Depending on where we are in outer space, the extraterrestrial civilizations of 2,034 conscious star systems are likely watching us.
The search for intelligent life forms beyond our planet has been a constant in scientific interest for centuries. Regardless of conspiracy theories and fictional constructions around other worlds, this question has been tried to be solved through serious investigation. A team of astronomers could have significant clues to begin to unravel this mystery.
How many extraterrestrial civilizations can observe Earth?
For astronomical and astrophysical observation it is not new news that there are thousands of exoplanets with suitable conditions for life as we know it in our galaxy. This means that there is indeed a great possibility that other intelligent civilizations will develop in the confines of the Universe.
However, this principle has been taken as a probability only, as there is no scientific evidence available to support it. A team of astronomers broke with this trend, finding more than 2,000 solar systems relatively close to Earth that could be watching us for millennia. The key is at specific points in the orbit that our planet travels around the Sun.
If such intelligent galactic neighbors existed, according to astronomer Lisa Kaltenegger of the Carl Sagan Institute at Cornell University, the most natural thing is that they would have had their sights on us for a long time.
Optimal observation conditions
Kaltenegger bases his theory on information provided by the Gaia space observatory. Based on the most accurate 3D map that exists of the Milky Way so far, the astronomer is sure that she will be able to find reliable evidence of an alien civilization that is observing us.
Although it might seem like a delusion of persecution, Kaltenegger’s investigation starts from solid sustenance, according to the article published in Nature:
However, because the stars move in our dynamic cosmos, the conditions must be optimal for the observation of both sides. According to the results of the study, some exoplanets have passed up to 1,000 years at a favorable point. Although this is true, there is no information to support that we are even minimally interesting to them. Not yet.
