The transition of the planets in the solar system. Each line represents points where planets can be seen, and blue is Earth.
Scientists from the Institute of Solar System Studies. Max Planck decided to move away from searching for exoplanets and consider how aliens can watch us. It turns out that at least 9 planets are capable of tracking Earth without any problems.
Kepler and WASP helped us find thousands of distant worlds - exoplanets. Many of them get into the view at a transit event, that is, when the planet passes in front of a star and blocks its light.
But in a new study, scientists wanted to stand in the place of aliens and look for points of view over our planet. They looked at the heavenly sites from which a view of the worlds in our system opens. They focused on the terrestrial planets, because the object is easier to see if it is close to the star. Therefore, the giants did not rely. To find the worlds with developed creatures, scientists were guided by the heavenly areas, which offer views of more than one planet. It turns out that a random visitor has 1 chance out of 40 to detect at least one solar planet.
The team has found 68 worlds from which several planets can be seen passing in front of the Sun. Nine of them have an ideal position for fixing the earthly transit, and therefore can see life on our planet.
Mission K2 will continue to hunt for exoplanets. Now we have a chance that someone is watching us and one day will send his message.
