A new place to watch
On 22 October 2026 the SETI Institute announced that two LaserSETI instruments were operating at AlUla Manara in north-west Saudi Arabia. AlUla is the project’s first observing site in Asia. It extends a network that already has sites in California, Hawai‘i, Arizona and Puerto Rico.
Looking for brief flashes
LaserSETI uses wide-field cameras to watch large areas for short flashes of light. Some signals may come from brief astronomical events. The project is also designed to look for light that could carry signs of technology beyond Earth. The announcement concerns the new instruments and their coverage.
Why geography matters
A network spread across longitudes can watch more of the night sky over time. Observations from different locations also give researchers more information for assessing an unusual signal when coverage overlaps.