Wind Power as a Technosignature on M-dwarf Planets

Abstract

We suggest that the large-scale deployment of wind turbines on an M-dwarf planet could produce observable technosignatures. Motivated by observations of hypersonic wind velocities on WASP-127 b, we note that the atmospheres of such planets could serve as vast reservoirs of energy for an extraterrestrial civilization. A large-scale deployment of wind turbines in a hypersonic environment would produce heated shock waves in the hypersonic stream, cause strong frictional heating from the rotation of the blades, and be a source of infrared radiation. We mention possible scenarios that could lead to the deployment of wind turbines on a gas giant and also note that similar features could exist on terrestrial M-dwarf planets. The idea that aerodynamic peculiarities could be a technosignature is worth keeping in mind as ground- and space-based exoplanet observations continue to improve.

3 pages, published in RNAAS

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