View source for Technosignature

{{short description|Property that provides scientific evidence for the presence of technology}}
[[File:Technosignatures.jpg|thumb|400px|Illustration of various types of technosignatures.]]
'''Technosignature''' or '''technomarker''' is any measurable property or effect that provides [[scientific evidence]] of past or present technology.<ref name="tarter-2018" /><ref name="UT-2018" /> Technosignatures are analogous to [[biosignatures]], which signal the presence of life, whether intelligent or not.<ref name=tarter-2018 /><ref name="WP-20201231">{{cite news |last=Frank |first=Adam |title=A new frontier is opening in the search for extraterrestrial life - The reason we haven't found life elsewhere in the universe is simple: We haven't really looked until now. |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2020/12/31/breakthrough-listen-seti-technosignatures/ |date=31 December 2020 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |access-date=1 January 2021 }}</ref> Some authors prefer to exclude radio transmissions from the definition,<ref name=almar-2011>{{cite journal|doi=10.1016/j.actaastro.2011.05.036|author=Almár, Iván|volume=69|date=2011|pages=899–904|title=SETI and astrobiology: The Rio Scale and the London Scale|journal=Acta Astronautica|issue=9–10|bibcode = 2011AcAau..69..899A }}{{subscription required}}</ref> but such restrictive usage is not widespread. [[Jill Tarter]] has proposed that the [[search for extraterrestrial intelligence]] (SETI) be renamed "the search for technosignatures".<ref name="tarter-2018" /> Various types of technosignatures, such as radiation leakage from [[megascale engineering|megascale]] [[astroengineering]] installations such as [[Dyson sphere]]s, the light from an extraterrestrial [[ecumenopolis]], or [[Shkadov thrusters]] with the power to alter the orbits of stars around the [[Galactic Center]], may be detectable with [[hypertelescope]]s.  Some examples of technosignatures are described in [[Paul Davies]]'s 2010 book ''[[The Eerie Silence]]'', although the terms "technosignature" and "technomarker" do not appear in the book.

In February 2023, astronomers reported, after scanning 820 stars, the detection of 8 possible technosignatures for follow-up studies.<ref name="NA-20221130">{{cite journal |author=Ma, Peter Xiangyuan |display-authors=et al. |title=A deep-learning search for technosignatures of 820 nearby stars |url=https://seti.berkeley.edu/ml_gbt/MLSETI_NatAstron_arxiv3.pdf |date=30 November 2022  |journal=[[Nature Astronomy]] |accessdate=11 February 2023 }}</ref>

==Astroengineering projects==
[[File:Dyson Sphere Render.png|thumb|250px|A [[Dyson sphere]], one of the best-known speculative technologies that may generate a technosignature]]
A [[Dyson sphere]], constructed by life forms dwelling in proximity to a [[Solar analog|Sun-like star]], would cause an increase in the amount of infrared radiation in the star system's emitted spectrum. Hence, [[Freeman Dyson]] selected the title "Search for Artificial Stellar Sources of Infrared Radiation" for his 1960 paper on the subject.<ref name="search">{{cite journal|journal=[[Science (journal)|Science]]|date= 1960|url=http://www.islandone.org/LEOBiblio/SETI1.HTM|title=Search for Artificial Stellar Sources of Infra-Red Radiation|author= Freemann J. Dyson|author-link= Freeman Dyson|pages= 1667–1668|volume =131|doi= 10.1126/science.131.3414.1667|pmid=17780673|issue=3414|bibcode = 1960Sci...131.1667D |s2cid= 3195432}}</ref> SETI has adopted these assumptions in its search, looking for such "infrared heavy" spectra from [[solar analog]]s. Since 2005, [[Fermilab]] has conducted an ongoing survey for such spectra, analyzing data from the [[Infrared Astronomical Satellite]].<ref name=carrigan>{{cite web| url=http://home.fnal.gov/~carrigan/Infrared_Astronomy/Fermilab_search.htm| title=Fermilab Dyson Sphere search program| date=2006| access-date=2006-03-02| first=Dick| last=Carrigan| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060306222359/http://home.fnal.gov/~carrigan/Infrared_Astronomy/Fermilab_search.htm| archive-date=2006-03-06}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Shostak |first=Seth |date=Spring 2009 |journal=Engineering & Science |title=When Will We Find the Extraterrestrials? |volume=72 |pages=12–21 |issn=0013-7812 |url=http://archive.seti.org/pdfs/Shostak-spring2009-EnS.pdf <!-- permalink to official source with abstract & alternate PDF link: http://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechES:72.1.Extraterrestrials --> |issue=1 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150415115307/http://archive.seti.org/pdfs/Shostak-spring2009-EnS.pdf |archive-date=2015-04-15 }}</ref>

Identifying one of the many infra-red sources as a Dyson sphere would require improved techniques for discriminating between a Dyson sphere and natural sources.<ref>{{cite journal|title=''Dyson sphere'' at Scholarpedia |journal=Scholarpedia |date=15 May 2009 |volume=4 |issue=5 |pages=6647 |publisher=Scholarpedia.org |doi=10.4249/scholarpedia.6647 |last1=Carrigan |first1=Richard |last2=Dyson |first2=Freeman J. |doi-access=free }}</ref> Fermilab discovered 17 "ambiguous" candidates, of which four have been named "amusing but still questionable".<ref name="Carrigan 2012">{{cite web| url=http://home.fnal.gov/~carrigan/Infrared_Astronomy/Fermilab_search.htm| title=Fermilab Dyson Sphere search program| date=2012| access-date=2012-01-15| first=D.| last=Carrigan| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060306222359/http://home.fnal.gov/~carrigan/Infrared_Astronomy/Fermilab_search.htm| archive-date=2006-03-06}}</ref> Other searches also resulted in several candidates, which remain unconfirmed.<ref name=carrigan /> In October 2012, astronomer [[Geoff Marcy]], one of the pioneers of the search for [[extrasolar planets]], was given a research grant to search data from the ''[[Kepler (spacecraft)|Kepler]]'' telescope, with the aim of detecting possible signs of Dyson spheres.<ref>{{cite web|last=Sanders |first=Robert |url=http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2012/10/05/grants-help-scientists-explore-border-between-science-science-fiction/ |title=Grants help scientists explore boundary between science & science fiction |publisher=Newscenter.berkeley.edu |date=5 October 2012 |access-date=2013-07-10}}</ref>

