How Does We Might Find Alien Life In 1,796 Days Work?

We might find alien life in 1,796 days by using a special kind of telescope to look at faraway stars and see if something strange is happening around them.

Imagine you're looking for a friend who's hiding behind a tree. You can’t see them directly, but you might notice the tree moving or the leaves shaking, clues that your friend is there. That’s like how scientists use a telescope called TESS, short for Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite, to look for alien life.

TESS looks at stars and sees if they flicker, just like a light bulb might flicker if something passes in front of it. If a planet is passing in front of a star, it blocks some of the star's light. This happens regularly, like clockwork, and that’s how scientists know there’s a planet out there.

Now imagine you're counting days on your fingers, 1,796 days is almost five years! That’s how long TESS will be working to find these flickers, and maybe even discover signs of life, like a big “hello” from another world.