SETI Scientists Think Alien Signals Could Be Hiding in Old Telescope Data
The water hole is not only a clear channel for communication, in other words, but one with real poetic resonance. But SETI scientists’ infatuation with this notion seems to be fading. New research presented by academics in the UK this Friday instead looks beyond the water hole, focusing on narrow-band signals that may be more likely to come from deliberate, directed transmissions.
- ▪The water hole is not only a clear channel for communication, in other words, but one with real poetic resonance.
- ▪But SETI scientists’ infatuation with this notion seems to be fading.
- ▪New research presented by academics in the UK this Friday instead looks beyond the water hole, focusing on narrow-band signals that may be more likely to come from deliberate, directed transmissions.
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| Original publisher | Gizmodo |
| Canonical URL | https://gizmodo.com/seti-scientists-think-alien-signals-could-be-hiding-in-old-telescope-data-2000790503 |
| Publication time | Fri, 24 Jul 2026 18:50:53 +0000 |
| Retrieval time | 2026-07-24T18:59:21.040Z |
| Last seen | 2026-07-24T18:59:21.040Z |
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Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
For over half a century, the astronomers and astrophysicists pursuing the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) have called it the “water hole.” The water hole is a quiet little gap in the cosmic background noise between 1.42 and 1.66 GHz, overlapping with the natural microwave-band frequencies emitted and absorbed by hydrogen and hydroxyl molecules, which react to form…
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