What happened on March 1994, near the eastern shore of Lake Michigan? The Netflix series, "Unsolved Mysteries," explores this question in its third episode. Was this a UFO sighting or something less spectacular? Was it some type of never-before-seen natural weather phenomenon or simply a mass hallucination that had hundreds of residents convinced they saw something impossible in the night sky?
Here's a look at what we know about the 1994 UFO sighting, what we don't and what might really have happened in Michigan.
A State of Alien-nation?
According to the National UFO Reporting Center, there have been 3,485 unexplained encounters in Michigan since 1940. And Michigan isn't the only state with a long history of possible UFO sightings. In Arizona, 4,735 potential sightings have been reported, while in California, the number tops 15,000.
There's also the recent release of an unclassified report by the federal government that speaks to the efforts of the Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force in collecting and analyzing UFO reports from military aviators and reliable defensive systems. In other words, while there's no definitive proof that aliens have visited Earth, the government isn't ruling out the possibility.
The Michigan Mystery
On the night of March 8, 1994, more than 300 residents living along Lake Michigan called 911 to report oddities in the night sky. Citizens reported seeing four large lights moving across the lake shore at high speed, periodically combining together and then splitting apart again. The stories told by residents were consistent, if hard to believe, and suggested that something strange really was happening.
Of course, it's easy to dismiss these reports as the sort of shared perceptive problems that can happen when large groups of people get together and compare notes. At least, it would be, if it weren't for a very interesting phone call between Holland, Michigan, police officer Jeff Velthouse and National Weather Service meteorologist Jack Bushong, who was stationed in Muskegon County.
After being contacted by residents and seeing the lights for himself, Velthouse called Bushong and asked him to take a look at his radar. What he saw was shocking: thumbnail-sized blips on the radar screen that were moving fast and unpredictably. Given that planes appear as small dots on weather radar scopes, the thumbnail size suggested something much bigger.
"There were three and sometimes four blips," said Bushong. "And they weren't planes. Planes show up as pinpoints on the scope; these were the size of half a thumbnail. They were from 5 to 12,000 feet at times, moving all over the place. Three were moving toward Chicago. I never saw anything like it before, not even when I'm doing severe weather."
He tracked them until they reached the south end of Lake Michigan, where he observed about a dozen similar objects that remained stationary for two hours. Then — as quick as they came — they were gone.
Unpacking the UFO Encounter
To this day, there's no adequate explanation for the 1994 UFO sighting. A year after the event, the Chicago Tribune reported that researchers had ruled out small planes, weather balloons, marsh gases, falling stars and military aircraft as the source of the sighting. Leo Grenier, director of the National Weather Service in Muskegon at the time of the incident, believed there was an "earthly explanation" for what happened but refused to elaborate, saying, "Once I retire from the National Weather Service, I might tell somebody." He never did.
Bushong, meanwhile, went largely silent after the event for fear that he'd be fired for his comments about it and the fact that the comments were recorded. "I'm supposed to be a scientist and skeptical," he said in an interview with WOODTV. But with the government going public about potential UFO sightings, Bushong said he feels vindicated. "Now, with the military coming out and saying the same thing I was 30 years ago, I can finally say to people, 'I told you so,'" he said.
What really happened that fateful March night in Michigan? We may never know for sure. The consistent nature of resident reports combined with National Weather Service radar evidence makes it clear that something strange was going on, but lacking details beyond the fact that these objects were fast, bright and moving erratically, there's not much to go on. The result is a frustrating lack of satisfactory answers. Could the mystery have an earthbound explanation? Absolutely. Could it be the work of alien observers? Possibly.
Either way, the incident ranks as one of the country's top unsolved mysteries, and it's a night that residents, law enforcement and radar operators will never forget.
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Unsolved Mysteries: Michigan UFOs or Massive Misunderstanding?

NASA is officially in the search for UFOs. In June, the government organization announced that it would provide scientific context to the Pentagon's ongoing UFO investigations.It's a controversial field, to say the least. Last year, the Director of National Intelligence issued a UFO report on 140+ unexplained object sightings. But NASA is clear that they do not believe these UFOs are of alien origin, so why are they launching this investigation? Here's the deal behind what's happening.NASA Hasn't Always Thought Fondly of Searching for UFOsNASA has a long history with UFOs. The term dates back to the 1950s — even the very first astronauts reported seeing unidentified objects during their flights. Apollo 16 astronauts captured a UFO in footage, and it remained a decades-long mystery. But in 2004, NASA determined that the object in question was actually a floodlight attached to the spacecraft.One of NASA's core missions is to explore the unknown, and the agency has sent out multiple spacecraft to explicitly search for signs of present and past alien life. The Voyager spacecraft even harbored messages for alien civilizations. But NASA has always declined to engage with the conversation around UFOs.Now, that's changed. NASA is assembling a team to study "unidentified aerial phenomena" (UAPs) headed by David Spergel, a respected astrophysicist. They'll be building on the work of other governmental agencies, such as the Pentagon, but NASA is working on this project independently.Other Agencies Have Already Begun Studying UFOsNASA certainly isn't the first official organization to commission a study on UFOs. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence, located within the Pentagon, released a UFO report in 2021. That report makes clear that 143 of 144 UAP sightings are unexplained. This report was followed by a congressional hearing on UFOs in May 2022.But the study of UFOs within the U.S. government goes back much further than this. While NASA is only entering the fray now, Project Blue Book was a secret investigation by the U.S. Air Force into UAPs that took place from 1947 to 1969 (that supposedly included information on the Roswell incident of 1947). The report was later declassified, and of a total of 12,618 UAP sightings during the investigation period, 701 still do not have explanations.Research on UAPs, especially within the military, continues to the present day. In 2020, the Department of Defense established the Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force (UAPTF), which is located within the Department of the Navy. The chief interest of UAPTF is cataloging unidentified objects and determining whether they might pose a threat to national security. This has been the primary driver of virtually all search for UFOs within the US government — until now.NASA Brings a Scientific Perspective to the Search for UFOsNASA has made one thing clear: The organization does not believe that UAPs are of extraterrestrial origin. But that doesn't mean that they aren't worth studying, which is why the agency is building this team. The aim here is to gather as much data as possible on these phenomena in order to improve UAP observations going forward."Given the paucity of observations, our first task is simply to gather the most robust set of data that we can," said David Spergel, the committee president, in a NASA release. "We will be identifying what data — from civilians, government, non-profits, companies — exists, what else we should try to collect, and how to best analyze it."The results of this study will be available to the general public, unlike the Pentagon's research. Anyone will be able to see what NASA finds in its search for UFOs.Interested in all things in outer space and exploration? We are too. Take a look at open positions at Northrop Grumman and consider joining our team.

NASA Is Joining the Search for UFOs - But Not Because They Believe Aliens are the Cause

