Panoramic optical and near-infrared SETI instrument: optical and structural design concepts

TL;DR

This paper introduces a novel panoramic optical and near-infrared SETI instrument design that significantly expands sky coverage and observational capabilities for detecting potential extraterrestrial technosignatures.

Contribution

The paper presents a new instrument concept using an array of refracting telescopes and Fresnel lenses to enhance SETI search parameters and sky coverage.

Findings

Design of a 198-telescope array with optimized layout

Optical performance analysis of Fresnel lenses for panoramic SETI

Projected increase in sky-area and stellar systems monitored

Abstract

We propose a novel instrument design to greatly expand the current optical and near-infrared SETI search parameter space by monitoring the entire observable sky during all observable time. This instrument is aimed to search for technosignatures by means of detecting nano- to micro-second light pulses that could have been emitted, for instance, for the purpose of interstellar communications or energy transfer. We present an instrument conceptual design based upon an assembly of 198 refracting 0.5-m telescopes tessellating two geodesic domes. This design produces a regular layout of hexagonal collecting apertures that optimizes the instrument footprint, aperture diameter, instrument sensitivity and total field-of-view coverage. We also present the optical performance of some Fresnel lenses envisaged to develop a dedicated panoramic SETI (PANOSETI) observatory that will dramatically increase sky-area searched (pi steradians per dome), wavelength range covered, number of stellar systems observed, interstellar space examined and duration of time monitored with respect to previous optical and near-infrared technosignature finders.