The Search for Advanced Civilizations is Going Real-Time
Modern telescopes like the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) are watching the sky for any changes, and can report a million variations in a single night. This will multiply when Vera Rubin comes online. SETI researchers are looking for specific events that could be caused by an intelligent civilization, and have developed methods to search through astronomical alerts automatically. This could give SETI researchers dozens of potential targets a night to follow up on, scanning for signals or anomalous changes in brightness.
Modern telescopes like the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) are watching the sky for any changes, and can report a million variations in a single night. This will multiply when Vera Rubin comes online. SETI researchers are looking for specific events that could be caused by an intelligent civilization, and have developed methods to search through astronomical alerts automatically. This could give SETI researchers dozens of potential targets a night to follow up on, scanning for signals or anomalous changes in brightness.