Let's face it: discovering where something came from can be confoundingly difficult. Tracing human lineage is hard, even with gene sequencing at our fingertips. Microscopic life unexpectedly pops up every day in places it shouldn't, like the outside of the space station. As for picking ancient nanobacteria out of billion-year-old space rubble: even if we found nanobacteria, how could we be certain about its origins? After all, for almost a decade, we didn't even know that the now-famous Alan Hills Martian meteorite came from Mars. To answer the long-standing question, "Is there life on Mars?" humankind needs to level up its sleuthing skills or make fundamental changes in how we look for exobiology. Or, perhaps, we can do both. Leveling Up by Looking Inward Knowing what you're looking at is a good first step toward finding what you're looking for. After being spotted during an Antarctic snowmobile ride in 1984, the oldest Mars meteorite discovered to date was erroneously identified as a fragment of an asteroid named 4 Vesta. The space rock, thereafter known as "ALH 84001," remained mislabeled until 1996, when NASA geochemist David Mittlefehldt found orthopyroxenite in the 4.5 billion-year-old sample. Orthopyroxenite is known to have formed when magma overflowed onto the surface of Mars when that planet was very young. So young, in fact, that this particular magma was on the surface of Mars at the same time that water might have been there in abundance. Indeed, ALH 84001's chemistry is such that, as this particular piece of magma cooled, it interacted with water and captured gasses from the Martian atmosphere. When it was discovered that the ingredients for Martian life — water, warmth and a (comparatively) thick atmosphere — were all in the same place at the same time as ALH 84001, that mislabeled meteorite went on to become one of the most studied rocks in history. Shortly thereafter, extremely tiny structures that resembled Earth's own nanobacteria were found within the rock. All at once, "Is there life on Mars, and did we just find it?" became the question of the hour, the week and the entire career of some astrobiologists. Though some still believe that these worm-like forms, which are only 0.00002 millimeters wide, may be evidence of ancient life on Mars, many astrobiologists agree that it's less likely that these structures represent once-living nanobacteria than nanobes: 500 nanometer-wide structures that form inorganically. Looking for life in ALH 84001 turned out to be a lesson in how looks can be, if not deceiving, at least confusing. The more carefully we looked at smaller and smaller slices of the meteorite, the less certain it became that what we were looking at had ever been alive, or perhaps had been a part of something that was once alive. In other words, structures alone couldn't tell us. The chemistry alone couldn't tell us, either. The same chemicals often appear both where life both is and where it is not. When a rover finds methane on the surface of Mars, we wonder, "Did a life form make this or not?" In simple terms, trying to answer the question, "Is there life on Mars?" based on what life looks like to someone from Earth has thus far been difficult and unsatisfying. Looking for chemical traces of what life might have left behind billions of years ago brings its own challenges. Methane from a peat bog on Earth may, chemically, look indistinguishable from methane retrieved from the surface of an asteroid, comet or Mars rover sample. Fortunately, there may be a way to look at the chemistry not in terms of what's there, but in terms of what shouldn't be there. A potentially necessary shift in the search for life may involve asking the question, "Is there any way to get these molecules without life being involved?" A Shift Toward Energetic Evidence The next big leap in finding nanobacteria and other life — fossilized or otherwise — may be Agnostic Biosignatures. Agnostic biosignatures are signs of chemical complexity. Any body in the universe may have carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen and oxygen on, over or beneath its surface. The energy necessary to transform raw materials like carbon and oxygen into complex byproducts like sugar often comes from what we call life. This definition of life as we know it doesn't have a particular form. It doesn't come from a certain type of place. In this case, the definition of life is boiled down to its absolute essential function: a self-replicating, self-contained series of processes that uses energy to turn simple ingredients into something less simple. In other words, by this method, we look for lifeforms without form — or, at least, without forms we can easily recognize — by focusing on their functions instead. Practical application of the agnostic biosignatures approach requires a thorough understanding of the planetary environment and a bit of energetic accounting. Astrobiologists like Heather Graham at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center take a thorough look at the basic chemistry of an environment, examining how much carbon, oxygen, etc. is present. Then they look at what minerals and complex molecules are present. Comparing the basic ingredients with the complex components they find, Dr. Graham, Dr. Johnson and others who work in the field of life detection then ask: Is this assemblage possible given the amount of energy in the environment? Or would it require more energy? If complex molecules are present, but the energy in the system isn't sufficient to have formed them, the next best answer for how those molecules may have gotten there isâ€¦ life! But life from where? Interplanetary Family Trees What complicates the search for life more than anything else? If it could be summed up in a word, that word might be panspermia. Panspermia is the idea that all living things have a common origin — that the tree of life arose from a single seed capable of taking root in the wider universe. Panspermia may sound like it grew out of science fiction. In fact, the idea of life everywhere in the Universe having a single origin has been considered by many cultures, philosophers, scientists and even a Nobel Prize winner, Svante Arrhenius. Arrhenius wasn't an astrobiologist, an astronomer or a geologist. He was an electrochemist who laid the groundwork for studies of what we now know as the greenhouse effect. Svante Arrhenius was a master of the interplay between chemistry and energy, and it seemed reasonable to him, and to many scientists since, that if all matter and energy in the Universe had a common origin, all life might too. Whether or not all life everywhere has a common ancestor, extant life on Earth and past (or present) life on Mars might have one. Lithopanspermia — the idea that rocks could have carried the blueprints for life back and forth between the third and fourth planets from the Sun — means that, on some level, life on Mars might be difficult to distinguish from life on Earth. Carbon-dating might tell us how long ago life on Mars began, how long it hung on and when it ceased. However, carbon dating cannot tell us if life on Mars started on Earth, or vice versa. If the samples currently being collected by Curiosity return to Earth with evidence of life, energetic or otherwise, nanobacteria, or something bigger, the next task may be to determine if that long-gone life arose on Mars, or if it started on Earth and made its way to Mars. If fossilized life from Mars ends up looking like something that descended from the oldest branch of Earth's family tree, we may have the opportunity to ask ourselves who the aliens among us are. Interested in all things in outer space and exploration? We are too. Take a look at open positions at Northrop Grumman and consider joining our team. 

The Hard Call: Looking for Life on Mars Amid Rubble, Rocks and Soil Samples

Planets outside our solar system that orbit stars are known as exoplanets. Since 1992, scientists have discovered more than 3,500 exoplanets, according to the Christian Science Monitor. Until now, they haven't been able to determine if any exoplanets contained life. However, recent work by Nexus for Exoplanet System Science (NExSS), synthesized by Science Daily, could be cause for optimism. The research outlines new tools and techniques that may help us answer the burning question: "Is there life beyond Earth?" Looking for Signatures of Life NASA formed NExSS in an effort to pool existing scientific knowledge and methods. The group includes scientists from four research communities — astrophysicists, heliophysicists, planetary scientists and Earth scientists — with the goal of "elevating the visibility and priority of exoplanet science research." "While it is impossible to detect life directly on far away planets, we can look for tell-tale signs or 'biosignatures,'" said Carlos Niederstrasser, a master systems engineer with Northrop Grumman. NExSS reported that there are two primary biosignatures to search for that indicate life on exoplanets: oxygen levels and color, like algae blooms or leaves, said Science Daily.  Scientists use Earth-based telescopes to make these observations. One method, said Niederstrasser, is to pass the light reflected from a planet through a spectrograph, which breaks up the light into its spectrum colors much like a prism makes a rainbow. These spectra can span not just the visual colors, but also infrared and ultraviolet wavelengths which the eye cannot naturally see. "The resulting spectra gives us an insight into what chemicals and gases are in a planet's atmosphere," he said. Searching for Exoplanets  NASA describes the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), which launched on April 18, as, "the next step in the search for planets outside of our solar system, including those that could support life." During its mission, TESS will search for exoplanets by "surveying 200,000 of the brightest stars near the sun." Scientists will analyze the data collected by TESS to determine which exoplanets merit further examination. TESS will then look at the planets to see if they could potentially hold signs of life, said NASA. Don't Fall for Tricks The search for far-off life isn't foolproof. One danger is falling for "tricks," or false indications of life. For example, planets can produce oxygen without harboring life, according to Space.com. Scientists need to think about the ways that planets can "trick" them and find other ways to identify other biosignatures. Is There Life Beyond Earth? The Drake Equation, named for astronomer Frank Drake, is a complex formula that provides a rough estimate for the odds of finding other forms of life in the universe, according to Space.com. More recently, NASA scientists have used the Drake Equation to determine that the odds that Earth is the only planet with life are 1 in 10 billion trillion, according to NASA. Now here's the catch: Many of these exoplanets are thousands of light years away. That means if we do find signs of life, we can't be sure that whatever organism we're seeing is still alive. Worse, communicating directly with a far-off life form is impossible because of the time difference. In the case of the closest star to our system — Proxmia Centauri — the lag is 4.2 light-years. Proxima Centauri also hosts an Earth-like planet, according to Space.com. The search for life on other planets continues; who knows what we will find? If working on technology to better improve our understanding of space appeals to you, check out our careers page to see the exciting opportunities that await.

