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“Another strategy is to search for civilizations that have the ability to re-engineer objects in space. Swedish astronomers have set up a simple but ingenious project that compares images of outer space taken dozens of years apart to see if anything has changed. This could reveal the existence of massive construction efforts. Another Swedish project, known as VASCO, looks closer to home, comparing images of our solar system taken before 1957 with recent photos of the same areas. Beatriz Villarroel of the Nordic Institute for Theoretical Physics calls VASCO “a straightforward attempt to find artificially constructed objects, including alien probes, that might be cruising our neighborhood.”
See full article: https://www.wsj.com/articles/
VASCO Workshop 2022: A Pacesetter for Next-Generation SETI!
Are we alone? Globally, the quest to proffer scientific answers on the existence of extraterrestrials, transients and habitable worlds has led to varying scientific meetings and technological developments to satisfy human curiosity. The VASCO in-house scientific workshop 2022 in its uniqueness gathered professionals from around the globe mainly Europe, the United States, Asia and Africa to deliberate on its achievements thus far and proffer the next steps on its SETI research and promotion of astrophysics through citizen science.
The 3-days scientific workshop provided varying presentations about the VASCO SETI project, the VASCO citizen science project and the VASCO journal club meetings. Also, the workshop had varying presentations on the use of optical and radio telescopes across the globe for real-time astrophysical observations/SETI, the development of varying technologies for next-generation SETI and simulated astrophysical theories for deep space research.
The lessons of the workshop cannot be overemphasized because it provided a platform for an interdisciplinary share of scientific knowledge across various disciplines of physics, astronomy, astrobiology and remote sensing. The Progress reports from the VASCO citizen science project showed that it has helped in promoting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal on “Quality education”, and “Reduced inequality within and among countries” (SDGs 4 & 10). The positive impact of the VASCO citizen science project especially in Africa has led to a startling interest in space science and research across various levels of education.
The VASCO workshop 2022 was a huge success and the outcomes if implemented will be a stepping stone for the next generation of SETI programs. The efforts of today’s scientists are the bedrock of tomorrow’s scientific innovations and discoveries. SETI research is elaborate, time-consuming and requires continuous scanning of the universe, through the persistence and consistency of the VASCO project over time, we are setting the pace for the next generation of researchers.
— Timothy Egbuim
Center of Basic Space Science
Enugu, Nigeria