UCLA Astronomers Enlist Public to Find Out If Aliens Exist

A student walks toward Royce Hall on the campus of University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) in Los Angeles on March 11, 2020. Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images

Members of the public are invited to help scientists at the University of California–Los Angeles (UCLA) search for alien life—no experience necessary—through a new project recently unveiled by the university.

Titled “Are We Alone in the Universe?” the program will have participants work virtually alongside scientists to search through data by analyzing radio waves from potentially thousands of light years away for signs of alien life.

According to the university, volunteers only need to watch a brief video tutorial on how to analyze images of various radio waves.

“If we found a radio signal that was produced by an extraterrestrial civilization, it would offer compelling evidence that humans are not alone in the universe,” Jean-Luc Margot, the project’s lead researcher, said in a recent statement from the school.

Anyone in the world can participate via UCLA’s research site, which includes a discussion portal where participants can compare their findings.

According to the site, more than 1,600 volunteers are currently participating in the research, with NASA serving as a primary partner in the study.

The project is led by the school’s Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence program, which states that there are billions of potentially livable worlds in the galaxy and uses the world’s largest fully steerable telescope for such discovery, according to the school’s website.

“As a first-year graduate student, I find myself incredibly lucky to be working on [the program’s] most interactive citizen science collaboration,” UCLA doctoral candidate Megan Li said in a previous statement from the school. “Humankind’s most profound discovery could be a few clicks away.”

Scientists at the school claim to have recorded about 5 million signals per hour since the project launch from more than 40,000 stars.

The school has been able to rule most of the signals out through their software, leaving about 10,000 per hour that might point to alien life, according to UCLA.