Atmospheric Technosignatures: Searching for Intelligent Life in Alien Skies

Since 1992, over 4000 planets have been found orbiting stars outside of the solar system. Some of these planets, known as exoplanets, are similar to Earth in terms of their composition and the amount of radiation they receive from their host star. The search for extraterrestrial intelligence has largely revolved around the search for alien radio transmissions, but there is a growing contingent of scientists who argue that we should be searching for other indicators of alien civilizations. Some of the most promising of these indicators, better known as technosignatures, can be found in the skies and orbits of exoplanets.

(This report was written for STIA-227 Environmental Geoscience taught by GUSI Advisor Dr. Sarah Johnson.)

Harry Thomas is a Senior in the College studying Economics. He is a Co-Founder and Co-President of GUSI.