For 60 years, scientists have sought technological signals from extraterrestrial intelligences, but with the swath of the cosmos they need to search, the search is a daunting task which will likely take many more decades if not centuries.
Because the potential payoff is so high — think alien astronauts landing in NYC — it’s worth it.
This search has largely looked for radio signals, but aliens might be telegraphing their presence in other ways, through gravitational waves, neutrinos, or dark matter.
NASA just hosted a SETI workshop to look for novel ways to find alien technology, and private ventures are also getting into the act.
While the odds are incredibly long that this will happen in our lifetimes, any discovery would be cataclysmic and change humanity’s view of itself overnight.
This search is very different than the typical astronomer’s work, as it is a many-generation endeavor, akin to pyramid-building.