How The James Webb Space Telescope Could Detect Industrial Gases in Exoplanet Atmospheres

Chlorofluorocarbons are a potential signature of technological civilizations, say astronomers. And the next generation of observatories could spot them.

The Physics arXiv Blog iconThe Physics arXiv Blog
By The Physics arXiv Blog
Feb 28, 2022 3:40 PMFeb 28, 2022 11:06 PM
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(Credit: Vadim Sadovski/Shutterstock)

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In its earliest form the Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence involved the hunt for messages that other civilizations were actively broadcasting for us to pick up.

But another possibility is that these civilizations create passive technosignatures that we could spot, rather like the ordinary radio, TV and radar broadcasts that humans have been generating for a century. These, however, are much weaker.

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