Is There Life Beyond Earth? Exoplanets May Hold the Key

Every factory that produces a product has the instructions and infrastructure to make it happen. There are workers, assembly lines, maintenance crews, power supplies, packagers and, of course, the blueprints. Nature has factories, too. They are biological cells, which also contain workers (ribosomes), assembly lines (endoplasmic reticulum), maintenance crews (lysosomes), power supplies (mitochondria or chloroplasts), packagers (Golgi apparatuses) and the blueprints (DNA molecules) that manufacture goods (proteins and enzymes).   Recently, scientists have tapped into new manufacturing techniques that merge the principles of human-made factories with cellular biology. The result is synthetic biology. In this area of research, scientists draw from chemistry to build and assemble DNA molecules, the life-giving genetic code inside every cell. Pieced together in new ways, these synthesized molecules perform new tasks or produce instructions that, when inserted into a cell, prompt the cell to output a novel product. They could make new antibiotics, feed nutrients to crops and even store digital data. In addition, techniques from synthetic biology were recently used to build an exotic strand of DNA that could form the basis of alien life. Here are just a few of the nearly infinite possibilities this new field offers.   Make New Antibiotics   Antibiotic-resistant bacteria is a global threat to human health. About 2 million people are infected with antibiotic-resistant bacteria each year in the United States, and at least 23,000 people die, according to the Centers for Disease Control. A handful of companies are harnessing the tools of synthetic biology to engineer microbes that produce new classes of antibiotics, which could save millions of lives.   In 2018, for instance, the University of Plymouth in the U.K. spun out the company Amprologix, based on research by Mathew Upton, a professor in medical microbiology. Upton devised a method for genetically engineering bacteria to produce epidermicin, a compound called a peptide that's made of amino acids and destroys the cell membrane of bacteria, causing them to die. In laboratory tests, epidermicin killed methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus, also known as MRSA, as well as streptococcus and enterococcus, even if the microbes had shown resistance to other antibiotics.   In partnership with the company Ingenza, based in Edinburgh, Scotland, Amprologix will develop a cream that contains epidermicin. A single dose has been shown to be as effective as six doses of the antibiotics currently used to treat MRSA infections, the University of Plymouth reports.   Reduce Nitrogen Pollution in Agriculture   Farmers everywhere use nitrogen fertilizer to grow staple crops such as corn, wheat and rice. Globally, fertilizer use has gone up 25 percent since 2008, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. Excess nitrogen pollutes the air and causes toxic algal blooms in lakes, rivers and oceans. A new business partnership between Gingko Bioworks and Bayer, a German multinational pharmaceutical and life sciences company, could help farmers reduce the use of nitrogen fertilizer, reports Xconomy.   The venture, Boston-based Joyn Bio, will tap into the Bayer's vast database of agricultural microbes, looking for those with genes that allow the microorganism to convert nitrogen from the atmosphere into the kind of nitrogen nutrient plants need to thrive. Researchers will then rely on Gingo Bioworks's "foundry" of new manufacturing systems that quickly make, read, test and edit strands of DNA to find the best, most effective sequences. The DNA sequences are then inserted into microbes, which can be colonized in large batches. Planted with seeds, the microbes grow with the roots and encourage the kind of symbiotic relationship between bacteria and plant that already exists naturally in legumes. Essentially, the microbes "fix" nitrogen for the plant and, in return, the plant produces food-like sugar for the microbes. The goal is a future of sustainable farming, where growers use far less nitrogen while achieving the same or better yields, the companies said in a press statement.   Store Digital Data   All the genetic code needed to make a biologically functioning human resides in a strand of DNA. That's about 6 gigabytes of information, according to Decoded Science. The ability to store so much complex information in the microscopic space of a molecule is mind-boggling. All the data in the world could be contained in three gallons of DNA, reports Nanalyze. And DNA is a stable molecule that theoretically could last a million years. It should come as no surprise, then, to find that some synthetic biology companies are developing methods for storing data in DNA.   Twist Bioscience, based in San Francisco, is one such company. It has a technique for storing digital data, the 1s and 0s of computer language, into the genetic code of DNA, the nucleotide bases of adenine (A), cytosine (C), guanine (G), and thymine (T). In 2017, researchers at the company accurately stored and retrieved about 140 megabytes of digital audio — "Smoke on the Water" by Deep Purple and "Tutu" by Miles Davis — in DNA, they reported in a press statement. That same year, the company partnered with Microsoft to test the feasibility of longtime storage using DNA. In collaboration with the University of Washington, Twist Bioscience and Microsoft launched the #MemoriesInDNA Project to compile "10,000 original images from around the world to preserve them indefinitely in synthetic DNA."   According to a spokesperson from Twist Bioscience, DNA storage could provide a new type of medium for files that need to last for long periods of time but may be read infrequently. Instead of putting archival files on hard drives or thumb drives, future generations will secure them in DNA, where they will keep for thousands of years.   Hint at Alien Life   As stated previously, DNA contains four nucleotide bases — adenine (A), cytosine (C), guanine (G), and thymine (T). In February 2019, a NASA-funded research team used synthetic biology to make DNA with eight nucleotide bases. To A, C, G, and T they added P, B, Z and S. They named the new molecule "hachimoji," from the Japanese "hachi," meaning "eight," and "moji," meaning "letter." According to a press statement, the synthetic hachimoji DNA is structurally sound and, like regular DNA, can store, transmit and evolve information in living systems. It's not a life form, but a model of a genetic structure different from our own that could still sustain self-replicating life. The research team, led by Steven Benner at the Foundation for Applied Molecular Evolution, published their results in Science.   But why make such a DNA? According the statement, the team saw it as a viable way for recognizing alien life. "By carefully analyzing the roles of shape, size and structure in hachimoji DNA, this work expands our understanding of the types of molecules that might store information in extraterrestrial life on alien worlds," Benner said in the press statement.   As the world faces pressing global health and environmental problems, new manufacturing methods are providing novel solutions to humanity. And like technological revolutions before it — such as the industrial revolution, the "green revolution" for agricultural and the information technology revolution for computers, synthetic biology is rising up. No doubt, it will shape the future of business and society.   

From Antibiotics to Aliens: The Potential of Synthetic Biology

"Negative energy" sounds like something that Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock would have used to get out of a jam in the original Star Trek series. And appropriately enough, as Science Alert reports, using negative energy to draw energy from black holes was first proposed by physicist Roger Penrose in 1969, back when classic Trek was still airing new episodes. Penrose's work earned him a belated Nobel Prize just last year. And in an interesting bit of synchronicity, new studies suggest that negative energy could not only be the ultimate power supply but also a way to look for alien life and seek out new civilizations. Kirk and Spock would surely have approved. Tapping Into the Ergosphere Black holes, in spite of their name, can be some of the brightest objects in the universe. The reason is that a black hole's intense gravity field pulls down any matter it captures. The captured material is accelerated to nearly the speed of light, releasing enormous energy when infalling streams collide. But this process is only a starting point for drawing energy from black holes. New research published in the scientific journal Physical Review D indicates that rotational energy already captured by the black hole can be extracted by tapping into a region called the ergosphere. As Universe Today reports, the ergosphere is located just barely above the event horizon that cuts the black hole off from the outside universe. The black hole's rotating magnetic field produces a breaking and reconnection of magnetic lines of force, and the extreme conditions within the ergosphere ramp up the resulting magnetic particle collisions to maximum intensity. Delivering 150% Under the right conditions, such collisions can cause one particle — or an entire particle stream — to fall through the event horizon, acquiring negative energy. The other particle (or stream) picks up a corresponding amount of positive energy and shoots out the ergosphere, carrying more energy than it started with. This doesn't quite count as magical free energy from black holes, because the particles that fall through the event horizon cause the black hole's rotation to slow down. But in the meantime, there's plenty of stored-up energy from black holes that a sufficiently advanced civilization could draw on. And because of this stored energy, a black hole power extraction system could potentially run at 150% efficiency, according to Universe Today — an efficiency rating we associate with athletes, perhaps, but not actual power generators. The Sound of Magic What's more, in yet another bit of intriguing synchronicity that so often pops up in science, Science Alert reports that a separate research project gave experimenters a foretaste — or at least a fore-listen — of what more than 100% efficiency sounds like. We do not yet have anything close to the technology needed to tap energy from a black hole. We don't even have the tech to simulate the black hole with a fast-spinning metal cylinder, as one physicist proposed in 1971. But a research team in Scotland realized that the Penrose Effect could be demonstrated using sound waves, which are easier to work with because they travel a million times slower than light waves. By spinning a disk faster than sound, speakers mounted on the disk could be made to put out sound at negative frequencies — not quite as weird as negative energy, but still pretty weird. And when the experiment was run, the sound that came out of the speakers was 30% louder than the power that fed into them could have produced, according to Science Alert. Sound energy was being drawn from the rotating disk by a process analogous to drawing energy from black holes. To Seek Out New Civilizations Energy from black holes is pretty awesome, but where does alien life fit in? According to Live Science, while we don't yet have the ability to plug our power cables into a black hole, advanced civilizations out there may be able to do exactly that. And if someone is doing it, we do have the technology needed to detect it. "Since fast magnetic reconnection in the ergosphere should occur intermittently in the scenario proposed here, the associated emission within a few gravitational radii from the black hole is expected to display a bursty nature," the report abstract in Physical Review D states. This doesn't necessarily mean that any "bursty" emission from a spinning black hole must be a sign of alien life. But it does give us a guide as to where and how to look for potential signs of power production by advanced alien civilizations. So, stay tuned! Interested in all things in outer space and exploration? We are, too. Take a look at open positions at Northrop Grumman and consider joining our team.

Could Alien Life Draw Energy from Black Holes?

