Speaker
Description
The plausibility of micron-scale transport from the Interstellar Medium through the heliosphere has been affirmed by discoveries of interstellar dust particles in the Solar System. Both the intentional and unintentional dispersion of micron-scale debris from anywhere outside the Solar System might also enter it, at hyperbolic velocities, and potentially offer evidence of other technological civilisations. We present analyses of the potential sources, quantities, and discoverable proportions of micron-scale extraterrestrial artefacts on the Moon and other stable surfaces in the Solar System, transported by stellar winds, radiation pressure, and other natural processes. These include accidental releases from host systems that may be thrown out by collisional cascades in large techno-structures (e.g. Dyson spheres/swarms), then ‘ground to dust;’ long-lasting solar sails pushed out of their host star orbits as they ascend the main sequence or red giant branch; and gravitational slingshots of artefacts by large planets. For both accidental and deliberate dispersions of micron-scale particles we examine possible survival rates through the hot, warm and cold ISM. We introduce the computer vision and machine learning tools that may lead to their detection, both directly and by way of their hypervelocity impact crater morphologies, as well as to the detection of any macro-scale constructions that may have been designed and programmed to develop from such particles, taking advantage of the same natural transport processes. Finally we introduce scenarios by which these detection mechanisms, with examination of varying volumes of the lunar regolith, may constrain the number of past technological civilisations in the Galaxy.
