On Aliens and SETI Astronomy

Secret paths to alien contact

I have written many articles for the general public and this is the first exception to normal procedure. The projected audience for this article is extremely small and highly specialized, namely, SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) astronomers, whether professional or amateur. Indeed, I may go no further in the distribution of this article than post it to a few astronomy sites.

Articles are typically limited in the number of words they can contain. Consequently, I'm afraid it is not feasible for me to explain here how I know what I know. Information on that can be found elsewhere. You, as a SETI astronomer, want to know where to point your telescope and I can help you find the home planet of an ancient astronaut. Let's leave it at that.

The alien's planet lies about 650 light years from Earth. It lies within a nebula so neither the planet nor its star is visible to us, but that should not stop a communication from reaching us. Three stars, lying below the nebula, can be used to give us the longitudinal coordinates. These stars are Kappa, Theta, and Lambda of the constellation Scorpius. It seems best to imagine these stars as representing points on a celestial sphere lying those 650 light years from our solar system. Then calculate the mid-point between Kappa and Theta, and from there, draw a line through Lambda and around the celestial sphere. The appearance of the celestial sphere changes over time, but at some point in time, likely no later than the year 9014 A.D., the star arrow will collide with the alien's planet.

Next, we must turn to the planets of our solar system for timing the star arrow as well as for obtaining the latitude (the star arrow only sets the longitude). On the surface, there seems to be little chance that a planetary arrow, any planetary arrow, could strike the alien's planet at the same time as the star arrow by sheer coincidence. Here is not the place to discuss that and, once again, you can find more information elsewhere. For now, just assume that the matter was taken care of.

The starting point of the planetary arrow is the planet Mars and this means that the celestial sphere of stars needs to viewed as it appears from Mars, not from Earth. From Mars, we need to draw a line through Charon (Pluto's satellite) and out into deep space. This planetary arrow will strike the alien's planet at the same time the star arrow does. The two arrows will collide on the alien's planet inside the nebula and, since we already know the distance, we effectively wind up with the three-dimensional galactic coordinates of the alien's planet.

Please recall that Pluto's orbit is sharply inclined to the planetary plane, so the alien's planet could lie well above or below the plane of our solar system, Also note, for precise timing, other solar system events are occurring simultaneously:

1) The planets Neptune, Uranus, and Venus are in a line. There's an interplanetary eclipse: viewing inward from Neptune, Venus is hidden from sight by the outer edge of Uranus.

2) Neptune, Moon (Earth's satellite), Sun, and Jupiter are also lined up. Again viewing from Neptune, Jupiter appears in the phase of full whiteness.

Since Pluto orbits the Sun only once every couple of hundred years, one could start by checking out the solar system every time Pluto is pointing out to the skies above the constellation of Scorpius. When that happens, check if Neptune and Uranus (two other slow-orbiting planets) are close together, and if so, check out the inner planets. Currently available astronomy software should be up to the task of working it out in detail.

There are strong indications that the alien’s planet would be most accessible from countries in the southern hemisphere. From the north, there may still be a direct line to the alien’s planet from low on the horizon. Meanwhile, I have yet to find that the alien informs us of the type of signal that will be coming our way. Therefore, my advice to SETI astronomers is to concentrate on finding the coordinates and not to worry too much about wave frequencies. Logically, if the alien is serious about convincing us that he was here, he will send his signal across multiple wavelengths.

The primary source of information for this article can be found on my Spanish-language website Senderos Secretos de la Sabiduría in three chapters: Sendero 3, Sefira 7, and Sefira 8. If you are a SETI enthusiast, please consider mentioning this article on Facebook or your favorite social site to help bring it to the attention of independent SETI astronomers.

SETI Links:

SETI Argentina          SETI Australia          SETI Russia

Recommended Reading: Seth Shostak's Confessions of an Alien Hunter: A Scientist's Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence.