The search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) reached an exciting new milestone with the recent launch of the Commensal Open-Source Multimode Interferometer Cluster (COSMIC) project at the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) in New Mexico.
COSMIC is not a separate telescope, but rather a powerful detector that analyzes data collected by the VLA during its normal astronomical observations. By using a duplicated data stream from the VLA, COSMIC can conduct an expansive SETI survey while allowing the VLA to continue its groundbreaking radio astronomy research unhindered.
At the core of COSMIC’s mission is the age-old question that has captivated humanity’s imagination for generations: are we alone in the universe? To help find an answer, COSMIC will search for technosignatures – evidence of technology developed by extraterrestrial civilizations.
The COSMIC team, led by project scientist Dr. Chenoa Tremblay, recently published a paper in The Astronomical Journal detailing the innovative system. What makes COSMIC truly trailblazing is its adaptability and capacity for future upgrades. The infrastructure allows new capabilities to be added, ensuring that COSMIC remains at the forefront of the cosmic search for years to come.
Cutting-Edge Capabilities to Unlock Cosmic Mysteries
The flexibility of COSMIC’s design enables a multitude of scientific opportunities beyond SETI, including studying fast radio bursts, searching for axionic dark matter, and conducting spectral line science. With future expansions, COSMIC could analyze submillisecond fast radio bursts, cover more stars, explore new frequencies, and enhance our understanding of the sprawling cosmic landscape.
COSMIC accomplishes this by utilizing three main components:
- A fiber optic splitter that duplicates data streams from the VLA’s antennas and transports them to COSMIC
- An FPGA cluster that channelizes the data streams to high frequency resolution and transmits them over high-speed Ethernet
- A CPU/GPU cluster that analyzes the data through specialized search pipelines looking for signatures of extraterrestrial technology
By leveraging these capabilities, COSMIC will complete one of the largest SETI surveys undertaken while permitting the VLA to simultaneously carry out its traditional research.
An Adaptable System to Empower Future Discoveries
The genius of COSMIC lies in its adaptability. The infrastructure allows new technologies to be incorporated, ensuring that COSMIC can expand its search and empower new cosmic discoveries for years to come.
COSMIC could soon widen its gaze to encompass more stars across a greater range of frequencies. Software improvements would also enable COSMIC to search for new types of technosignatures. As machine learning capabilities progress, COSMIC may even analyze data autonomously in real time.
Beyond SETI, COSMIC could unlock revelations about fast radio bursts, axionic dark matter, spectral line science, and other enigmas of the cosmos. The cutting-edge infrastructure empowers not just SETI but also wider astronomy and physics research.
An Exciting New Chapter in the Cosmic Quest
As we embark on this thrilling new cosmic journey with COSMIC, the possibilities seem as boundless as the universe itself. By leveraging groundbreaking technology, COSMIC expands the search for distant civilizations. But its flexible design also unlocks potential new cosmic breakthroughs from unraveling the mysteries of dark matter to better grasping fast radio bursts.
