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 According to a group called the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI), aliens may be spying on us using the Earth’s co-orbitals, space objects that orbit the sun at roughly the same distance as the Earth. As such, the group is suggesting that our co-orbitals be searched for evidence of bugs, robotic probes or other listening devices used by extraterrestrial life to spy on humans.
First among those to suggest that aliens may have bugged Earth using co-orbitals was physicist and independent SETI researcher James Benford who recommends observing Earth's co-orbitals using optical and radio telescopes in addition to pinging them with planetary radar to establish a connection with anyone possibly listening. Benford also suggested that sending small spacecraft to the co-orbitals would be a relatively cheap and easy method for locating evidence of such alien technology.
Evidently, the idea isn’t all that far-fetched, as China's space agency announced plans in April to send a probe to the asteroid 2016 HO3, which has an orbit around the sun that keeps it as a constant companion of Earth.
Yet, even those in support of the SETI research recognize that the scheme is a long-shot.
“How likely is it that alien probe would be on one of these co-orbitals, obviously extremely unlikely," said Paul Davies, a physicist and astrobiologist at Arizona State University.
In the event that alien surveillance is discovered, what does it say that aliens have been reticent to really reach out to us in any “Independence Day” or “V” kind of way (that is, by establishing contact but without attacking and/or eating us)?
What if, as they surveilled us, aliens happened upon an episode of Keeping up with the Kardashians and opted not to engage, as no sign of intelligent life was evident on the planet?
Benford's paper detailing the idea was published in The Astronomical Journal.
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