Wind Power as a Technosignature on M-dwarf Planets

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Haqq-Misra, Jacob, Danylov, Mykhaylo
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Haqq-Misra, Jacob
Danylov, Mykhaylo
author_facet Haqq-Misra, Jacob
Danylov, Mykhaylo
contents We suggest that the large-scale deployment of wind turbines on an M-dwarf planet could produce observable technosignatures. Motivated by observations of hypersonic wind velocities on WASP-127 b, we note that the atmospheres of such planets could serve as vast reservoirs of energy for an extraterrestrial civilization. A large-scale deployment of wind turbines in a hypersonic environment would produce heated shock waves in the hypersonic stream, cause strong frictional heating from the rotation of the blades, and be a source of infrared radiation. We mention possible scenarios that could lead to the deployment of wind turbines on a gas giant and also note that similar features could exist on terrestrial M-dwarf planets. The idea that aerodynamic peculiarities could be a technosignature is worth keeping in mind as ground- and space-based exoplanet observations continue to improve.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2510_21777
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Wind Power as a Technosignature on M-dwarf Planets
Haqq-Misra, Jacob
Danylov, Mykhaylo
Popular Physics
We suggest that the large-scale deployment of wind turbines on an M-dwarf planet could produce observable technosignatures. Motivated by observations of hypersonic wind velocities on WASP-127 b, we note that the atmospheres of such planets could serve as vast reservoirs of energy for an extraterrestrial civilization. A large-scale deployment of wind turbines in a hypersonic environment would produce heated shock waves in the hypersonic stream, cause strong frictional heating from the rotation of the blades, and be a source of infrared radiation. We mention possible scenarios that could lead to the deployment of wind turbines on a gas giant and also note that similar features could exist on terrestrial M-dwarf planets. The idea that aerodynamic peculiarities could be a technosignature is worth keeping in mind as ground- and space-based exoplanet observations continue to improve.
title Wind Power as a Technosignature on M-dwarf Planets
topic Popular Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2510.21777