The international SETI (Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence) programme recently involved the Sardinia Radio Telescope, equipped with a 64-metre diameter dish, to explore the central region of our galaxy in search of possible technological signals from alien civilisations.
The first results, which will be published in the journal Acta Astronautica, were presented during the International Congress of Astronautics in Milan. This initiative is the result of a collaboration between the National Institute of Astrophysics and the Breakthrough Listen project, which has been using the large Sardinian antenna to analyse specific radio frequency bands since 2022.
The Italian radio telescope examined signals from the central region of the Milky Way, rich in stars and planetary systems, and from 72 stars identified as “sources of interest” by NASA's Tess mission. “It is plausible that an extraterrestrial engineer might know and use radio technology, but we cannot predict the frequencies he might use,” explained Lorenzo Manunza of the University of Cagliari, who led the study.
The research team also includes Monica Mulas, Luca Pizzuto and Alice Vendrame from the University of Cagliari, along with Andrea Melis and Maura Pilia from INAF and other American researchers. “It is essential to cover as many radio channels as possible using a variety of observing facilities,” Manunza added. Although the research did not detect any messages traceable to alien civilisations, it remains of great value. “The Sardinia Radio Telescope,” said Melis, "is helping to reduce uncertainties about the power needed for any extraterrestrial transmitters to reach us in the frequencies observed so far.
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