Researchers from the SETI Institute, the Berkeley SETI Research Center, and the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research have announced a potentially groundbreaking study of over 2,800 distant galaxies for signs of highly advanced “super civilizations.” Unlike previous efforts by SETI researchers that scanned our local Milky Way galaxy for signs of advanced technology, dubbed “technosignatures,” this latest effort utilized the large viewing area and overall scanning power of the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) in Western Australia to look at thousands of galaxies all at once.

“This work represents a significant step forward in our efforts to detect signals from advanced extraterrestrial civilizations,” said Dr. Chenoa Tremblay of the SETI Institute and a study co-author. “The large field of view and low-frequency range of the MWA makes it an ideal tool for this kind of research, and the limits we set will guide future studies.”

Although no definitive technosignatures were detected, the team says their study will place critical frequency and energy limits on future efforts to search for signs of super civilizations throughout the cosmos.

In the published study, the research team behind the unprecedented effort said they wanted to move beyond previous SETI studies by scanning numerous galaxies simultaneously. However, for a signal to be strong enough for us to detect it on Earth, it would have to be produced by a highly advanced civilization. Specifically, the team said it would likely have to be produced by a Type II or Type III civilization on the Kardashev scale.