Scientists are not ready to give up the search for stellar companions. A team from the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) proposed turning to red dwarf stars as part of the continuous search for alien life.
For more than 50 years, astronomers searched for signs of alien life in stars that are similar to ours. Since we have yet to find any direct evidence that we are not alone in the universe, SETI scientists proposed to widen the search net and scan the dimmest and oldest stars in the galaxy.
The red dwarfs are long-lived stars with low temperatures. They are so abundant that they make up approximately three-quarters of all the Milky Way stars.
They may be plentiful, but researchers have long dismissed them because astronomers theorized that alien species might be living on planets that orbit stars like our sun.
SETI Institute's Allen Telescope Array, which is set in Northern California's Cascade Mountains, will focus on these red dwarfs in the next two years. The instrument's 42 antennas can simultaneously analyze up to three stars.
The SETI scientists will look at about 20,000 red dwarfs, making the mission one of the biggest hunts for alien life so far.
"When you look at what's been done, the total number of stars that have been examined carefully is a few thousand. This is a lot more," said Seth Shostak a senior astronomer at SETI.
Every red dwarf ever existed is still shining today, despite not as bright as other stars. On average, these oldest stars are roughly billions of years older than other sun-like stars.
"This may be one instance in which older is better. Older solar systems have had more time to produce intelligent species," added Shostak.
Red dwarfs are both abundant and older. These suggested that there is a higher probability and time for life to develop. The researchers theorized that if other intelligent species are present in planets orbiting red dwarfs, then these systems are the best areas to conduct an investigation for other advanced life forms.
Photo: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center | Flickr
