If life evolved on other planets as it did on Earth, aliens may be zooming around in vehicles that belch pollution into space. Or they might have had their very own Edison — and a planet blanketed in artificial light.
A group of astronomers is searching for these strange signals from distant exoplanets, or what are called "technosignatures," because they may point to the existence of intelligent civilizations elsewhere in the cosmos. The term "technosignature" is a relatively new one, first coined in 2007 by astronomer Jill Tarter, who at the time was the director of the Center for SETI Research.
But even before the birth of the term, astronomers have been searching for technosignatures, the most popular one being radio transmissions. Practically speaking, that often meant looking for something strange — an anomaly in the data that could indicate the presence of something unnatural — like a planet that's a bit too bright. Historically, that search wasn't taken seriously. Now, however, scientists say they may have a real shot at finding such signals — as long as they look for the right things in the right places.
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