=== Orbital paths, transit signatures, stellar activity and star-system composition ===
{{See also|Moving Earth|#Extraterrestrial artifacts, influence and spacecraft}}
Shkadov thrusters, with the hypothetical ability to change the orbital paths of stars in order to avoid various dangers to life such as [[molecular cloud|cold molecular cloud]]s or [[impact event|cometary impact]]s, would also be detectable in a similar fashion to the [[transit method|transiting]] extrasolar planets searched by ''Kepler''. Unlike planets, though, the thrusters would appear to abruptly stop over the surface of a star rather than crossing it completely, revealing their technological origin.<ref name=Villard2013>{{Cite web | title = Alien 'Star Engine' Detectable in Exoplanet Data? | url = http://news.discovery.com/space/alien-life-exoplanets/planet-searches-might-stumble-across-an-alien-stellar-engine-130625.htm | date = 2013 | last=Villard |first=Ray |work=Discovery News | access-date = 2013-07-08 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130628082208/http://news.discovery.com/space/alien-life-exoplanets/planet-searches-might-stumble-across-an-alien-stellar-engine-130625.htm |archivedate=2013-06-28}}</ref> In addition, evidence of targeted extrasolar [[asteroid mining]] may also reveal [[extraterrestrial intelligence]] (ETI).<ref>{{cite journal|arxiv=1103.5369|author1=Duncan Forgan|author2=Martin Elvis|title=Extrasolar Asteroid Mining as Forensic Evidence for Extraterrestrial Intelligence|date=2011|doi=10.1017/S1473550411000127|volume=10|issue=4|journal=International Journal of Astrobiology|pages=307–313|bibcode=2011IJAsB..10..307F|s2cid=119111392}}</ref> Furthermore, it has been suggested that information could be hidden within the transit signatures of other planets.<ref>{{cite news |title=Here's how we could hide Earth from aliens if we had to |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2016/04/19/heres-how-we-could-hide-earth-from-aliens-if-we-had-to/ |access-date=22 November 2021 |newspaper=Washington Post |date=April 19, 2016 |first=David |last=Kipping}}</ref> Advanced civilizations could "cloak their presence, or deliberately broadcast it, through controlled laser emission".<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kipping |first1=David M. |last2=Teachey |first2=Alex |title=A cloaking device for transiting planets |journal=Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society |date=21 June 2016 |volume=459 |issue=2 |pages=1233–1241 |doi=10.1093/mnras/stw672|doi-access=free |arxiv=1603.08928 }}</ref> Other characteristics proposed as potential technosignatures (or starting points for detection of clearer signatures) include peculiar [[orbital period]]s such as arranging planets in prime number patterns.<ref>{{Cite arXiv|last1=Davenport |first1=James R. A. |title=SETI in the Spatio-Temporal Survey Domain |date=9 July 2019|class=astro-ph.IM |eprint=1907.04443 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Clement |first1=Matthew S. |last2=Raymond |first2=Sean N. |last3=Veras |first3=Dimitri |last4=Kipping |first4=David |title=Mathematical encoding within multi-resonant planetary systems as SETI beacons |journal=Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society |pages=4945–4950 |doi=10.1093/mnras/stac1234 |date=23 May 2022|volume=513 |issue=4 |arxiv=2204.14259 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Aliens could say hello by arranging planets in prime number pattern |url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/2319218-aliens-could-say-hello-by-arranging-planets-in-prime-number-pattern/ |work=New Scientist |date=9 May 2022 |first=Jonathan |last=O'Callaghan |access-date=3 August 2022}}</ref> Coronal and [[Chromosphere|chromospheric]] activity on stars might be altered.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Scharf |first1=Caleb A. |title=The Technosignature Challenge |url=https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/life-unbounded/the-technosignature-challenge/ |access-date=3 August 2022 |work=Scientific American Blog Network |date=March 7, 2018 |language=en}}</ref> Extraterrestrial civilizations may use free-floating planets ([[rogue planet]]s) for interstellar transportation with a number of proposed possible technosignatures.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Romanovskaya |first1=Irina K. |title=Migrating extraterrestrial civilizations and interstellar colonization: implications for SETI and SETA |journal=International Journal of Astrobiology |date=June 2022 |volume=21 |issue=3 |pages=163–187 |doi=10.1017/S1473550422000143 |bibcode=2022IJAsB..21..163R |language=en |issn=1473-5504|doi-access=free }}</ref>

