Canadajournal
