When it comes to the search for extraterrestrial intelligence in the universe, we face a complex problem: what exactly should we look for?
In addition to the old question of whether there is an intelligent life in the universe, there is also the question of whether we will be able to determine that we are dealing with extraterrestrial civilization, when and if we find it.
Bearing in mind that humanity has experience with only one civilization (ours with you), we are trying to find traces of the technological presence of other civilizations in the form in which they are known to us.
In a new study, an astronomer from the Canary Institute of Astrophysics, Canary Islands, Spain, suggests looking for vast belts of artificial planets satellites in systems of distant stars – a concept that was proposed by the great Arthur C. Clark (also known as Clark’s Belt).
In his new work Hector Socas-Navarro shows that with the help of new-generation telescopes we will be able to detect traces of wide belts of artificial satellites located in geostationary orbits around planets lying in systems of distant stars.
Currently, the “Clark Belt” around the Earth form about 400 such satellites – located in the geostationary orbit, whose height is 36,000 kilometers.
However, when we try to find Clark Belts, we are faced with one problem: it turns out that to find the belt of satellites, it is necessary that there are billions of satellites in it, while in the orbit around the Earth there are currently only a few hundred satellites, the author points out.
