Communities

Writing
Writing
Codidact Meta
Codidact Meta
The Great Outdoors
The Great Outdoors
Photography & Video
Photography & Video
Scientific Speculation
Scientific Speculation
Cooking
Cooking
Electrical Engineering
Electrical Engineering
Judaism
Judaism
Languages & Linguistics
Languages & Linguistics
Software Development
Software Development
Mathematics
Mathematics
Christianity
Christianity
Code Golf
Code Golf
Music
Music
Physics
Physics
Linux Systems
Linux Systems
Power Users
Power Users
Tabletop RPGs
Tabletop RPGs
Community Proposals
Community Proposals
tag:snake search within a tag
answers:0 unanswered questions
user:xxxx search by author id
score:0.5 posts with 0.5+ score
"snake oil" exact phrase
votes:4 posts with 4+ votes
created:<1w created < 1 week ago
post_type:xxxx type of post
Search help
Notifications
Mark all as read See all your notifications »
Rigorous Science

How far from the Sun could we detect an alien spacecraft similar to the Voyagers?

+0
−0

Suppose that there is an alien spacecraft travelling towards the Sun. This spacecraft is similar in design, size and power output to Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 as they were immediately after launch from Earth, and is coasting in its orbit (no powered maneuvers taking place).

Also suppose that a budding scientist on present day Earth just so happens to point their instruments (optical telescope, radio telescope, or something else; ground-based or space-based) in exactly the right direction at exactly the right time.

If the spacecraft is communicating at all at this point, it seems unlikely to be transmitting in the direction of Earth.

How far from the Sun (or Earth) could the spacecraft be where we'd still have a chance of detecting it, assuming for a moment that all events line up perfectly for detection? Would we be able to determine that it is likely an extraterrestrial spacecraft, as opposed to some natural interstellar object?

History
Why does this post require moderator attention?
You might want to add some details to your flag.
Why should this post be closed?

0 comment threads

0 answers

Sign up to answer this question »