Free Astronomy Magazine November-December 2026

11 NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2026 ASTRO PUBLISHING 10% are yet to be discovered, accord- ing to NASA esti- mates. The only chance we have of “flushing out” alien technol- ogy, anywhere in the Solar System, is if it is copiously emitting electro- magnetic waves in the direction and within range of our instruments. In short, it must be active technology, according to La- zio’s classification. Radio waves pro- duced by telecom- munications and infrared light from thermal waste could be the most likely signals to be detected (a typ- ically terrestrial consideration). A scenario that is not impossible, but highly unlikely, since that technol- I n this image, taken by the HiRISE camera aboard the Mars Recon- naissance Orbiter, NASA’s Cu- riosity rover is clearly visible. The rover has a maximum width of approxi- mately 3 meters. [NASA/JPL- Caltech] N ASA’s Persever- ance rover appears as a green dot on the Martian surface in this image taken by the Mars Reconnais- sance Orbi- ter’s HiRISE camera. The rover’s tracks on the surface are visible. Perseverance also has a maximum width of about 3 me- ters. [NASA/ JPL-Caltech/ University of Arizona] 40,000 such objects (statistical mod- els suggest that up to 10 million could exist), only a tiny fraction of which have been accurately charac- terized. Suffice it to say that of those larger than 1 km in diameter, bringing that technology closer to our planet. It would be practically impossible to detect its presence. Even if it were the size of a small NEA, it would likely go unnoticed, considering that we know of over