Key Takeaways  80% of the oceans are unmapped and unexplored. New species are still being discovered in the ocean depths. Analysis of ocean floor and deep sea data frequently show strange phenomena.Are aliens in the ocean? The answer may surprise you — or it won't, since the chances of this sunken sea evidence being tied to extraterrestrials are slim to none. Still, it's worth taking a deeper dive to discover exactly what's down there and consider potential alien alternatives.Water, Water EverywhereDespite accounting for more than 70% of our planet's surface, 80% of our oceans are "unmapped, unobserved, and unexplored," according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.So, it's no surprise that scientists are constantly coming across new ocean oddities. Consider work from Brazilian ichthyologist Luiz Rocha, whose work in the "twilight zone" (depths between 200 and 500 feet deep where the light is dim and the temperature is cold) has uncovered more than 30 new species. There's also the recently discovered "water world," properly called TOI-1452b, a planet that could feature a giant, global liquid ocean. Researchers plan to take a closer look at this watery wonder using the James Webb Space Telescope.Put simply? No matter where we look, there's water. And if it's so important to us, maybe it's critical for alien life. And maybe, just maybe, they've been here all along.Hole-y Moley!Let's get down to it.First on our list of possible alien evidence is the discovery of a circular seafloor hill 352 miles off the coast of Lima. The hill is 4.2 miles in diameter and, based on images taken from Google Earth, appears to be out of place with the rest of the rough ocean floor topography. Its seemingly perfect circle shape has led to speculation that a crashed alien ship is hiding underneath, but chances are slim.Why? First, the sighting came from a website that regularly claims natural phenomena are proof positive of alien existence. Second, the picture was generated using Google Earth, which itself uses multiple data sources stitched together to create ocean-floor images. As a result, visual artifacts are common.Next up are the holes discovered by a remotely operated vehicle along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, which is part of the world's largest mountain range. During a dive on July 23, 2022, the vehicle found "tracks" of holes on the sea floor. The holes appear at repeating distances and are surrounded by small mounds of sediment, suggesting that someone — or something — is responsible for their creation. This isn't the first hole happening, either. In 2004, a team from the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service found similar sets of holes and sediment while exploring the ocean floor. The likely explanation? "Lebensspuren," which is German for "life traces" and suggests that the holes may be the work of living marine organisms.Not surprisingly, some alien enthusiasts have taken the repetitive nature of the pattern and ascribed it to alien life. While that's not beyond the realm of possibility, it does seem a bit strange that aliens would focus their time and effort on making small ocean-floor holes for humans to find. Other explanations include some type of natural phenomena, or even human excavation and research efforts that may have distributed deep-sea sediment.Trawling for TechAlong with aliens that have existed undetected for centuries on the sea floor, there's also speculation that alien technology may have crash-landed in our oceans. That's what Professor Avi Loeb of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics suggests. He's focused on a meteor that hit Earth's atmosphere in 2014 and then exploded into fragments that rained down over the Pacific Ocean. Loeb contends that object CNEOS 2014-01-08 was moving at 40 kilometers per second and was "moving much too fast to be bound to the sun." As a result, he says it predates Oumuamua, detected in 2017, as the first interstellar object passing through our solar system.Loeb now has his sights set on exploring the ocean floor to see if he can find traces of this object and determine if they might actually be alien technology. Not surprisingly, the plan was met with skepticism. Why? First, there's the fact that it's exceedingly difficult to take accurate measurements of head-on speed before meteors crash into the atmosphere, meaning the object in question may not be interstellar. Second, any debris remaining after the impact would be extremely small — a few grams or less — and there's no way to pinpoint a specific search area. In other words, this really is a needle in a haystack - or drop in the ocean - situation.Are there aliens in the ocean? Probably not. But that doesn't mean we should stop looking. If nothing else, there's an opportunity for even more exciting sea-floor surprises.Northrop Grumman's uncrewed systems help push the boundaries of deep sea exploration and security. Learn more.

Aliens in the Ocean: Is Sea-ing Believing?

Sometimes, the greatest challenges in science come from discovering nothing. This is what a team of biologists encountered during their search for microbes in the rugged mountain ranges of Antarctica. When they reached the most remote and desolate sites, they didn't find any microbes — the samples they collected were fully inorganic soil. This (non) discovery has major implications in the search for alien life, especially on Mars. It also touches on a core challenge in the philosophy of science: How should scientists interpret negative results? A "Massively Contaminated" Planet Searching for microbes — a.k.a microorganisms — on Earth doesn't usually leave you with nothing to show for your efforts. According to Discovery.com, a spoonful of ordinary soil has billions of microbes, and even samples from the harshest deserts will yield thousands of them. Microbes have been found in hot springs with water at near boiling-point temperatures, and they can even survive in airless space. As one biologist told IFLScience, "This is Earth. This is an environment that is massively contaminated with life." This is precisely why microbial ecologist Noah Fierer and doctoral candidate Nicholas Dragone expected to find something when they tested Antarctic soil samples for the presence of life. At first, while working their way up the slopes of the Transantarctic Mountains above Shackleton Glacier, they did find traces of hardy microbes. According to National Geographic, as the exploration team helicoptered to higher slopes, signs of life dwindled in the samples they collected. Finally, at a windswept elevation of 7,000 feet on Schroeder Hill and Roberts Massif, the samples registered no signs of life at all. Something Must Be Wrong, Right? Life on Earth is so pervasive that Fierer's first reaction to the negative results was to suspect a problem with equipment or experimental techniques. However, additional tests using a variety of methods continued to come up with nothing. Inorganic soil is not supposed to be found on Earth, but there it was. If finding nothing is challenging, interpreting it is even more challenging. A basic general principle in scientific investigation is that absence of evidence is not the same thing as evidence of absence. The absence of evidence may simply mean the investigators did not look in quite the right place with quite the right tools. In this particular case, a handful of microbes may simply have eluded detection. While it cannot be proven that the samples Fierer and Dragone collected are absolutely sterile, it can certainly be said that the environments in the upper reaches of Schroeder Hill and Roberts Massif are not very hospitable to life. These environments also have much in common with the surface of Mars — except that Mars is even less hospitable to life. In the cold and extremely arid environment, corrosive salts can build up over eons without ever being washed away by liquid water. As one scientist told National Geographic, "The top surface layers of Mars are awful. We don't have an organism on Earth that could survive on the surface." But even a few inches below the surface, conditions may not be so hostile. Still, the implication is that the search for life on Mars, and perhaps for alien life anywhere, may be a more challenging task than expected based on what's known about life on Earth. Proving a negative may be a philosophical quandary, but negative findings can legitimately be introduced as part of the burden of proof in a scientific inquiry. Are you interested in science and innovation? We are, too. Check out Northrop Grumman career opportunities to see how you can participate in this fascinating time of discovery.