===Communication networks===
{{See also|Search for extraterrestrial intelligence#Quantum communications|Ufology}}
A study suggests that if ETs exist, they may have established communications network(s) and may already have probes in the solar system whose communication may be detectable.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Gillon |first1=Michael |last2=Burdanov |first2=Artem |last3=Wright |first3=Jason T. |title=Search for an Alien Message to a Nearby Star |journal=The Astronomical Journal |year=2022 |volume=164 |issue=5 |page=221 |doi=10.3847/1538-3881/ac9610 |arxiv=2111.05334 |bibcode=2022AJ....164..221G |s2cid=253182278 |doi-access=free }}
* News article: {{cite news |last1=Williams |first1=Matt |title=If alien probes are already in the solar system, maybe we could detect them calling home |url=https://phys.org/news/2021-11-alien-probes-solar-home.html |work=Universe Today |language=en}}</ref> Studies by John Gertz suggest flyby (scout)<ref>{{Cite arXiv|last1=Gertz |first1=John |title=Oumuamua and Scout ET Probes |date=8 June 2021|class=physics.pop-ph |eprint=1904.04914 }}</ref> probes might intermittently surveil nascent solar systems and permanent probes would communicate with a home base, potentially using triggers and conditions such as detection of electromagnetic leakage or biosignatures.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Gertz |first1=John |title=Maybe the Aliens Really Are Here |url=https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/maybe-the-aliens-really-are-here/ |access-date=3 August 2022 |work=Scientific American |language=en}}</ref> They also suggest several strategies to detecting local ET probes<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Gertz |first1=John |title=Strategies for the Detection of ET Probes Within Our Own Solar System |journal=Journal of the British Interplanetary Society |date=4 December 2020|volume=74 |issue=2 |page=47 |arxiv=2011.12446 |bibcode=2021JBIS...74...47G }}</ref> such as detecting emitted optical messages.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Gillon |first1=Michael |last2=Burdanov |first2=Artem |last3=Wright |first3=Jason T. |title=Search for an Alien Message to a Nearby Star |journal=The Astronomical Journal |year=2022 |volume=164 |issue=5 |page=221 |doi=10.3847/1538-3881/ac9610 |arxiv=2111.05334 |bibcode=2022AJ....164..221G |s2cid=253182278 |doi-access=free }}</ref> He also finds that due to interstellar networks of communications nodes, the search for deliberate interstellar signals – as is common in SETI<ref name="10.3847/1538-3881/ab2df3">{{cite journal |last1=Berdyugina |first1=S. V. |last2=Kuhn |first2=J. R. |title=Surface Imaging of Proxima b and Other Exoplanets: Albedo Maps, Biosignatures, and Technosignatures |journal=The Astronomical Journal |date=25 November 2019 |volume=158 |issue=6 |pages=246 |doi=10.3847/1538-3881/ab2df3 |bibcode=2019AJ....158..246B |s2cid=213585876 |language=en |issn=1538-3881|doi-access=free }}</ref> – may be futile.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Gertz |first1=John |title=The Search for Deliberate Interstellar SETI Signals May Be Futile |journal=Journal of the British Interplanetary Society |date=21 October 2021|volume=74 |issue=11 |page=414 |arxiv=2110.11502 |bibcode=2021JBIS...74..414G }}</ref> The architecture may consist of nodes separated by sub-light-year distances and strung out between neighboring stars.<ref>{{Cite arXiv|last1=Gertz |first1=John |last2=Marcy |first2=Geoffrey |title=Engineering an Interstellar Communications Network by Deploying Relay Probes |date=27 April 2022|class=physics.pop-ph |eprint=2204.08296 }}</ref> It may also contain pulsars as [[beacon]]s<ref>{{cite web |last1=LaViolette |first1=Paul A. |title=Evidence that Radio Pulsars may be Artificial Beacons of ETI Origin |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/253434946 |date=1999}}</ref> or nodes whose beams are modulated by mechanisms that could be searched for.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Haliki |first1=Emir |title=Broadcast network model of pulsars as beacons of extraterrestrial civilizations |journal=International Journal of Astrobiology |date=October 2019 |volume=18 |issue=5 |pages=455–462 |doi=10.1017/S1473550418000459 |bibcode=2019IJAsB..18..455H |s2cid=126214354 |language=en |issn=1473-5504}}</ref> Moreover, a study suggests prior searches wouldn't have detected cost-effective electromagnetic signal beacons.<ref>{{cite news |title=Stingy aliens may call us on cheap rates only |url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn19206-stingy-aliens-may-call-us-on-cheap-rates-only/ |access-date=3 August 2022 |work=New Scientist}}</ref>

==Planetary analysis==

===Artificial heat and light===
[[File:Earth's City Lights by DMSP, 1994-1995 (large).jpg|thumb|250px|Lights from cities and infrastructure on Earth at night from space]]
Various astronomers, including [[Avi Loeb]] of the [[Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics]] and [[Edwin L. Turner]] of [[Princeton University]] have proposed that artificial light from extraterrestrial planets, such as that originating from cities, industries, and transport networks, could be detected and signal the presence of an advanced civilization. Such approaches, though, make the assumption that the [[radiant energy]] generated by civilization would be relatively clustered and can therefore be detected easily.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.upi.com/Science_News/2011/11/03/SETI-search-urged-to-look-for-city-lights/UPI-89301320361336/#ixzz2HRkOcctY |title=SETI search urged to look for city lights |publisher=UPI.com |date=2011-11-03 |access-date=2013-07-10}}</ref><ref>Extrasolar Planets: Formation, Detection and Dynamics Rudolf Dvorak, page 14 John Wiley & Sons, 2007</ref>

Light and heat detected from planets must be distinguished from natural sources to conclusively prove the existence of intelligent life on a planet.<ref name=almar-2011 /> For example, NASA's 2012 ''Black Marble'' experiment showed that significant stable light and heat sources on Earth, such as chronic wildfires in arid [[Western Australia]], originate from uninhabited areas and are naturally occurring.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/NPP/news/aus-fires.html |title=Wildfires Light Up Western Australia |publisher=Nasa.gov |date=2012-12-07 |access-date=2013-07-10}}</ref> The proposed [[Large Ultraviolet Optical Infrared Surveyor|LUVOIR A]] may be able to detect city lights twelve times those of Earth on [[Proxima b]] in 300 hours.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Beatty |first1=Thomas G. |title=The Detectability of Nightside City Lights on Exoplanets |journal=Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society |pages=2652–2662 |doi=10.1093/mnras/stac469 |date=6 May 2022|volume=513 |issue=2 |arxiv=2105.09990 }}</ref>

