A new study has revealed that radar systems used at major airports could be powerful enough for alien civilisations to detect from as far as 200 light years away. The research, led by University of Manchester PhD student Ramiro Caisse Saide, found that combined radar emissions from hubs such as Heathrow and JFK reach around 2,000 trillion watts.
These signals, which fluctuate with the Earth’s rotation, would be strong enough to be picked up by a telescope as sensitive as the Green Bank Telescope in West Virginia, even if …if it were positioned on an alien planet hundreds of light years from Earth. With thousands of worlds believed to exist within that distance, Saide noted the research indicates aviation radar could inadvertently act as a universal marker of intelligent life.
.Some scientists, including Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb, have controversially suggested its unusual glow could indicate an artificial, possibly alien origin. Loeb compared its light to “a vehicle turning on its headlights” and theorised it could be a nuclear-powered spacecraft, though NASA maintains it is most likely a comet.
While mainstream experts largely dismiss Loeb’s claims, he argues that such objects may be probes designed to measure our technological advancement. The debate continues as researchers weigh the possibility of alien technology against natural explanations.
