In Search of Extraterrestrial Life, Japan Forms First SETI Society

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A group of Japanese astronomers working on SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence), a project to search for extraterrestrial intelligent life, established Japan's first research organization dedicated to the field in April.

The group is calling on research institutions in Japan and abroad to join a planned joint search next August. Its chairman is Shin-ya Narusawa, a senior lecturer at the University of Hyogo known as a leading figure in SETI research.

Are there aliens, or are we alone in the universe? The society aims to answer this grand question through scientific methods.

Global Search Continues

The new organization is called the Japan SETI Society. Narusawa spoke enthusiastically of its founding, saying, "Learning about extraterrestrial intelligent life will lead us to take a fresh look at humanity itself."

A domestic SETI network had never developed in Japan, but globally the effort began as early as 1960, when the US National Radio Astronomy Observatory started trying to detect radio signals from beyond Earth using radio telescopes.

On August 15, 1977, a dedicated antenna at Ohio State University picked up a strong radio signal, believed to have originated in space, coming from the direction of the Sagittarius constellation. The signal was received only once and lasted about 72 seconds. A startled observer scrawled "Wow" on the observation data, giving the signal its now-famous name: the "Wow signal."

'There Must Be Life Somewhere'

The joint observation effort, which calls on observatories around the world to participate, is timed to mark the 50th anniversary of the Wow signal's detection next year, and is planned for the same date, August 15, 2027. The society will conduct the observation using an eight-meter radio telescope at the Misato Astronomical Observatory, run by the town of Kimino in Wakayama Prefecture.

In late June, the society reached out to more than 20 research institutions and observatories in Japan, the United States, Asia, and Europe to propose a joint observation and has since received responses from institutions, including those in Taiwan.

More than 10 astronomers have joined the society. Its secretariat is based in Narusawa's laboratory at the University of Hyogo.

Going forward, the society is also considering holding symposiums in addition to joint SETI observations. It plans to raise operating funds through crowdfunding, aiming to launch the campaign as early as this summer with a target of ¥10 million ($67,000).

Narusawa has worked at the Nishi-Harima Astronomical Observatory, now an affiliated facility of the University of Hyogo, since 1995. In 2005, he used the observatory's Nayuta telescope to conduct Japan's first optical SETI search targeting laser light rather than radio waves.

Earth's solar system is part of the Milky Way galaxy, which is estimated to contain hundreds of billions of stars, including the Sun. Asked about the probability of extraterrestrial intelligent life existing within the Milky Way, Narusawa said, "There might be." But looking at the wider universe as a whole, he said, "There must be [life] somewhere. I'm excited about the upcoming observation."

Narusawa, who has previously conducted joint SETI observations with facilities in Japan and abroad, believes any life form capable of reaching Earth with an artificial signal "must have a civilization equal to or more advanced than that of humans."

Narusawa speculated that such a civilization "should know more than we do about cooperation and how to achieve peace," adding that its wisdom "could also find solutions to the wars, discrimination, and poverty happening on Earth."