===Atmospheric analysis===
[[File:Artist’s illustration of an advanced extraterrestrial civilization with industrial pollution, a possible "technosignature".jpg|thumb|250px|Artist's illustration of an advanced ET civilization with industrial pollution<ref>{{cite web |last1=Steigerwald |first1=Bill |title=Find an Extraterrestrial Civilization Using Its Pollution |url=https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/goddard/2021/technosignature |website=NASA |access-date=4 April 2021 |date=22 January 2021}}</ref>]]
Atmospheric analysis of planetary atmospheres, as is already done on various Solar System bodies and in a rudimentary fashion on several [[hot Jupiter]] extrasolar planets, may reveal the presence of chemicals produced by technological civilizations.<ref name="NYT-20220915">{{cite news |last=Gertner |first=Jon |title=The Search for Intelligent Life Is About to Get a Lot More Interesting - There are an estimated 100 billion galaxies in the universe, home to an unimaginable abundance of planets. And now there are new ways to spot signs of life on them. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/15/magazine/extraterrestrials-technosignatures.html |date=15 September 2022 |work=[[The New York Times]] |accessdate=15 September 2022 }}</ref><ref name=choi-2012>{{cite news|url=http://www.space.com/18624-alien-life-search-hairspray.html |title=Alien Hairspray May Help Us Find E.T. |work=Space.com |date=2012-11-26 |first=Charles Q. |last=Choi |access-date=2013-07-10}}</ref> For example, atmospheric emissions from <!--industrial and other -->human technology use on Earth, including [[nitrogen dioxide]] and [[chlorofluorocarbon]]s, are detectable from space.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Observing_the_Earth/Satellite_sniffs_out_chemical_traces_of_atmospheric_pollution |title=Satellite sniffs out chemical traces of atmospheric pollution / Observing the Earth / Our Activities / ESA |publisher=Esa.int |date=2000-12-18 |access-date=2013-07-10}}</ref> Artificial air pollution may therefore be detectable on extrasolar planets and on Earth via "atmospheric SETI" – including NO<sub>2</sub> pollution levels and with telescopic technology close to today.<ref>{{cite news |title=Pollution on other planets could help us find aliens, Nasa says |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/alien-pollution-planets-nasa-b1801543.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220526/https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/alien-pollution-planets-nasa-b1801543.html |archive-date=2022-05-26 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |access-date=6 March 2021 |work=The Independent |date=12 February 2021 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title=Can Alien Smog Lead Us to Extraterrestrial Civilizations? |url=https://www.wired.com/story/can-alien-smog-lead-us-to-extraterrestrial-civilizations/ |access-date=6 March 2021 |magazine=Wired |language=en-us |first=Meghan |last=Herbst |date=March 4, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kopparapu |first1=Ravi |last2=Arney |first2=Giada |last3=Haqq-Misra |first3=Jacob |last4=Lustig-Yaeger |first4=Jacob |last5=Villanueva |first5=Geronimo |title=Nitrogen Dioxide Pollution as a Signature of Extraterrestrial Technology |journal=The Astrophysical Journal |date=22 February 2021 |volume=908 |issue=2 |pages=164 |doi=10.3847/1538-4357/abd7f7 |arxiv=2102.05027 |bibcode=2021ApJ...908..164K |s2cid=231855390 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Haqq-Misra |first1=Jacob |last2=Kopparapu |first2=Ravi |last3=Fauchez |first3=Thomas J. |last4=Frank |first4=Adam |last5=Wright |first5=Jason T. |last6=Lingam1 |first6=Manasvi |title=Detectability of Chlorofluorocarbons in the Atmospheres of Habitable M-dwarf Planets |journal=The Planetary Science Journal |pages=60 |doi=10.3847/PSJ/ac5404 |date=1 March 2022|volume=3 |issue=3 |arxiv=2202.05858 |bibcode=2022PSJ.....3...60H |s2cid=246824041 |doi-access=free }}</ref> Such technosignatures may consist not of the detection of the level of one specific chemical but simultaneous detections of levels of multiple specific chemicals in atmospheres.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Haqq-Misra |first1=Jacob |last2=Fauchez |first2=Thomas J. |last3=Schwieterman |first3=Edward W. |last4=Kopparapu |first4=Ravi |title=Disruption of a Planetary Nitrogen Cycle as Evidence of Extraterrestrial Agriculture |journal=The Astrophysical Journal Letters |pages=L28 |doi=10.3847/2041-8213/ac65ff |date=1 April 2022|volume=929 |issue=2 |arxiv=2204.05360 |bibcode=2022ApJ...929L..28H |s2cid=248119062 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

However, there remains a possibility of mis-detection; for example, the [[atmosphere of Titan]] has detectable signatures of complex chemicals that are similar to what on Earth are industrial pollutants, though not the byproduct of civilisation.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.space.com/21470-saturn-moon-titan-haze-cassini.html |title=Haze on Saturn's Moon Titan Is Similar to Earth's Pollution |work=Space.com |date=June 7, 2013 |access-date=2013-07-10}}</ref> Some SETI scientists have proposed searching for artificial atmospheres created by planetary engineering to produce habitable environments for colonisation by an ETI.<ref name=choi-2012 />

==Extraterrestrial artifacts, influence and spacecraft==
{{See also|Ufology#Research}}
=== Spacecraft ===
{{See also|Fast radio burst}}
[[File:IKAROS solar sail.jpg|thumb|250px|The [[IKAROS]] [[Solar sail|light sail]] of 2010]]
[[Interstellar spacecraft]] may be detectable from hundreds to thousands of [[light-year]]s away through various forms of radiation, such as the [[photon]]s emitted by an [[antimatter rocket]] or [[cyclotron radiation]] from the interaction of a magnetic sail with the [[interstellar medium]]. Such a signal would be easily distinguishable from a natural signal and could hence firmly establish the existence of extraterrestrial life, were it to be detected.<ref>{{cite conference | title=Detection of Extraterrestrial Civilizations via the Spectral Signature of Advanced Interstellar Spacecraft | publisher=Astronomical Society of the Pacific | last=Zubrin |first=Robert | editor=Shostak, Seth | book-title=Astronomical Society of the Pacific Conference Series | date=1995 | conference=Progress in the Search for Extraterrestrial Life | pages=487–496 | bibcode=1995ASPC...74..487Z}}</ref> In addition, smaller [[Bracewell probe]]s within the Solar System itself may also be detectable by means of optical or radio searches.<ref name=freitas-1983>{{cite journal|journal=Journal of the British Interplanetary Society|title=The Case for Interstellar Probes|volume=36|date=November 1983|pages=490–495|url=http://www.rfreitas.com/Astro/TheCaseForInterstellarProbes1983.htm|last=Freitas |first=Robert|bibcode = 1983JBIS...36..490F }}</ref><ref name=tough-1998-2>{{cite journal|journal=Journal of the British Interplanetary Society|title=Small Smart Interstellar Probes|last=Tough |first=Allen|volume=51|pages=167–174|date=1998
|url=http://www.ieti.org/tough/articles/jbis51.pdf}}</ref> [[Self-replicating spacecraft]] or their communications networks could potentially be detectable within our Solar system or in nearby star-based systems,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Gillon |first1=Michaël |title=A novel SETI strategy targeting the solar focal regions of the most nearby stars |journal=Acta Astronautica |date=February 2014 |volume=94 |issue=2 |pages=629–633 |doi=10.1016/j.actaastro.2013.09.009 |arxiv=1309.7586 |bibcode=2014AcAau..94..629G |s2cid=53990678 }}</ref> if they are located there.<ref>{{cite news |title=Self-replicating alien probes could already be here |url=https://phys.org/news/2013-07-self-replicating-alien-probes.html |access-date=30 April 2021 |work=Phys.org |language=en |first=Lin |last=Edwards |date=July 19, 2013}}</ref> Such technologies or their footprints could be in Earth's orbit, on the Moon or on the Earth.