Alien Life Search Complicated by Inorganic Antarctic Soil

Key Takeaways  "Shadow biospheres" may have existed in the past or still exist on Earth and contain life we can't easily detect. Life in these biospheres may be use arsenic instead of phosphorous to generate energy. It's possible that extrasolar life may be silicon rather than carbon-based.Where is everybody? In a universe of at least 100 billion galaxies, why hasn't anyone stopped by?The answer depends on who you ask. Some favor the notion of time and distance — extraterrestrial life may not know we're out here, or may be similarly limited to their local solar system by the finite speed of light. Others make more dire predictions for the fate of advanced life in the universe: Catastrophic events such as war, disease or stellar bad luck that effectively eliminate evolving life once it reaches a certain threshold.But what if the truth lies closer to home? What if invisible aliens exist among us, already here but unseen by human eyes? Astrobiologist Samantha Rolfe of the University of Hertfordshire took this idea and ran with it, exploring the possibility of a "shadow biosphere" capable of supporting alien life on Earth — just not life as we know it.What We Do in the ShadowsPhosphorus represents a key biochemical building block for RNA and DNA formation in earthbound life. All organisms — plant and animal — require a source of phosphorous to survive, despite its relative scarcity. As noted by Matthew Pasek of the University of South Florida, "phosphorous is the least abundant element cosmically relative to its presence in biology."The shadow biosphere theory postulates that other forms of life may exist alongside known organisms but operate in ways we don't recognize as life. Consider the Mono Lake microorganisms, which use arsenic rather than phosphorus to generate essential energy — while their arsenic adaptation stems from very specific environmental conditions, it's also possible that larger-scale shadow biospheres have existed throughout Earth's history. According to Astrobiology Magazine, Earth could have had several "cradles of life" over its 4 billion year history; some may have collapsed as environmental conditions changed while others might have been overrun by our phosphorus-loving progenitors.It's also possible that meteorite impacts — or covert alien landings — introduced life into our ecosystem that required a novel energy source, and shadow biospheres have been humming along undetected and undisturbed for centuries or even millennia.What does this mean for our theory of invisible aliens? The good news is that a proof-of-concept shadow biosphere already exists in arsenic-using organisms. The bad news? While shadow-biological microbes might be alien to us they're probably not from a galaxy far, far away.The Uncanny (Silicon) ValleyWhile energy creation is one way to approach the search for life, it's also worth taking a look at our biggest chemical contributor: carbon. All life on Earth is carbon-based, since carbon makes it easy to create the strong double and triple bonds needed for cell walls, and is also soluble in water — another essential life-encouraging compound — when converted to carbon dioxide.But what if carbon isn't all it's cracked up to be? Rolfe considers the possibility of an alternative biochemistry based on silicon. As she points out, silicon is widely available on Earth's surface and — just like carbon — has four electrons to create bonds with other atoms. There are challenges: Silicon is heavier, has a tough time creating strong bonds and isn't water-soluble. Still, scientists have demonstrated that it's possible to create bacterial proteins that bond with silicon, effectively creating tiny, silicon-based life.The chances of silicon-based visitors, however, remains slim here on Earth. Still, there's speculation that intrasolar moons or exosolar planets could have a chemical makeup that favors silicon life over its carbon companion. Here, climbing out of the terrestrial-focused valley of common life classification means thinking outside the biological box to prioritize the collective action of potential aliens rather than their chemical composition.Interstellar Rest StopWhat if our invisible aliens aren't living among us in shadow biospheres or using different building blocks? What if they've already visited — and aren't coming back? What if they're not aliens at all?As noted by Business Insider, it's possible that interstellar travelers visited Earth billions of years ago when their own star system was closer to ours. Maybe they watched the first organic molecules form, or walked among the dinosaurs. Perhaps they accidentally nudged an asteroid toward Earth on their way out of town? Other experts like Harvard's Avi Loeb wonder if strange interstellar objects like 'Oumuaumua — the first known interstellar object to pass through our solar system, detected in late 2017 — were of alien origin and sent to Earth deliberately.Go deeper into we're-not-alone-out-here speculation and you'll find theories like the one from Michael Masters of Montana Technological University in Butte. He notes that while the collective evidence for unidentified flying objects (UFOs) continues to grow, details on actual extraterrestrials are almost entirely absent. He posits that the seeming existence of advanced technology without alien operators could suggest a future in which humanity discovers time travel, humans regularly visit the past and occasionally make the mistake of letting their advanced craft get noticed. Since they're physically and visually human, any crash-landings or future-people infiltrations would go unnoticed. In effect, they're temporal visitors; aliens by eons rather than elements.We Are Not AloneAre we the only house in the galactic neighborhood? Maybe not. Although shadow biospheres and invisible aliens aren't the probable solutions to our carbon-based isolation, they're critical steps in changing the way we view life, the universe and everything. Broader perspectives and bigger thoughts make it more likely that we'll recognize the telltale signs of life — even if it's not what we're expecting.Is an alien invasion imminent? Find out what the UAPS report has to say about extraterrestrial ingress.

Hiding in Plain Sight? The Argument for Invisible Aliens

 NASA has already found evidence of "primitive life" on early Mars: organic molecules, mineral features characteristic of biological activity and possible fossils of bacteria-like organisms. Just last month, the space agency announced the discovery of 10 new planets in the "Goldilocks zone" of their stars — both warm enough and cool enough to potentially support life. Kepler program scientist Mario Perez puts it simply: "We are probably not alone". But it's one thing to know that we have interstellar analogues that haven't dropped by to visit, and another to speculate scientifically about what type of life is out there. What could aliens look like? How would they act? Let's talk about the new neighbors. Plant Potential Back in February, the Spitzer Space Telescope helped find TRAPPIST-1 — a system of seven rocky planets, three of which are in the Goldilocks zone. This zone is extremely close to the TRAPPIST-1 star, an ultra-cool dwarf star the size of Jupiter. This means that all seven new planets orbit the star closer than Mercury's orbit to our sun, and most of the light and heat emitted is on the infrared portion of the spectrum. All seven planets are tidally locked, meaning only one side ever faces the sun, and they orbit so quickly that one full rotation around their star takes only two Earth weeks. So what does this mean for life? In the absence of hard data but with the significant potential for liquid water on at least three planets, Futurism asked scientists to speculate on the nature of plants that might exist across TRAPPIST-1 worlds. Experts suggest that most plant life would exist on the sun-facing side of these planets and would likely develop larger leaves to capture as much light as possible from the dimmer star, or develop a way to convert infrared radiation into energy. More details about the atmosphere and gravity will also inform plant features — planets with greater mass and thicker atmospheres would produce larger, shorter plants that could withstand powerful winds, while less massive planets with thinner atmospheres would produce tall, spindly flora. Larger Lifeforms Plants are one thing, but what about animals? What kind of alien creatures could we encounter on TRAPPIST-1 planets or any of the 50 potentially habitable worlds that NASA has discovered? It depends on who you ask. Some experts argue that symmetrical, bipedal life makes the most sense because it's efficient and adaptable — but this only works if alien environments closely match that of Earth. Other scientists note that life doesn't have to be carbon-based like ours; it could also be iron- or silicon-based to accommodate local conditions. There's also speculation that other forms of life might be so other that human beings wouldn't recognize them as alive. This might include life forms with the ability to control their bodies at the molecular level or that exist as forms of dark matter we're not currently able to comprehend.Advanced Aliens Beyond alien monkeys, sea creatures and bugs, is there a chance that advanced interplanetary creatures exist? It's possible. As noted by Quartz, the human search for extraterrestrial life is naturally human-focused; with no other frame of reference we assume that aliens would think and act much as we do, for example sending out radio signals and other energy pulses as a way to communicate. And we might be right — in 2015 the Kepler telescope detected rapid brightness fluctuations from star KIC 846252 that can't be explained by natural causes. Some people have theorized that the pattern came from a "Dyson Sphere" — a massive solar array built by advanced civilizations and used to directly capture a star's energy. What appears to us as a blinking light could be this array passing in front of the star. Speculation? Absolutely. Existing? Undeniably. It's unlikely that we're alone in the universe, and the discovery of new planets capable of producing life is now driving both speculation and exploration. No matter what the neighbors look like or how they live their lives, it's time to figure out how to say "hello."

New Planets and the Potential for Life: What Do Our Interstellar Neighbors Look Like?

