Scientists have discovered how alien civilizations might become "star eaters." Could humans follow in their footsteps?

No one knows whether extraterrestrial civilizations exist, but theoretically, considering the vastness of the Universe, it is possible. It is also difficult to predict what level of technological advancement such a civilization may reach. In a new study published on the preprint server arXiv, scientists examined what the level of technological development of humanity might look like in the future. They also propose rethinking the Kardashev scale, which suggests that civilizations increase their level of development by harnessing more and more energy. The researchers believe that the Kardashev scale sets upper limits on the amount of stellar energy a civilization can harness, specifically the luminosity limit of a star, but any civilization could potentially bypass this limit by directly using the entire mass of the star, as reported by Universe Today.

Extraterrestrial civilizations can vary

The Kardashev scale introduces the notion that there are different types of advanced civilizations in the Universe. To characterize the level of development of civilizations, they are divided into three types based on how much energy they consume.

• Type I — civilizations that have developed technologies to harness and store all the energy from their home planets.
• Type II — civilizations that have reached a level of advancement where they can harness and store all the energy emitted by their native star.
• Type III — civilizations capable of harnessing and storing the energy of their entire home galaxy.

The Kardashev scale is based on the assumption that civilizations and their energy needs will grow exponentially. This aligns with observations of humanity's technological development.

According to the scientists, this scale reflects our limited perspective, constrained by our own world and human development, regarding the behavior of extraterrestrial civilizations. There may be other pathways to technological advancement applicable to potential extraterrestrial civilizations.

The authors of the study state that their scientific work reexamines the developmental trajectories of civilizations and their energy consumption levels. Some civilizations may limit themselves to exploring only nearby space and never evolve into Type III civilizations. Others may require much more energy, leading them to colonize broader regions of space. Conversely, civilizations may not expand their presence in space but consume vast amounts of energy.

"Star Eaters"

The scientists indicate that the Kardashev scale considers a theoretical limit for a civilization that utilizes all stellar energy emitted by its native star. However, there is another possible scenario.

For instance, humanity may eventually reach a level of development where it can harness and store all the energy emitted by the Sun. In this case, there would be a choice: either to colonize other star systems to harness energy from multiple stars and their planets, or to use the mass of the Sun itself for this purpose.

The authors of the study believe that extraterrestrial civilizations could exist as "star eaters," which they refer to as "star-vores." Collecting the mass of a star and converting it into energy allows a civilization to achieve energy usage scales beyond those anticipated by the Kardashev scale.

The scientists assert that if extraterrestrial civilizations exist in our galaxy, they are likely older and more advanced than humanity is now. According to the study's authors, if the idea of using a star's mass for energy conversion "has occurred to us, then it is likely that someone has already implemented this idea in practice."

Where to search for extraterrestrial civilizations?

The scientists believe that signs of such an extraterrestrial civilization can be found by observing binary stars, where one star siphons material from another. If anomalous behavior is detected in this process, it may indicate technological activity. It is possible that a highly advanced civilization is indeed gathering the mass of a star for subsequent conversion into energy.