=== Satellites ===
A less advanced technology, and one closer to humanity's current technological level, is the Clarke Exobelt proposed by Astrophysicist Hector Socas-Navarro of the [[Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Dorminey |first1=Bruce |title=NASA's TESS Telescope May Spot Alien Geo-Satellites, Say Astronomers |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucedorminey/2018/02/24/nasas-tess-telescope-could-detect-belt-of-alien-geo-satellites-says-new-paper/#36256f8e4eb4 |work=Forbes |date=February 24, 2018 |access-date=12 June 2018 |language=en}}</ref> This hypothetical belt would be formed by all the artificial [[satellite]]s occupying [[geostationary]]/[[geosynchronous]] orbits around an [[exoplanet]]. From early simulations it appeared that a very dense satellite belt, requiring only a moderately more-advanced civilization than ours, would be detectable with existing technology in the [[Light curve|light curves]] from [[Methods of detecting exoplanets#Transit photometry|transiting]] exoplanets,<ref>{{cite journal|title=Possible Photometric Signatures of Moderately Advanced Civilizations: The Clarke Exobelt|journal=The Astrophysical Journal|volume=855|issue=2|pages=110|arxiv=1802.07723|author=Hector Socas-Navarro|date=2018-02-21|doi=10.3847/1538-4357/aaae66|bibcode=2018ApJ...855..110S|s2cid=55234856 |doi-access=free }}</ref> but subsequent analysis has questioned this result, suggesting that exobelts detectable by current and upcoming missions will be very rare.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Improved Analysis of Clarke Exobelt Detectability|journal=The Astronomical Journal|arxiv=1909.10061|doi=10.3847/1538-3881/ab5300|author1=Shauna Sallmen|author2=Eric J. Korpela|author3=Kaisa Crawford-Taylor|date= 2019-11-02|volume=158 |issue=6 |page=258 |bibcode=2019AJ....158..258S |s2cid=202719280 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

=== Extraterrestrial influence or activity on Earth ===
{{See also|Directed panspermia#Signal in the genome|Ufology#Phenomena linked to ufology}}
It has been suggested that once extraterrestrials arrive "at a new home, such life will almost certainly create technosignatures (because it used technology to get there), and some fraction of them may also eventually give rise to a new biosphere".<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Wright |first1=Jason T. |last2=Haqq-Misra |first2=Jacob |last3=Frank |first3=Adam |last4=Kopparapu |first4=Ravi |last5=Lingam |first5=Manasvi |last6=Sheikh |first6=Sofia Z. |title=The Case for Technosignatures: Why They May Be Abundant, Long-lived, Highly Detectable, and Unambiguous |journal=The Astrophysical Journal Letters |date=1 March 2022 |volume=927 |issue=2 |pages=L30 |doi=10.3847/2041-8213/ac5824 |arxiv=2203.10899 |bibcode=2022ApJ...927L..30W |s2cid=247448627 |language=en |issn=2041-8205 |doi-access=free }}</ref> Microorganism DNA may have been used for self-replicating messages.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Ellery |first1=Alex |title=Self-replicating probes are imminent – implications for SETI |journal=International Journal of Astrobiology |year=2022 |volume=21 |issue=4 |pages=212–242 |doi=10.1017/S1473550422000234 |bibcode=2022IJAsB..21..212E |s2cid=250398136 |language=en |issn=1473-5504|doi-access=free }}</ref>{{additional citation needed|date=August 2022}} See also: [[DNA digital data storage]]

=== On exoplanets ===
Low- or high-albedo installations such as solar panels may also be detectable, albeit distinguishing artificial megastructures from high- and low-albedo natural environments (e.g., bright ice caps) may make it unfeasible.<ref name="10.3847/1538-3881/ab2df3"/>

==Scientific projects searching for technosignatures==
[[File:Technosignatures chart (labelled).png|thumb|425px|Major technosignatures as outlined in a 2021 scientific review.<ref name="10.1016/j.actaastro.2021.02.029"/>]]
One of the first attempts to search for Dyson Spheres was made by Vyacheslav Slysh from the [[Russian Space Research Institute]] in Moscow in 1985 using data from the [[IRAS|Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS)]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21829112-100-alien-megaprojects-the-hunt-has-begun/|title=Alien megaprojects: The hunt has begun|last=Battersby|first=Stephen|author-link=Stephen Battersby (science journalist)|work=New Scientist|date=3 April 2013|language=en-US|access-date=2019-06-02}}</ref>

Another search for technosignatures, {{circa|2001}}, involved an analysis of data from the [[Compton Gamma Ray Observatory]] for traces of anti-matter, which, besides one "intriguing spectrum probably not related to SETI", came up empty.<ref name="harris-2001" />

In 2005, [[Fermilab]] had an ongoing survey for such spectra by analyzing data from IRAS.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://home.fnal.gov/~carrigan/Infrared_Astronomy/Fermilab_search.htm| title=Fermilab Dyson Sphere search program| date=2006| access-date=2006-03-02| first=D.| last=Carrigan| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060306222359/http://home.fnal.gov/~carrigan/Infrared_Astronomy/Fermilab_search.htm| archive-date=2006-03-06}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Shostak |first=Seth |date=Spring 2009 |journal=Engineering & Science |title=When Will We Find the Extraterrestrials? |volume=72 |number=1 |pages=12–21 |issn=0013-7812 |url=http://archive.seti.org/pdfs/Shostak-spring2009-EnS.pdf <!-- permalink to official source with abstract & alternate PDF link: http://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechES:72.1.Extraterrestrials --> |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150415115307/http://archive.seti.org/pdfs/Shostak-spring2009-EnS.pdf |archive-date=2015-04-15 }}</ref> Identifying one of the many infra-red sources as a Dyson Sphere would require improved techniques for discriminating between a Dyson Sphere and natural sources.<ref>[http://www.scholarpedia.org/article/Dyson_sphere ''Dyson sphere'' at Scholarpedia]</ref> Fermilab discovered 17 potential "ambiguous" candidates of which four have been named "amusing but still questionable".<ref name="Carrigan 2012"/> Other searches also resulted in several candidates, which are, however, unconfirmed.<ref>{{cite web|author=Dick Carrigan |url=http://home.fnal.gov/~carrigan/infrared_astronomy/Other_searches.htm |title=Dyson Sphere Searches |publisher=Home.fnal.gov |date=2010-12-16 |access-date=2012-06-12}}</ref>

