Hi-tech aliens may be watching Earth due to ‘radio leakage’ as scientists issue stark warning for ‘end of this decade’
SCIENTISTS have warned earthlings that we may be making ourselves too easy to find.
Some studies have shown that humans may be getting too loud for their good – and aliens might be able to hear.
Humans have been leaking radio signals for decades.
The signals dissipating from our home may serve as an alert to extraterrestrial species of our existence.
Human high-frequency radio, television and radar are mostly to blame for our noisy habits.
The three-decades-old technologies travel widely throughout space.
As humans move away from television and radio waves, some scientists believe that we are getting less noisy.
But, studies have shown that may not be the case.
“I’ve heard many colleagues suggest that the Earth has become increasingly radio quiet in recent years – a claim that I always contested,” Professor Mike Garrett, director of the Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics at the University of Manchester said to Metro.
“Although it’s true we have fewer powerful TV and radio transmitters today, the proliferation of mobile communication systems around the world is profound.”
Professor Garrett believes the sheer popularity of mobile phones is to blame for how loud we are getting.
“While each system represents relatively low radio powers individually, the integrated spectrum of billions of these devices is substantial,” he said.
“Current estimates suggest we will have more than 100,000 satellites in low Earth orbit and beyond before the end of the decade.”
Researchers in a recent study conducted by Search for Extra-terrestrial Intelligence (SETI) found that the volume of cell phone activity may make us louder now than when we used radio and television more frequently.
“I believe that there’s every chance advanced civilizations are out there and some may be capable of observing the human-made radio leakage coming from planet Earth,” Dr. Nalini Heeralall-Issur, a supervisor on the SETI study said.
But, this may not necessarily be a bad thing – it points to our development as a world.
SETI said that more studies are in line to find the noisiest human technologies.
They will soon begin to look at Wi-Fi networks, satellites and Elon Musk’s Starlink systems.