Key Takeaways  The U.S. military denies the existence of unidentified flying objects (UFOs) but acknowledges the existence of unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP). Of the 12,000 UFO reports collected by the U.S. Air Force between 1952 and 1969, only 6% could not be explained. In a 2021 report on UAPs, 143 out of 144 sightings remain unexplained.The U.S. government recently confirmed reports by military pilots of unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP), which are more commonly called unidentified flying objects (UFOs). The government also acknowledged the need to better understand UAP for the purpose of pilot safety and national security. There was no mention of aliens from other planets visiting Earth, but the possibility was not ruled out. For decades, the U.S. government has denied the existence of UFOs, making this a major step.History of UFO SightingsThe first widely reported UFO sighting was made on June 24, 1947, by an amateur pilot named Kenneth Arnold, as The Atlantic explains. Mr. Arnold was flying from his home in Idaho to an air show in Oregon and took a detour to Mount Rainier, Washington.Suddenly, Mr. Arnold saw a flash of bright blue-white light, followed by nine additional flashes in rapid succession. The lights were coming from nine "circular-type" objects moving in unison through the sky. Using the mountains as landmarks and the clock on his dashboard, Mr. Arnold estimated that the objects traveled a distance of 50 miles in 1 minute and 42 seconds before disappearing from view. This would be twice the speed of sound. Mr. Arnold was surprised, but thought the flying objects might be new military aircraft.After arriving in Oregon, Mr. Arnold described the unidentified flying objects he had seen to a reporter. As an experienced pilot, respected businessman and family man, Mr. Arnold appeared to be a credible witness. The local newspaper published a brief article, which was picked up by The Associated Press and reported across the country. Some of the news outlets used the term "flying saucer," which ignited the public's imagination.By the end of 1947 — just six months after Mr. Arnold's UFO sighting — a total of 140 newspapers from across the United States and Canada had reported on 853 UFO sightings. Flying saucers would soon become ubiquitous in comic books, TV shows and movies.The Military Denies all Evidence of UFOsJust two weeks after Mr. Arnold's UFO sighting, the Air Force felt compelled to issue a statement about the crash of a military weather balloon in Roswell, New Mexico. The incident had initially been reported as a possible "flying disk" crash. The Air Force explanation did not have the desired effect, and "Roswell" is still synonymous with UFOs and theories about government conspiracies to conceal evidence of extraterrestrial activity on Earth.The Army did send officials to talk to Mr. Arnold, and they officially concluded that he had either seen a mirage or was hallucinating. Nonetheless, UFO sightings persisted. Given the possibility that UFOs might be sophisticated Soviet aircraft, the U.S. Air Force launched a UFO investigation called Project Blue Book in 1952. As Britannica explains, 12,000 reports of UFO sightings or related events were collected from 1952 to 1969. Only 6% could not be explained, and then only because of insufficient information. The project was shut down. For decades, the military would continue to deny any evidence of flying objects that could not be explained, which further emboldened conspiracy theorists.The Military Acknowledges Existence of UAPThe document acknowledging the existence of UAP came from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence in June 2021. It is a preliminary intelligence assessment of the threat posed by UAP and the progress made by the Department of Defense in understanding the threat.The report focused on events that occurred between 2004 and 2021, with the majority occurring within the last two years. This increase is because a standardized UAP reporting system was first established by the Navy in 2019 and was fully adopted in 2020. The document uses the term "unidentified aerial phenomena" to remove the stigma associated with discussing UFOs.The report focused on UAP witnessed firsthand by military pilots and those registered on aircraft sensors including radar, infrared, electro-optical and weapons seekers. These sensors can provide accurate information about relative size, shape, structure, velocity and range.The Military Explanation for UAPOf the 144 reports of UAP included in this UFO investigation, 80 involved multiple sensors. Most UAP appeared to be physical objects. One was identified with high confidence as a large, deflating balloon. The remaining 143 UAP remain unexplained.All UAP incidents are expected to eventually be included in one of five categories: Airborne clutter (birds, balloons, recreational drones, plastic bags) Natural atmospheric phenomena (ice crystals, moisture, thermal fluctuations) USA or industry developmental programs (classified government programs) Foreign adversary systems (advanced aircraft by countries other than the USA that use breakthrough technology) Other (UAP without enough data to be identified and alien spacecraft)In 18 reports, UAP exhibited unusual movement patterns and "appeared to remain stationary in winds aloft, move against the wind, maneuver abruptly, or move at considerable speed, without discernible means of propulsion." These patterns could be due to sensor errors or observer misperception, but they could also be due to breakthrough technologies (from Earth) or aliens.A Recent Increase in UFO Sightings?The New York Times and other media outlets have reported that UFO sightings increased in 2020. This has largely been attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic and more people looking up at the night sky because they had nowhere to go.The National UFO Reporting Center (founded in 1974) and the Mutual UFO Network (founded in 1969) are non-government agencies that collect information about and investigate UFO sightings. The vast majority of sightings can be attributed to satellites, meteors, the planet Venus, birds, bats, planes, drones and the light playing tricks on the eye or the camera lens. Serious UFO researchers know that humans are not adept at gauging the size, speed and distance of an object in the air, especially when there are no background objects for comparison.A small percentage of UFO sightings remain unexplained, but that percentage does not change when more sightings are reported. Oftentimes, an increase in reports can be traced to UFO stories in the news — such as the ones covering the recently released government report on unidentified aerial phenomena.The vast majority of unidentified flying objects are definitely not due to aliens. However, astronomers estimate that there are 300 million habitable worlds in the Milky Way galaxy alone — it isn't unreasonable to look.Long the site of extraterrestrial speculation, Area 51 may indeed be more than meets the eye. Learn more.

UFO Sightings Are Real, but Aliens Are Not Responsible

Key Takeaways  Quantum communication, high-fidelity communications at interstellar distances, could be achieved by exploiting the quantum nature of light. The basic units of quantum communication are qubits, which are typically subatomic particles such as photons or electrons. The search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) "listens in" to the universe for evidence of extraterrestrial life.For centuries, people have pondered the question, "Are we alone in the universe?" To date, however, researchers in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) have come up with a resounding "we're not sure." But that hasn't stopped people from wondering.How would we know if ETs were trying to communicate with us? What language might they use? And how might we communicate back with them?"Taking a Quantum LeapResearchers from the University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom, believe that the answers to these questions could lie in a field of study called quantum communication. In a paper published recently in Physical Review D, Professor Arjun Berera and Jaime Calderón-Figueroa, both theoretical physicists, suggest that high-fidelity communications at interstellar distances could be achieved by exploiting the quantum nature of light.SETI at a GlanceIn an interview with Now, Seth Shostak, senior astronomer and fellow at the SETI Institute in Mountain View, California, astronomers look for signs of intelligent ET life in three ways: Conventional search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI), which uses large radio telescopes (such as the SETI Institute's Allen Telescope Array, with its 42 antennas, each one six meters in diameter) to scan the heavens looking for narrowband signals. Optical SETI, which involves watching for flashing laser pulses using instruments such as the SETI Institute's LaserSETI detection devices. Making careful observations of optical data looking for artifacts of ET societies — such as the infrared signature of a Dyson swarm, a theoretical "cloud" of habitats, satellites and solar energy collectors orbiting a star that would allow an advanced society to harvest and exploit all the energy coming from its home star.However, Shostak clarifies that SETI involves listening only — primarily in the 1-10 Gigahertz (GHz) frequency band — and no broadcasting."SETI scientists often monitor frequencies adjacent to 1420 Megahertz, also known as the hydrogen line, where neutral hydrogen produces radiation," he explains. "Every astronomer on Earth has that frequency marked on their dial, so to speak, so any messages from aliens in that band will be heard by everyone."What Is Quantum Communication?According to MIT Technology Review, the basic unit of quantum communication is called a qubit. Qubits are typically subatomic particles such as photons or electrons.Unlike bits — the electrical or optical "1s" and "0s" that carry your e-mail, podcasts, tweets and TikToks — qubits have some rather unusual properties that allow quantum computers to process information exponentially faster than conventional binary computers.One of these properties is called superposition, which allows qubits to represent multiple combinations of "1" or "0" at the same time. While classical bits can only access one of 2n states at a time (e.g., two bits have 22 = 4 possible states, three bits have 23 = 8 possible states, etc.), qubits can access all 2n possible states at once.The State of EntanglementEven more relevant to alien quantum communication is a property of qubits called entanglement, which allows two members of a qubit pair to exist in a single quantum state. Changing the state of one paired qubit instantly changes the state of the other in a very predictable way, even if they are separated by very long distances.Berera and Calderón-Figueroa propose that entanglement could be exploited in a process called quantum teleportation to potentially enable interstellar communications with ET societies. Quantum teleportation instantly transfers the "state" (i.e., information contents) of one quantum particle to a distant one without sending the particle itself.Contemplating Quantum TeleportationQuantum teleportation requires a pair of entangled qubits shared between a sender and receiver, plus a third qubit whose contents are to be teleported between those points. The sender initiates an interaction between their entangled qubit and the third qubit, which causes a change in the quantum state of their entangled qubit. When that change is analyzed and relayed to the receiver using a conventional electromagnetic pathway, the receiver can recreate the original message contained in the third qubit, effectively teleporting the information from sender to receiver."It's conceivable that a very advanced society could set up entangled particles all over the galaxy and use quantum entanglement to communicate," says Shostak.However, he emphasizes that quantum communication can never exceed the speed of light, even for aliens, because quantum messaging between senders and receivers still relies on using a conventional electromagnetic signal.Maintaining CoherenceFor Berera and Calderón-Figueroa, the real challenge with quantum teleportation is that quantum messaging over interstellar distances needs to retain its coherence and maintain high fidelity, i.e., to maintain the integrity of its message as it travels long distances.A peculiar aspect of quantum messaging is that if a message is "observed" or interacts with its environment, its waveform collapses, resulting in the loss of its information. This so-called state of decoherence can result from quantum messages interacting with say, gravitational fields, gas, dust and radiation from stars.The universe is largely empty space, of course, but is it empty/transparent enough to facilitate reliable interstellar messaging? Berera and Calderón-Figueroa ran calculations on the movement of photons in different frequency bands across space to gauge the likelihood of decoherence occurring.They determined that photons, particularly those in the X-ray spectrum, could be beamed across hundreds of thousands of light years, a distance comparable to the width of our own Milky Way galaxy. These conditions could give interstellar communications with aliens a fighting chance.What Are We Looking For?As SETI scientists scan the night skies with their ginormous radio telescopes looking for dispatches from ET, how do they even know what to look for?"A lot of astronomical phenomena — quasars, pulsars, the planets in our solar system, hot and cold gas, black holes — create radio noise," observes Shostak. "But they generally don't make noise that's confined to a particular frequency band."However, he notes that if astronomers observe a signal centered around a narrow frequency band much like a station on your car's radio, "that would indicate a signal produced by a transmitter, not a natural process."Still Waiting …And has the SETI Institute ever received such a signal? Shostak just smiles."If we'd found one that was clearly an alien signal, you wouldn't have to call me up," he chuckles. "You would know about it."Keeping It RealEven if Shostak and his SETI colleagues thought they had detected signals from ETs, several realities currently shape the nation's ability to conduct such a "conversation."For one, there is the matter of technology. Quantum communication is still in its infancy. As a nation, we're a long way from being able to extract information in a meaningful way from incoming ET quantum communication.Shostak acknowledges that there are also practical considerations: time and, by extension, money."If the nearest aliens are 100 light years away, it will take 100 years for your response to reach them, and another 100 years for their response to reach you again," he muses." And in those 200 years, your funding has probably gone away as well."Instead of trying to engage aliens in logistically impossible conversation, Shostak suggests that it might be smarter to just download and send them the entire internet."The internet is a rich information source indeed," he says. "They could put their computers on it, take advantage of its repetitive nature and build up a complete vocabulary — everything from cats to cars to humans. It would sure be a lot easier than us trying to decipher hieroglyphics back in the early 19th century."Northrop Grumman exploration seeks to put academic research and theory into practice for quantum communications. Learn more about what we do.