In a 2005 paper, Luc Arnold proposed a means of detecting planetary-sized artifacts from their distinctive transit light curve signature. He showed that such technosignature was within the reach of space missions aimed at detecting exoplanets by the [[transit method]], as were ''Corot'' or ''Kepler'' projects at that time.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Arnold |first1=Luc F. A. |title=Transit Light-Curve Signatures of Artificial Objects |journal=The Astrophysical Journal |date=July 2005 |volume=627 |issue=1 |pages=534–539 |doi=10.1086/430437 |arxiv=astro-ph/0503580 |bibcode=2005ApJ...627..534A |s2cid=15396488 }}</ref> The principle of the detection remains applicable for future exoplanets missions.<ref>[https://tess.gsfc.nasa.gov Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite TESS.] NASA.</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://cheops.unibe.ch |title=CHEOPS CHaracterising ExOPlanet Satellite}}</ref><ref>[http://sci.esa.int/plato/ PLATO PLAnetary Transits and Oscillations of stars]. ESA.</ref>

In 2012, a trio of astronomers led by Jason Wright started a two-year search for Dyson Spheres, aided by grants from the [[Templeton Foundation]].<ref name="UT-2013" />

In 2013, Geoff Marcy received funding to use data from the [[Kepler Telescope]] to search for Dyson Spheres and interstellar communication using lasers,<ref name="SMH-2013" /> and [[Lucianne Walkowicz]] received funding to detect artificial signatures in stellar photometry.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://scienceblogs.com/catdynamics/2012/10/04/new-frontiers-in-astronomy-the-research-grant-winners/ | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131022101358/http://scienceblogs.com/catdynamics/2012/10/04/new-frontiers-in-astronomy-the-research-grant-winners/ | archive-date=2013-10-22 | title=New Frontiers in Astronomy: The research grant winners &#124; ScienceBlogs }}</ref>

Starting in 2016, astronomer [[Jean-Luc Margot]] of [[UCLA]] has been searching for technosignatures with large radio telescopes.<ref name="UT-2018" />

