Can alien civilizations receive signals from terrestrial television

Can alien civilizations receive signals from terrestrial television

The new game of thrones season will be released soon. Do you think potential aliens will be able to experience with us the fate of the heroes? And are they at all able to capture such signals from our planet?

If so, then you can start to discuss issues of space piracy, where alien viewers do not pay for our content. But let's understand the possibility. It is believed that alien representatives in distant galaxies are able to somehow capture our radio and television signals.

However, not all so simple. Many terrestrial signals do not break through our ionosphere. The fact is that shortwave radio signals and other signals are not strong enough to break through the upper atmospheric layer. But the FM and television signals are much stronger and able to travel through outer space. So, is it possible to discuss the fate of Daenerys Targaryen when meeting with aliens?

Can alien civilizations receive signals from terrestrial television

And again, not everything is so simple. The fact is that television signals do not represent a concentrated beam, directed in a specific direction. These are rather scattered signals going in different directions. Therefore, in outer space, they become weaker, especially at large distances. In order to catch a similar signal, aliens must possess sensitive equipment and intentionally monitor outer space. Yes, and upon detection, they would not have listened to the radio show, but rather faced with a set of noise.

However, the researchers tried to share with the aliens a piece of earthly art. In 2008, NASA scientists sent signals with the Beatles song “Across the Universe” towards the North Star, which was 447 light-years distant. But the bottom line is that in order to receive a message to an extraterrestrial mind, you must have a 2.1-meter antenna. But this would be enough only to capture the signal. To recognize the music itself, you need to increase the antenna width to 805 km!

We do not yet know whether Beatlemania began among the newcomers, since there was no response to our music. It turns out that the aliens will not be able to share with us the joy of earthly television shows. But you can hope for a response signal if they are looking for us with the same zeal as we are.

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