Interstellar communication: Possible?

Discussion in 'Astronomy, Exobiology, & Cosmology' started by Dinosaur, Jul 10, 2017.

  1. Dinosaur Rational Skeptic Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    4,885
    I & others have Posted remarks similar to the following. It would be interesting to me & probably to others to get current opinions on feasibility.

    Suppose there is a technological culture similar to ours on a planet orbiting Proxima Centauri, which is circa 4.3 light years from us.

    Could we communicate with it? Could we detect their communications?

    Our orbital speed is circa 30 Kilometers per second (or 18.5 miles per second). 108,000 km per hour (67,000 Miles per hour). A planet with technology orbiting Proxima Centauri is likely to have a similar orbital speed.

    Note that over a distance of 4.3 light years, a signal like our radio or TV technology diminishes via an inverse square law. Such signals would not be detectable at that distance.

    BTW: Our technology is tending toward FIOS or the current Comcast communications. There will likely be a time in the not too distant future when none of our ordinary broadcast signals could be picked up by equipment on Luna.

    Ordinary broadcast signals from a technological culture orbiting a star light years distant are likely to become (or already be) similarly undetectable at the Earth to Luna distance. ​

    It seems to me that directed signals (Google Aricebo) would have to be extremely precisely aimed to be detected by receivers circa 4.3 light years from the transmitters. Considering the orbital motions, this seems like a difficult task.
     
  2. Google AdSense Guest Advertisement



    to hide all adverts.
  3. mathman Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    2,002
    There is a difference between highly unlikely and impossible.
     
  4. Google AdSense Guest Advertisement



    to hide all adverts.
  5. DaveC426913 Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    18,935
    True.

    In which category do you put this?
     
  6. Google AdSense Guest Advertisement



    to hide all adverts.
  7. spidergoat pubic diorama Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    54,036
    Seems like an achievable engineering problem. The bad part would be the delay between sending and receiving a message.
     
  8. origin Heading towards oblivion Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    11,888
    Sure, but we would use a focussed beam so the signal would not drop off at 1/x^2.
     
  9. origin Heading towards oblivion Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    11,888
    It would be easy. We know the proper motion of alpha centauri and the signal would spread out quite a bit.
     
  10. timojin Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    3,252
    So would the signal be Meaningful ?
     
  11. DaveC426913 Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    18,935
    Certainly.
    Even if it contained no decipherable content, it would certainly be very informative to anyone who received it. It would have the single most important message of all:

    Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!

     
  12. Kittamaru Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. Adieu, Sciforums. Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    13,938
    Ultimately, it might be better to have a "relatively" stationary satellite somewhere towards the edge of either galaxy solar system act as an amplifier of sorts. Point an extremely narrow-band signal at the satellite, and have it re-broadcast a wider band out towards the planet in question - would mitigate dropoff over extreme distance, and maximize the chances of the signal reaching the receiving end..

    EDIT - corrected item of scale (galaxy to solar system) - I need more bloody sleep!
     
    Last edited: Jul 11, 2017
  13. timojin Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    3,252
    If it have taken years for a satellite to reach the outer part os our solar system , how long would it take to reach the edge of our galaxy ?
     
  14. Kittamaru Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. Adieu, Sciforums. Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    13,938
    I would think it is obvious that the supposition requires far greater technology than we currently have available?
     
  15. gmilam Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    3,522
    I think Kitt meant solar system.

    While interstellar communication may be possible - even if not practical, I think intergalactic communication would be totally unfeasible.
     
  16. Kittamaru Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. Adieu, Sciforums. Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    13,938
    Ah, my apologies - good catch gmilam - I am on the totally wrong scale! This is what having 6 hours of sleep over 3 days does to me 0o;
     
  17. James R Just this guy, you know? Staff Member

    Messages:
    39,397
    Voyager 1 is currently about 20.8 billion kilometres from the Sun. It was launched in 1977, so it has been travelling for about 40 years, which puts its speed at about 17 kilometres per second.

    The Milky Way has a diametre of about 100,000 light years, or about \(9.5\times 10^{17}\) km.

    So, if Voyager 1 travelled at its current speed, on average, it would take about 1.8 billion years to cross the galaxy.
     
    Last edited: Jul 14, 2017
  18. The God Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    3,546


    Our solar system is around 26000 light years away from centre, and assuming that Voyager 1 is moving away towards the edge of the Galaxy, then it needs to cover 24000 light years only to cross the edge, thus the time required would be only around 450 billion years (roughly 1800/4).
     
  19. timojin Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    3,252

    Those are fantastic number . I get to appreciate mother earth more and more , and the space does not become to realistic.
     
  20. James R Just this guy, you know? Staff Member

    Messages:
    39,397
    Correction: I made a slight error there and was out by a factor of 1000 (I used metres where I should have used kilometers). The trip across the galaxy for Voyager 1 would only (!) take 1.8 billion years, not 1.8 trillion years.

    (I have edited my original post above.)
     

Share This Page