Scientists Model Orbital Physics of Giant Space Mirrors as Potential Alien Technosignature

Somewhere between science fiction and the search for cosmic neighbors, two researchers have done something quietly remarkable: they have mapped the physics of structures no human has ever built, so that future observers might recognize them if someone else already has. Shauna Sallmen and Eric Korpela have modeled the orbital mechanics of hypothetical giant space mirrors—megastructures that an advanced civilization might use to terraform tidally-locked planets—identifying which configurations would survive the relentless pressure of starlight long enough to be worth building. The work is less a