---
title: "Astronomers hunting for aliens find new way to work out when they would contact us"
url: "https://usubjects.com/article/astronomers-hunting-for-aliens-find-new-way-to-work-out-when-they-would-contact-us-4587"
updated: "2026-11-05T16:13:30.234Z"
description: "Astronomers have proposed a method for estimating when an extraterrestrial civilisation might attempt contact, based on factors related to the development and detectability of technological societies. The item provides no evidence of an actual signal or contact."
sources: ["https://www.independent.co.uk/space/alien-extraterrestrial-seti-astronomy-b3079262.html"]
licence: "All rights reserved"
---

# Astronomers hunting for aliens find new way to work out when they would contact us

Published: 2026-11-04  
Source: [r/abovethenormnews](https://www.independent.co.uk/space/alien-extraterrestrial-seti-astronomy-b3079262.html)

### A New Strategy for SETI

Astronomers searching for evidence of extraterrestrial intelligence have proposed a new method for estimating **where and when an alien civilisation might attempt to contact Earth**. The approach, developed by researchers including scientists at the SETI Institute, applies concepts from game theory to the search for signals from technologically advanced societies.

The research does **not** report the detection of an alien transmission or provide evidence that contact has occurred. Instead, it offers a framework for deciding when radio telescopes should be pointed at particular regions of the sky. The central argument is that a successful search may depend not only on observing the right location, but also on listening at the moment another civilisation might independently choose to transmit.

### The “Schelling Point” in Space

The researchers draw on the game-theory concept known as a **Schelling point**—a choice that two parties might make independently when they cannot communicate in advance. A familiar example would be two people trying to meet in New York without being able to contact each other: both might choose a prominent location, such as Grand Central Station, at a commonly understood time.

Applied to SETI, the concept suggests that two civilisations could identify the same location or moment for communication without first coordinating. The researchers propose that the **anti-solar point**—the region of the sky directly opposite the Sun from Earth—could serve as one such natural meeting point.

Sofia Sheikh, a SETI Institute research scientist and co-lead author of the paper, said the problem extends beyond selecting a promising astronomical target. “**The challenge in SETI isn’t simply deciding where to point a telescope**,” Sheikh said. “It’s figuring out where and when another civilisation might choose to transmit. The anti-solar point gives us a way to think about that problem from the perspective of a potential sender, rather than just the receiver.”

### Why the Anti-Solar Point Matters

The proposed location is linked to the way astronomers discover planets beyond the Solar System. When a planet passes in front of its star, it produces a small dip in the star’s brightness, an event known as a **transit**. By studying these changes, observers can determine that a planet exists and learn about its orbit and position relative to its star.

An extraterrestrial civilisation observing Earth through the same method would see our planet transit the Sun. From Earth, that observing civilisation would appear in the opposite direction from the Sun—the anti-solar point. Because both societies could independently identify that alignment through astronomical observation, it could provide a logical location for a transmission, even without prior communication.

The researchers stress that there is **no evidence that extraterrestrial civilisations use the anti-solar point**, or that any signals are currently being sent from there. The proposal is instead intended to broaden the search beyond conventional strategies, which often focus on individual stars or planetary systems considered especially promising.

### Observations Underway

The idea is now being tested with observations using the **Allen Telescope Array** at the Hat Creek Radio Observatory in Northern California. Researchers plan to observe the relevant region approximately two or three nights each week, according to the source material. This represents the first observational search directed specifically at the proposed anti-solar alignment.

The approach could eventually help astronomers develop more targeted schedules for SETI observations, combining a likely location with a potentially meaningful time window. For now, however, it remains a hypothesis-driven experiment. Its significance lies not in a discovery, but in offering researchers a new way to consider the strategic choices a distant technological civilisation might make when deciding how—and whether—to announce its presence.

## Provenance

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