Could Quantum Communication Enable an Extraterrestrial Handshake?

Key Takeaways  Area 51 was originally used for building and testing U-2 planes, and is officially known as the Nevada Test and Training Range. In 2019, more than 1.5 million people signed up to "storm" Area 51, but just 200 showed up in person. Keeping the myth of Area 51 alive may help the government divert attention away from other top-secret national security projects.Area 51: The name and number are enough to set imaginations aflame. What is the government really up to in this Nevada desert military base that includes a restricted area spanning more than 90,000 acres?Here's a look at what's (probably) inside and what's (almost certainly) not.Area 51: A Quick HistoryIn April 1955, CIA officer Richard Bissell found an ideal spot for building and testing U-2 planes: the southern Nevada desert near Groom Lake. Along with his colleagues, Bissell asked the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) to add this parcel of land to its real estate holdings and, by July 1955, aircraft development is in full swing. In 1958, this parcel of land was removed from public use and, in 1978, control of the installation was transferred to the Air Force.Officially, the facility's name is the Nevada Test and Training Range, which falls under the auspices of Nellis Air Force Base. It also went by several nicknames including "Paradise Ranch," "Watertown" and "Dreamland," which were used to make the area sound more attractive to potential base staff. The name Area 51, meanwhile, is rarely used by the government and likely comes from the area's original designation on AEC maps.Visiting the site and taking images are strictly controlled. Facility guards are authorized to use deadly force, and pictures such as those inadvertently taken by Skylab in 1974 were reviewed by the National Photographic Interpretation Center, then removed from Skylab's control and stored in a government vault. Combined with seemingly unexplained phenomena occurring in and around Area 51, public interest in the site has driven all manner of myths and legends.It's Probably Aliens!Combine government secrecy, deadly force and lights in the desert and what do you get? Aliens! This was the common interpretation of strange sightings in and around Area 51, despite the fact that the facility is a testing ground for cutting-edge aircraft — which might just look like nothing seen before.The notion of hidden, out-of-this-world happenings got a boost in 1989 when a man named Robert Lazar claimed that he worked on the base and saw both flying saucers and actual alien bodies. While Lazar was later outed as a fraud — he had never worked for the U.S. military or on the base — it was impossible for the public to ignore the draw of possible alien sightings. In 1994, theories about potential aliens gained even more ground when the Air Force admitted that wreckage from Roswell, New Mexico found in 1947 was not, in fact, weather balloons but part of a secret spy project code-named "Mogul." Understandably, people were skeptical.This skepticism came to a head in July 2019, when more than 1.5 million people signed up for an event called "Storm Area 51, They Can't Stop All of Us," to "see them aliens," promising to meet in the desert and run into the site in September. Not surprisingly, the event was a colossal failure — just 200 people showed up. Two people were arrested and one person was briefly detained for almost crossing into a restricted area.The Truth Comes Out: What Is Inside Area 51?So what's really going on behind closed doors? What is inside Area 51? Are U.S. military experts reverse-engineering crashed spaceships and performing autopsies on deceased aliens? In a word, no.In 2013, the CIA released a declassified report about the site written in 1992, which acknowledges the existence of the facility and describes it as a U-2 testing site. It refers to unidentified flying objects (UFOs), but only to note that they were actually U-2 planes flying at 60,000 feet. The report also highlights the need for strict secrecy as a way to ward off Russian interference during the Cold War, rather than a deliberate attempt to mislead the American public. Still, there's some evidence to suggest there's more than meets the eye. For example, in 2017 the Pentagon confirmed the existence of a $22 million government program to collect and analyze data about "anomalous aerospace threats" — in other words, UFOs.A poll found that 54 percent of Americans believe the government knows something about UFOs that it's not sharing with the public. So, it's unlikely the fascination with aliens will ever disappear, but chances are that Area 51 isn't the hotbed of extraterrestrial activity that alien activists once believed. Interestingly enough, however, it may actually be in the best interests of the government to keep this mystery alive. By releasing some documentation but keeping other data classified, by not confirming or denying the existence of UFOs or aliens, it's possible to divert attention away from other top-secret national security projects and protect critical data.Not bad for a strip of desert in southeastern Nevada.Starshade could help us discover what else is out there. Learn more.

Area 51: Aliens, or Just a Simple Myth-Understanding?

Key Takeaways  There are no official records of aliens visiting Earth, and scientists who suggest this possibility often find themselves mired in controversy. One recent theory suggest that interstellar object Oumuamua may have been a probe sent by alien spacefarers. Most alien efforts look outwards — for example, SETI studies red dwarf stars that may provide suitable conditions for life in their solar systems.Do aliens exist? Fictional space aliens who have visited Earth range from the adorable (E.T. and his magical finger) to the threatening (the ruthless Martians of "The War of the Worlds") to the helpful (mighty Superman was from another planet, as we sometimes forget).Moreover, have aliens visited Earth? Whether extraterrestrial life has actually touched the soil of Earth — or floated above it, observing us all — has been a burning question for almost as long as humankind could look at the stars. The many claims of alien sightings, often buttressed by grainy photos of UFOs, and the many theories about outer space creatures already living among us could fill enough books to weigh down a spacecraft that's collecting samples of our planet.One thing is for certain: The public and private agencies that deal with all things space focus on finding life away from Earth. They are not researching, at least publicly, the scientific possibility of whether aliens have already been on our planet. For that matter, governments answer stories of UFO sightings on Earth by pointing to the weather or by saying the claim couldn't be corroborated. There are no official records of aliens visiting Earth.Have Aliens Visited Earth?Discussion about aliens on Earth can be, for the sake of argument, placed into two camps: claims and theories. Claims are those that appear on the covers of supermarket tabloids or occasionally make for a fun feature in a mainstream news publication. For instance, a New Hampshire couple that spoke of being captured by aliens on a late-summer evening in 1961 as they drove through the White Mountains is the first widely-publicized alien abduction claim, a tale that started a legion of others.Theories of alien visits can also spread like wildfire in the mainstream news if they are made by someone with authority. It happened only recently. Avi Loeb, the chair of Harvard University's astronomy department, didn't propose that aliens were even close to Earth. Rather, he and a colleague posited that Oumuamua, a cigar-shaped comet or object that whizzed by the sun in 2017, might have been a probe sent to the vicinity of Earth by an alien civilization. The theory, published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, elicited some derision from scientists.The minor controversy led NASA physicist Silvano Colombano to say that scientists essentially rock the establishment when they theorize about extraterrestrial life. "General avoidance of the subject by the scientific community" creates a catch-22, Colombano told Quartz. He means that scientists might appear crazy for posing questions about aliens, but society will never know about alien life or any possible alien missions to Earth if no one in the scientific community examines the concept.Colombano himself got caught up in the debate last year, when Fox News reported he claimed aliens have indeed come to Earth, pointing to a document of his on the space agency's website. But Colombano was quick to correct the Fox News story, saying it was taken out of context and that he believes an alien visit is only theoretically possible. "My perspective was simply that reports of unidentified aerial phenomena should be the object of serious study, even if the chance of identification of some alien technology is very small," he told Live Science.The Search for Alien Life Looks Outward to SpaceThe existence of alien life is indeed under serious study, but all eyes and ears on that front are pointed outward, beyond the terra firma of Earth. SETI — the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence Institute — employs more than 130 scientists, educators and administrative staff in a quest to "explore, understand, and explain the origin and nature of life in the universe and the evolution of intelligence."SETI projects include using a telescope array to study red dwarf stars that show characteristics indicating the possibility of support for intelligent life. The Allen Telescope Array (ATA) is also examining newly-discovered exoplanets that are found in their star's habitable zone. And SETI is developing a system to search for laser flashes that extraterrestrial societies might use to signal their presence.SETI's work continues despite occasional hesitations. This year, a research group that included a NASA astrobiologist offered that while the "search for habitable environments and life beyond our solar system is a deeply compelling scientific goal," a large number of planets that were believed to possibly support life actually have unsuitable environments, shrinking the zone of areas where extraterrestrials could survive.So, do aliens exist? Many scientists believe that humans need to work even harder to determine whether there is extraterrestrial life out there, let alone whether or not aliens have visited Earth. As astronomer and SETI co-founder Jill Tarter once said, because of the vastness of space, our efforts have only amounted to the equivalent of scooping a single glass of water from the ocean.One of the biggest problems with alien investigations? The luminosity of other stars blocks our view of their planets. See how Starshade is helping scientists get a better look. 

