Researchers have hypothesised in their new study that aliens living on foreign planets need to be technologically more advanced than human beings to detect radio signal leakages from Earth, reported Independent.
The experts simulated the leakage of radio signals from mobile towers and predicted what extraterrestrial life would see on Earth as near as six light years away.
Aliens that may be technologically advanced may not rely on current mobile tower radio signals leakages into space to detect human life, according to the findings published in the journal MNRAS.
The study stated that unless an alien civilisation is much more advanced than humans, “they will find it difficult to detect current levels of mobile tower radio leakage from Earth.”
The researchers also suggested that the detectability of mobile systems on Earth will increase substantially as more powerful broadband systems are adopted across Earth.
The findings of the study also suggested that Earth’s mobile radio signature includes a substantial contribution from Africa, shedding light on the continent’s transition into the digital age after bypassing the landline era.
A co-author Mike Garrett from Manchester University said: “I’ve heard many colleagues suggest that the Earth has become increasingly radio-quiet in recent years — a claim that I always contested — although it’s true we have fewer powerful TV and radio transmitters today, the proliferation of mobile communication around the world is profound.”
“While each system represents relatively low radio powers individually, the integrated spectrum of billions of these devices is substantial,” Dr Garrett said.
“I believe that there’s every chance advanced civilisations are out there, and some may be capable of observing the human-made radio leakage coming from planet Earth,” said Nalini Heeralall-Issur, another author of the study.
While studying further into the matter, scientists hope to examine the signal leakage from powerful civilian and military radars, new digital broadcast systems, Wi-Fi networks, individual mobile handsets and satellites like Elon Musk’s Starlink system.
“Current estimates suggest we will have more than one hundred thousand satellites in low Earth orbit and beyond before the end of the decade,” Dr Heeralall-Issur said.
“The Earth is already anomalously bright in the radio part of the spectrum; if the trend continues, we could become readily detectable by any advanced civilization with the right technology,” she said.