=== Vanishing stars ===
In 2016, it was proposed that vanishing stars are a plausible technosignature.<ref name="Villarroel et al 2016">{{cite journal |last1=Villarroel |first1=Beatriz |last2=Imaz |first2=Inigo |last3=Bergstedt |first3=Josefine |title=Our sky now and then: searches for lost stars and impossible effects as probes of advanced extraterrestrial civilizations |journal=The Astronomical Journal |date=6 September 2016 |volume=152 |issue=3 |pages=76 |doi=10.3847/0004-6256/152/3/76 |arxiv=1606.08992 |bibcode=2016AJ....152...76V |s2cid=118514910 |doi-access=free }}</ref> A pilot project searching for vanishing stars was carried out, finding one candidate object. In 2019, the Vanishing & Appearing Sources during a Century of Observations (VASCO) project<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Villarroel |first1=Beatriz |last2=Soodla |first2=Johan |last3=Comerón |first3=Sébastien |last4=Mattsson |first4=Lars |last5=Pelckmans |first5=Kristiaan |last6=López-Corredoira |first6=Martín |last7=Krisciunas |first7=Kevin |last8=Guerras |first8=Eduardo |last9=Kochukhov |first9=Oleg |last10=Bergstedt |first10=Josefine |last11=Buelens |first11=Bart |last12=Bär |first12=Rudolf E. |last13=Cubo |first13=Rubén |last14=Enriquez |first14=J. Emilio |last15=Gupta |first15=Alok C. |last16=Imaz |first16=Iñigo |last17=Karlsson |first17=Torgny |last18=Prieto |first18=M. Almudena |last19=Shlyapnikov |first19=Aleksey A. |last20=de Souza |first20=Rafael S. |last21=Vavilova |first21=Irina B. |last22=Ward |first22=Martin J. |title=The Vanishing and Appearing Sources during a Century of Observations Project. I. USNO Objects Missing in Modern Sky Surveys and Follow-up Observations of a "Missing Star" |journal=The Astronomical Journal |date=12 December 2019 |volume=159 |issue=1 |pages=8 |doi=10.3847/1538-3881/ab570f |s2cid=207863387 |issn=1538-3881|url=http://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi-fe2019122049110 |doi-access=free |arxiv=1911.05068 }}</ref> began more general searches for vanishing and appearing stars, and other [[Time-domain astronomy|astrophysical transients]]<ref name="Villarroel et al 2016"/> They identified 100 red transients of "most likely natural origin", while analyzing 15% of the image data. In 2020, the VASCO collaboration started up a [[citizen science]] project, vetting through images of many thousands of candidate objects.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.su.se/english/research/research-news/look-to-the-sky-and-help-researchers-in-a-new-citizen-science-project-1.496340|title = Look to the sky and help researchers in a new citizen science project - Stockholm University}}</ref> The citizen science project is carried out in close collaboration with schools and amateur associations mainly in African countries.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Villarroel |first1=Beatriz |last2=Pelckmans |first2=Kristiaan |last3=Solano |first3=Enrique |last4=Laaksoharju |first4=Mikael |last5=Souza |first5=Abel |last6=Dom |first6=Onyeuwaoma Nnaemeka |last7=Laggoune |first7=Khaoula |last8=Mimouni |first8=Jamal |last9=Mattsson |first9=Lars |last10=Soodla |first10=Johan |last11=Castillo |first11=Diego |last12=Shultz |first12=Matthew E. |last13=Aworka |first13=Rubby |last14=Comerón |first14=Sébastien |last15=Geier |first15=Stefan |last16=Marcy |first16=Geoffrey |last17=Gupta |first17=Alok C. |last18=Bergstedt |first18=Josefine |last19=Bär |first19=Rudolf E. |last20=Buelens |first20=Bart |last21=Prieto |first21=M. Almudena |last22=Ramos-Almeida |first22=Cristina |last23=Wamalwa |first23=Dismas Simiyu |last24=Ward |first24=Martin J. |title=Launching the VASCO Citizen Science Project |journal=Universe |year=2022 |volume=8 |issue=11 |page=561 |doi=10.3390/universe8110561 |arxiv=2009.10813 |bibcode=2022Univ....8..561V |doi-access=free }}</ref> The VASCO project has been referred to as "Perhaps the most general artefact search to date".<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Shostak |first1=Seth |title=SETI: the argument for artefact searches |journal=International Journal of Astrobiology |date=December 2020 |volume=19 |issue=6 |pages=456–461 |doi=10.1017/S1473550420000233 |bibcode=2020IJAsB..19..456S |s2cid=225252511 }}</ref> In 2021, VASCO's principal investigator Beatriz Villarroel received a [[L'Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Awards|L'Oreal-Unesco prize]] in Sweden for the project.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.su.se/english/news/prize-to-promising-astrophysicist-1.544366|title = Prize to promising astrophysicist - Stockholm University}}</ref> In June 2021, the collaboration published the discovery of nine light sources seemingly appearing and vanishing simultaneously from archival plates taken in 1950.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Villarroel |first1=Beatriz |last2=Marcy |first2=Geoffrey W. |last3=Geier |first3=Stefan |last4=Streblyanska |first4=Alina |last5=Solano |first5=Enrique |last6=Andruk |first6=Vitaly N. |last7=Shultz |first7=Matthew E. |last8=Gupta |first8=Alok C. |last9=Mattsson |first9=Lars |title=Exploring nine simultaneously occurring transients on April 12th 1950 |journal=Scientific Reports |date=17 June 2021 |volume=11 |issue=1 |pages=12794 |doi=10.1038/s41598-021-92162-7 |pmid=34140604 |pmc=8211679 |arxiv=2106.11780 |bibcode=2021NatSR..1112794V }}</ref> Villarroel's team also found three 16th magnitude stars which had vanished on plates exposed within one hour of each other on 19 July 1952.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Solano |first1=Enrique |last2=Marcy |first2=Geoffery |last3=Villarroel |first3=Beatriz |last4=Geier |first4=Stefan |last5=Streblyanska |first5=Alina |last6=Lombardi |first6=Gianluka |last7=Rudolf |first7=Bar |last8=Androk |first8=Vitaly |date=January 2024 |title=A bright triple transient that vanished within 50 min |url=https://academic.oup.com/mnras/article/527/3/6312/7457759?login=false |journal=Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society |volume=527 |issue=3 |page=6312 |doi=10.1093/mnras/stad3422 |arxiv=2310.09035 |bibcode=2024MNRAS.527.6312S |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240115065144/https://academic.oup.com/mnras/article/527/3/6312/7457759?login=false |archive-date=15 January 2024 |access-date=15 January 2024 |via=academic.oup}}</ref>
=== Organization of novel projects ===
[[File:Table of technosignatures.png|thumb|250px|Methods and ancillary benefits of the search for various technosignatures.<ref name="10.1016/j.actaastro.2021.02.029"/>]]
In June 2020, NASA was awarded their first [[SETI]]-specific grant in three decades. The grant funds the first NASA-funded search for technosignatures from advanced extraterrestrial civilizations other than radio waves, including the creation and population of an online technosignature [[Digital library|library]].<ref>{{cite news |title=NASA funds SETI study to scan exoplanets for alien "technosignatures" |url=https://newatlas.com/space/nasa-exoplanet-seti-alien-technosignatures/ |access-date=5 July 2020 |work=New Atlas |date=23 June 2020 |first=Michael |last=Irving}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Rice |first1=Doyle |title=Scientists are searching the universe for signs of alien civilizations: 'Now we know where to look' |url=https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/06/20/nasa-funds-research-alien-technological-civilizations/3224063001/ |access-date=5 July 2020 |work=USA TODAY |date=June 20, 2020}}</ref><ref name="NASA-technosignatures">{{cite news |title=Does intelligent life exist on other planets? Technosignatures may hold new clues |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-06-intelligent-life-planets-technosignatures-clues.html |access-date=5 July 2020 |work=Phys.org |language=en |date=June 19, 2020 |author=University of Rochester}}</ref> A 2021 [[scientific review]] produced by the i.a. NASA-sponsored [[Virtual event|online workshop]] ''TechnoClimes 2020'' classified possible optimal mission concepts for the search of technosignatures. It evaluates signatures based on a metric about the distance of humanity to the capacity of developing the signature's required technology – a comparison to contemporary human technology footprints, associated methods of detection and ancillary benefits of their search for other astronomy. The study's conclusions include a robust rationale for organizing missions for searching artifacts – including probes – within the Solar system.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Carter |first1=Jamie |title=Revealed: Why We Should Look For Ancient Alien Spacecraft On The Moon, Mars And Mercury According To NASA Scientists |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamiecartereurope/2021/03/22/nasa-should-look-for-crashed-alien-spacecraft-on-mars-and-lurkers-on-asteroids-say-scientists/ |date=March 22, 2021 |access-date=17 April 2021 |work=Forbes |language=en}}</ref><ref name="10.1016/j.actaastro.2021.02.029">{{cite journal |title=Concepts for future missions to search for technosignatures |journal=Acta Astronautica |date=1 May 2021 |volume=182 |pages=446–453 |doi=10.1016/j.actaastro.2021.02.029 |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S009457652100103X |access-date=17 April 2021 |arxiv=2103.01536 |language=en |issn=0094-5765|last1=Socas-Navarro |first1=Hector |last2=Haqq-Misra |first2=Jacob |last3=Wright |first3=Jason T. |last4=Kopparapu |first4=Ravi |last5=Benford |first5=James |last6=Davis |first6=Ross |author7=TechnoClimes 2020 workshop participants |bibcode=2021AcAau.182..446S |s2cid=232092198 }} [[File:CC-BY icon.svg|50px]] Available under [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ CC BY 4.0] on arXiv.</ref>