Do Aliens Exist? Scientists Wonder If Extraterrestrial Life Has Visited Earth

The search for life beyond Earth is one that has fueled science and the imagination. Planet-hunting spacecraft, such as the Kepler Space Telescope and the Spitzer Space Telescope, have been able to identify thousands of new planets beyond our solar system, but only a few are within the habitable zone of the star they orbit. Finding alien life is not an easy task, but it is one researchers are well-equipped to pursue. The Search for Earth 2.0 An incredible discovery using the Spitzer Space Telescope made headlines and sparked the imagination of people around the world. A small dwarf star approximately 40 light years from Earth is host to not one, but seven planets. Even more fascinating in the search for potential alien life in the universe, all planets in the TRAPPIST-1 system could potentially support liquid water.  Enable targeting cookies to view this content. To date, the Kepler Mission, including the extended K2 mission, has identified 5,216 potential exoplanets, or planets beyond our solar system, with 2,514 confirmed new planets. The search for planets outside our solar system started relatively recently with the first confirmed exoplanet being announced in 1995, but astronomers have made great strides since then in identifying potentially habitable planets. Of the thousands of confirmed exoplanets discovered by Kepler, only 21 exoplanets have the size and location to be considered potential candidates for Earth 2.0. Astronomers are trying to find habitable planets based on the ingredients needed for life on Earth. That means finding a rocky body located in the "Goldilocks zone" of its host star, where the temperature is just right for liquid water. Three of the TRAPPIST-1 exoplanets discovered by Spitzer are all located in the "Goldilocks zone." The upcoming James Webb Space Telescope will be another powerful tool in the search for life.   In August 2016, astronomers using the European Southern Observatory's telescope in Chile discovered an Earth-like planet orbiting Proxima Centauri, our nearest neighboring star after the Sun. Whereas Kepler's potentially habitable planets can be located hundreds of light-years from Earth, Proxima b is located approximately four light-years away. An actual spacecraft would take thousands of years to reach the exoplanet, but a miniature probe could take only 20 years to reach Proxima b. How to Find Life With space telescopes such as Kepler, astronomers use the transit method to identify potential planets. Astronomers are looking for small dips in brightness that are the result of a planet crossing in front of its host star. Another way to search is through the radial velocity method, which measures shifts in the observed light spectrum of a star caused by the gravitational tug of a planet. Even though the two methods are indirect observations, astronomers can gain plenty of insight into these exoplanets. The planet's size affects the dimming of its host star. The bigger the planet, the more light that's blocked by the exoplanet as it passes in front of its host. On Earth, oxygen and methane are strong indicators of life and the same applies for an exoplanet if we are looking for life similar to that found on our planet. The atmosphere of a planet acts like a prism, explains NASA. Chemicals and gases in the atmosphere absorb different wavelengths, which creates a pattern that astronomers can decipher. Based on the black bands in the light spectrum, we can determine if an exoplanet has oxygen, methane or even pollution. Without this vital research, the search for life would stall before it could even start. "If we can understand the properties of exoplanetary atmospheres from a theoretical perspective we can more effectively and efficiently develop the technology for actual missions," says Dr. Trisha Hinners, an astrophysicist conducting basic research on exoplanet atmospheres at Northrop Grumman. "We perform interdisciplinary research in astrophysics, astrochemistry and astrobiology built on a foundation of computational physics and data science. It takes a terrifically gifted team here on Earth to look for simple signs of life out in the cosmos." The search for life beyond Earth isn't limited to new planets. In fact, there may be life found much closer to home. Moons of Possibility Jupiter's moon Europa may contain a liquid water ocean underneath its thick ice shell. This ocean could have the right recipe for microbes or more complex life. Water vapor plumes shooting from Europa's surface were first detected in 2012 and again observed by the Hubble Space Telescope. The James Webb Space Telescope could help confirm these plumes and an upcoming NASA mission to the moon could sample the water vapor to determine its chemical composition. Like Europa, Saturn's moon Enceladus is believed to have a subsurface ocean that could potentially harbor life. Enceladus's geysers have been observed by the Cassini spacecraft and could be sampled by a future mission. Astronomers could determine if there are any building blocks for life, such as amino acids, or if there's hydrothermal activity similar to that found on Earth. Of course, alien life does not have to abide by Earth's rules. So far, we're trying to find life based on terrestrial life, but other planets could harbor organisms that previously have only existed in the realms of science fiction.

Alien Life Could Be Found on New Planets

The year 1877 was a big year for Mars. Earth and Mars passed closer than usual in their orbits, making the red planet stand out as unusually large and bright for observers looking at it through telescopes. One of those observers was the Italian astronomer Giovanni Schiaparelli, who used the opportunity to map the surface of Mars. Straining at the eyepiece to make out features at the very edge of visibility, he made what might have been the greatest of all extraterrestrial discoveries — if it hadn't turned out to be a mistake. Schiaparelli sketched what appeared to be a network of lines connecting darker features on the planet's reddish surface. He described them as channels, or, in Italian, canali. Canal Builders of Mars In Italian, canali is used to describe both natural and artificial waterways. In English, we use two related but distinct words. So when Schiaparelli's report was translated, canali was translated not as channels, carved perhaps by natural forces, but as canals — hinting at the presence of canal builders. (The straight lines they formed on Schiaparelli's map were also suggestive of deliberate construction.) The impact was sensational. Imaginative writers had placed beings on other planets before, but only as a whimsical fantasy. Schiaparelli's canali were a scientific observation — at least they seemed to be — and implied not just life but intelligence and civilization. As Slate recounts, a whole theory of Martian civilization and history was worked out to explain the canals, as well as other features of Mars, notably seasonal color changes including waxing and waning ice caps. Mars, the theorists suggested, was an old and dying world of dwindling water and expanding deserts. Martians built the canals as irrigation works to sustain their crops and make the most of their precious and limited water. Only a mighty civilization could have undertaken such a vast project. There had been no extraterrestrials in the earliest science fiction, such as the works of Jules Verne. But now science fiction had aliens — and writers knew just what to do with them. Invaders from Mars In 1898, British author H. G. Wells wrote the most famous of all Mars stories, "War of the Worlds." Per Slate, his ancient Martians, with "intellects vast and ... unsympathetic," came up with a new solution to their water problem: conquer their water-rich neighbor, Earth. Martians weren't always scientific supervillains. As noted by Space.com, pulp writer Edgar Rice Burroughs, creator of "Tarzan," wrote a series of books set on Mars — Barsoom, as the natives called it — in which the declining civilization of the canal builders is being overrun by local barbarian hordes, until earthman John Carter comes along to save the day. Later, science fiction writer Robert Heinlein featured wise, peaceful and mysterious Martians in several of his stories, including "Stranger in a Strange Land." These three themes — scientific supervillains, colorful barbarians and wise demigods — still account for the great majority of alien theories favored by Hollywood and pop culture. From Mars to the Stars Schiaparelli's canals turned out to be an optical illusion, says Slate. Mars has real channels, dry riverbeds, but they do not correspond to anything he showed on his map. Space missions showed that Mars is indeed a geologically dying world that has lost most of its water. But while it may still have life, it offers no hint whatsoever of an advanced civilization, living or dead. In fact, we haven't found any positive evidence of extraterrestrial discoveries, like ruins or signals, that people in the late 1800s thought they had discovered on Mars. What we have found is indirect evidence for the possibility of alien life, and therefore alien intelligence. NASA's TESS mission has confirmed that some planets orbiting other stars are close to Earth-sized and in orbits that allow them to retain liquid water. In fact, alien theories are now part of the toolbox of possible solutions that astronomers examine when seeking to explain unusual phenomena in the sky. Over the last few years, says Science Daily, peculiar flickering light changes drew attention to an otherwise ordinary-seeming star, officially designated KIC 8462852, but much better known as Tabby's Star, for lead investigator Tabetha Boyajian. The flickering pattern of light changes by Tabby's Star is so unusual that researchers examined the possibility that an alien megastructure surrounding the star might best explain what they observe. Alas, the alien theory did not fit the observations; the current best guess is that Tabby's Star is surrounded by clouds of dust. But the search continues for evidence that we are not alone in the universe — for hints that someone really is out there. And perhaps looking back at us.   

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