Are Black Holes Being Harnessed for Power by Aliens?

Black holes are some of the most mystifying parts of our universe. If you need a quick science refreshed on what they, NASA notes: “think of a star ten times more massive than the Sun squeezed into a sphere approximately the diameter of New York City. The result is a gravitational field so strong that nothing, not even light, can escape.” Although we are still learning more about them every year, some questions have arisen that ask if it is possible to harness the power of black holes…and, if perhaps, aliens have already done that.

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It is important to note that scientists can’t actually directly observe black holes. We can’t rely on telescopes that detect x-rays, lights, or other forms of electromagnetic radiation to view them. So, how do we do it? Well, we infer their presence. We look at matter around where we think a black hole may be and explore if it is affected. NASA notes, “Recent discoveries offer some tantalizing evidence that black holes have a dramatic influence on the neighborhoods around them - emitting powerful gamma ray bursts, devouring nearby stars, and spurring the growth of new stars in some areas while stalling it in others.”

Now that we’ve had a little refresher on what black holes are and how we observe them…let’s get back to the aliens.

In a paper by a group of researchers led by Tiger Yu-Yang Hsiao, an astronomer at the National Tsing Hua University in Taiwan, they believe that if we look for signs of Dyson spheres, a type of hypothetical alien megastructure, around black holes, we may be able to prove that aliens are or have harnessed the power of black holes. You can read the full article here (if you don’t have access, try reaching out to your local library!).

Dyson spheres aren’t a new kind of vacuum, rather they are believed to be alien megastructures related to power. Basically, they’re power plants that harvest the immense power needed to support space travel and other research.

In an article by Vice, Hsiao is quoted saying: “In this study, we only discuss the civilisations which were born and raised from other stars,” Hsiao and his co-authors said in the study. “We speculate that this kind of civilization can collect the energy remotely or treat the energy source as a power station rather than living around a black hole with a harsh environment. Therefore, throughout the paper, we do not discuss whether the temperature and the gravity of our configurations are suitable for life.” 

Because of the way we already track black holes, it would be pretty similar to check for Dyson Spheres by black holes. In fact, the re-radiated energy that would be created by a Dyson Sphere siphoning off energy would create a notably unique wavelength that could be detectable by earth-bound scientists.

It should be noted that, of course, even for an advanced alien society siphoning power from a black hole would still pose risks. The power supply, though quite more than a star would provide, would also be less stable. In fact, because black holes usually have spikes of huge amounts of activity and none it could create an issue for maintaining stabilized megastructures if activity spikes too high and destroys the Dyson Sphere. However, as mentioned previously, if these advanced civilizations needed a huge amount of power this would provide much more than a star could…so, perhaps it would be worth the risk.

Currently, Hsiao and his team of researchers are developing algorithms to search through existing telescope data in search of those telltale signatures.

The blog image depicts: Using the Event Horizon Telescope, scientists obtained an image of the black hole at the center of galaxy M87, outlined by emission from hot gas swirling around it under the influence of strong gravity near its event horizon. Credits: Event Horizon Telescope collaboration et al.