Biocloak

[The Mad Monk]

While reading the August 2016 issue of Astronomy Magazine, I ran across a mini-feature titled "Astrobabble", which claimed "From asterisms to Thorne-Zytkow objects, we turn gibberish into English" The four terms they defined this time were Apochromatic Lens, Ringdown, Gravity Waves, and...BIOCLOAK:

"Periodic laser blasts sent from Earth toward potentially habitable star systems. These pulses could mask Earth's transits across the face of the Sun so hostile alien civilizations using Kepler-like telescopes couldn't find us."



I had no idea.

[BeBMan]

I bet that's what the aliens out there are doing for a long time now to protect themselves from a possible future evil earthling invasion.

[OneFootInTheGrave]

The large blue smurfs from Avatar have been doing it for centuries.

[kentonio]

It's not a terrible idea in fairness. Also whichever **** it is that is pushing the idea of beaming the entire contents of the internet into space needs to be immediately shot as a traitor to the species.

[The Mad Monk]

Yeah, just imagine if the aliens' first taste of humanity is this place...

[rah]

"Periodic laser blasts sent from Earth toward potentially habitable star systems. These pulses could mask Earth's transits across the face of the Sun so hostile alien civilizations using Kepler-like telescopes couldn't find us."

Wouldn't this have to be pretty continual to cover all the potential systems.

[Aeson]

It only has to cover systems within a certain distance, that being half the distance light can cover in the timeframe you care about humanity existing and/or you would estimate our technological ability would be sufficient to protect us.

Outside that distance it's pointless, either FTL isn't possible so no worries, or it is and you can't avoid being found.

The big problem with such a scheme is it had to be started 5 billionish years ago to be more of a sure thing.

At this point it would be better to bluff. A signal that looks like a trap, or a distress signal that asks for help against some vastly powerful warlike life form. "Our systems are being assimilated by the Borg, if you read this, please send help!"

Or just hope our internet is enough of a cesspool that any intelligent life would give us a wide bearth to avoid being infected by what demonic mind plague was responsible...

[The Mad Monk]

It's only covering a potential transit of the sun, so instead of every system in a given range, you need only consider those systems that would lie within a disc-shaped portion of space...a very, very flat disc.

[kentonio]

Or alternatively we could just get to work on our giant space fleet and take the initative for once, damnit.

[Proteus_MST]

Yeah, just imagine if the aliens' first taste of humanity is this place...

Don't worry ... considering the most widely available content on the internet, the first thing aliens see from the internet are sex sites.
Also, as soon as they connect to the internet, their internal mail traffic will be flooded with viagra spam

[-Jrabbit]

We will know them by their cheap Nikes, designer handbags, and replica Rolexes.

[N35t0r]

As soon as aliens land on earth, they'll start to aggressively rape everybody, assuming it's the traditional thing