Dialing E.T.: Dr. Vishal Gajjar’s galactic phone call (science video).

Ever wondered what it would be like to get a phone call from an alien? Well, Dr. Vishal Gajjar and the Breakthrough Listen team are working on it. They’re part of a $100 million project that’s basically the universe’s biggest game of Marco Polo. Dr. Gajjar has a new idea for the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI). He proposes we should be listening to the galactic core for potential alien chatter. It’s like tuning into the universe’s party line.

The idea is to explore signals that nature doesn’t usually produce. It’s like listening for a jazz saxophone solo in the middle of a symphony. If we hear something that doesn’t fit, it could be a sign of artificial processes in the universe. The Breakthrough Listen team is conducting a thorough search of the sky, using various signals and frequencies. It’s like they’re turning the dial on an old-school radio, trying to tune into the alien top 40.

The main challenge in SETI is separating our own signals from potential alien signals. It’s like trying to hear a whisper in the middle of a rock concert. But the center of the Galaxy could be a hot spot for SETI, as it’s a place where other civilizations might also be looking for signals. Radio signals have the advantage of being able to travel across vast distances without being disturbed. It’s like sending a postcard from one end of the universe to the other. The galactic center is an exotic place with numerous astrophysical sources of interest, like a cosmic treasure chest waiting to be opened.

The use of AI and machine learning in SETI’s search can help overcome the limitations of human capacity and time. It’s like having a super-smart robot assistant who never needs to sleep.

Dr. Gajjar is hopeful that within the next decade or two, we will have some evidence of life beyond Earth. So, keep your phones handy, because one day, we might just get that long-distance call from the stars.