Dr. Korpela and his colleagues Prof. Shauna Sallmen and Ms. Kaisa Crawford-Taylor have published a new paper today in the Astronomical Journal about whether astronomers be able to detect belts of satellites circling planets around other stars. Unfortunately, the answer is that even the thickest satellite belts will be very difficult to see with current technology. Even the James Webb Space Telescope will find it difficult.

If, like most sentient beings in the Galaxy, you don't have a subscription to the Astronomical Journal you can see a preprint of the article at arXiv.org.

Thank you for the link to the journal article. Very interesting -- I bet all the parameters do make detection extremely difficult!

Just one Q: why is it important to find and study belts around exoplanets of M-class stars?

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I have to ask, did someone mean "Clarke" Exo-belts, for Arthur C. Clarke?

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I have to ask, did someone mean "Clarke" Exo-belts, for Arthur C. Clarke?

Correct... looks like a typo. And yes, it is named after him as he basically invented the concept of the geostationary comsat (as well as writing much of my favorite sci-fi.)
I've passed it on (don't want to be editing thread titles in a newsfeed) so hopeful it will be corrected.

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Just one Q: why is it important to find and study belts around exoplanets of M-class stars?

M-class stars are the most common type (around 75% of stars) and because they are the most common, most nearby stars are going to be M-class and most planets will be found around M-stars. The TESS mission, looking for nearby planetary systems, will mostly find planets around M-stars. That's why we spend a lot of time talking about M-stars. There aren't many stars like the sun (G-class) that are close enough for us to observe these effects (even though G-stars are much brighter than M-stars). It was also the focus of Hector Socas-Navarro's earlier paper on Clarke belts, and we wanted to respond to some of the misconceptions people had about that paper.

Of course we don't know if life is common around M-stars (yet).

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@SETIEric@qoto.org (Mastodon)

Regarding Clarke Exo-Belts, I believe a truly advanced civilization would have harnessed their planets natural magnetic and electrical fields. In doing this, they have eliminated the need for external satelites. If the argument is for photographic purposes, harnessing and tuning to a planets energy would give the civilization the ability to generate a perfect map through to the core in layers one atom thick.

Search for planets that would show characteristics of harnessing that energy. It would be easier than searching for belts 1,000,000,000th the size of the planet you are looking at.

Additionally, a planet, such as earth, creates enough energy through, lightening, hurricanes, eruptions, ocean currents, solar, wind, hydrogen, etc., it would be irrational to think they would utilize a Dyson Swarm or Sphere to power their planet.

Place a strong magnetic field around the tube of your telescope, one that is produced from electric wires wrapping. and watch the increase in image size.

Just a suggestion.

Belts of satellites say: there is somebody outside

Just M2 IV for that of a subdwarf, and I am getting old for only making it a giant star instead.