In 2021, astronomers proposed a sequence of "verification checks for narrowband technosignature signals" after concluding that technosignature candidate [[BLC1]] could be the result of a form of local [[radiofrequency interference]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Sheikh |first1=Sofia Z. |last2=Smith |first2=Shane |last3=Price |first3=Danny C. |last4=DeBoer |first4=David |last5=Lacki |first5=Brian C. |last6=Czech |first6=Daniel J. |last7=Croft |first7=Steve |last8=Gajjar |first8=Vishal |last9=Isaacson |first9=Howard |last10=Lebofsky |first10=Matt |last11=MacMahon |first11=David H. E. |last12=Ng |first12=Cherry |last13=Perez |first13=Karen I. |last14=Siemion |first14=Andrew P. V. |last15=Webb |first15=Claire Isabel |last16=Zic |first16=Andrew |last17=Drew |first17=Jamie |last18=Worden |first18=S. Pete |title=Analysis of the Breakthrough Listen signal of interest blc1 with a technosignature verification framework |journal=Nature Astronomy |date=November 2021 |volume=5 |issue=11 |pages=1153–1162 |doi=10.1038/s41550-021-01508-8 |arxiv=2111.06350  |bibcode=2021NatAs...5.1153S |s2cid=239906760 |language=en |issn=2397-3366}}</ref>

[[File:Capabilities for detecting technosignatures with recent, ongoing, and future missions and facilities.jpg|thumb|Capabilities for detecting technosignatures with recent, ongoing, and future missions and facilities. Cells colored green indicate that at least such a signature could be detectable for at least one stellar system and there being at least one peer-reviewed publication that has evaluated detectability of that signature.]]
It has been suggested that observatories on the Moon could be more successful.<ref>{{cite news |title=Why Astronomers Want to Build a SETI Observatory on the Moon |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/why-astronomers-want-build-seti-observatory-moon-180975966/ |access-date=3 August 2022 |work=Smithsonian Magazine |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Williams |first1=Matt |title=The moon is the perfect spot for SETI |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-10-moon-seti.html |access-date=3 August 2022 |work=Universe Today |language=en}}</ref> In 2022, scientists provided an overview of the capabilities of ongoing, recent, past, planned and proposed missions and observatories for detecting various alien technosignatures.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Axe |first1=David |title=The Alien Hunter's Playbook Is Getting a Cutting-Edge Rewrite |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/scientists-are-rewriting-the-alien-hunting-playbook-to-redefine-signs-of-life |access-date=19 July 2022 |work=The Daily Beast |date=11 June 2022 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Haqq-Misra |first1=Jacob |last2=Schwieterman |first2=Edward W. |last3=Socas-Navarro |first3=Hector |last4=Kopparapu |first4=Ravi |last5=Angerhausen |first5=Daniel |last6=Beatty |first6=Thomas G. |last7=Berdyugina |first7=Svetlana |last8=Felton |first8=Ryan |last9=Sharma |first9=Siddhant |last10=De la Torre |first10=Gabriel G. |last11=Apai |first11=Dániel |title=Searching for technosignatures in exoplanetary systems with current and future missions |journal=Acta Astronautica |date=1 September 2022 |volume=198 |pages=194–207 |doi=10.1016/j.actaastro.2022.05.040 |arxiv=2206.00030 |bibcode=2022AcAau.198..194H |s2cid=249240495 |language=en |issn=0094-5765}}</ref>

== Implications of detection ==
{{Expand section|date=April 2021}}
{{See also|Potential cultural impact of extraterrestrial contact}}
[[Steven J. Dick]] states that there generally are no principles for dealing with successful SETI detections. Detections of technosignatures may have ethical implications, such as conveying information related to [[astroethics|astroethical]]<ref>{{cite web |last1=Dick |first1=Steven J. |title=Astroethics and Cosmocentrism |url=https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/astroethics-and-cosmocentrism/ |website=Scientific American Blog Network |date=August 8, 2018 |access-date=30 April 2021 |language=en}}</ref> and related [[machine ethics]] ones (e.g., related to machines' applied ethical [[Value (ethics)|values]]), or include information about alien [[Technology and society|societies]] or [[Xenoarchaeology|histories or fates]], which may vary depending on the type, prevalence and form of the detected signature's technology. Moreover, various types of information about detected technosignatures and their distribution or dissemination may have varying implications that may also depend on time and context.

== See also ==
* [[Laser SETI]]
* [[Quiet and loud aliens]]
* [[UFO Report (U.S. Intelligence)]]

== Further reading ==
* {{cite conference |last1=Participants |first1=NASA Technosignatures Workshop |title=NASA and the Search for Technosignatures: A Report from the NASA Technosignatures Workshop |date=28 January 2019 |arxiv=1812.08681v2 }}

== References ==
<!--- See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Footnotes on how to create references using <ref></ref> tags which will then appear here automatically -->
{{Reflist|30em|refs=
<ref name="tarter-2018">{{cite web|title='Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence' Needs a New Name, SETI Pioneer Says|url=https://www.space.com/39474-search-for-extraterrestrial-intelligence-needs-new-name.html|website=Space.com|date=25 January 2018}}</ref>
<ref name="harris-2001">{{Cite journal|last1=Harris|first1=Michael J.|title=Limits from CGRO/EGRET Data on the Use of Antimatter as a Power Source by Extraterrestrial Civilizations|journal=Journal of the British Interplanetary Society|volume=55|page=383|arxiv=astro-ph/0112490|date=2002|bibcode=2002JBIS...55..383H}}</ref>
<ref name="UT-2018">{{cite web|title=Researchers Just Scanned 14 Worlds From the Kepler Mission for "Technosignatures", Evidence of Advanced Civilizations|url=https://www.universetoday.com/138516/researchers-just-scanned-14-worlds-kepler-mission-technosignatures-evidence-advanced-civilizations/|website=Universe Today|access-date=2018-02-13|date=9 February 2018 |first=Matt |last=Williams}}</ref>
<ref name="SMH-2013">{{cite web|last1=Brannen|first1=Peter|title=Hunt for alien spacecraft begins, as planet-spotting scientist Geoff Marcy gets funding|url=http://www.smh.com.au/technology/sci-tech/hunt-for-alien-spacecraft-begins-as-planetspotting-scientist-geoff-marcy-gets-funding-20130724-2qibc.html|website=The Sydney Morning Herald|access-date=2018-02-13|date=24 July 2013}}</ref>
<ref name="UT-2013">{{cite web|title=Hunting for Alien Megastructures|url=https://www.universetoday.com/102348/hunting-for-alien-megastructures/|work=Universe Today|access-date=2018-02-13|date=24 May 2013 |first=Markus |last=Hammonds}}</ref>
}}
{{Extraterrestrial life}}

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