A new study claims that aliens are watching us and snooping on significant locations throughout the Earth using ultra-advanced telescopes millions of light years away. However, there is one catch: they do not observe us in real-time. Instead, there could be a 3,000-year wait due to the time it takes for light to travel through space. So, most likely, aliens can identify buildings and constructions erected on Earth by the Romans, Greeks, Indians, and Egyptians.
The peer-reviewed research, titled “Are we visible to advanced alien civilizations?” will be published in Acta Astronautica in March 2024.
According to author ZN Osmanov, a Research Affiliate at the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) institute, the maximum distance for potential detection of Earth-based activities by an extraterrestrial civilization is 3000 light-years, an estimate based on physical laws.
It suggests that aliens could utilize massive, powerful telescopes to spy on our historical landmarks. The study sought to estimate our detectability by categorizing alien civilizations according to their technological developments.
Proposed alien classifications based on energy consumption: Type-I, Type-II, Type-III
These classifications are based on the ability of alien societies to capture energy from their local star. The proposed categories are shown below: Type-I consumes all of the energy incident on a planet from its star; Type-II uses the overall energy of the star; and Type-III is an advanced culture that eats all galactic energy.
The paper reads: “In particular, the question is: might the products of our modern society be seen and potentially detected by the telescopes of ETs?
The study reads: “In particular, the question is: can the artifacts of our technological society be visible and potentially detectable by the telescopes of ETs?
“Since the question is to identify our society with civilization, the major focus should be on the search for large ships, buildings space satellites, etc. Such artifacts might easily be identified as artificial constructions.
“For this purpose, it is natural to focus on the visible light reflected from the corresponding objects. To identify an observed object with an artificial one, the best way is to spatially resolve it. Therefore, optical telescopes will be used.”