Where are we in Universe? Scientists turn to Black Holes to locate Earth, but phones and Wi-Fi block signals

The scientists who precisely measure the position of Earth are in a bit of trouble after the rise of wifi, mobile phones, and satellite internet. The development unfolded after it began blocking the specific frequency lanes on the radio spectrum highway that track black holes. They use radio telescopes to detect the radio waves coming from the black holes.

The measurement is done by using the science of geodesy, based on tracking the locations of black holes in distant galaxies. It plays a significant role in the satellites being used by the scientists for navigation, communication, and Earth observation every day, according to a report by Space.com.

They suggest that radio waves pass cleanly through the atmosphere, which helps in receiving during day and night and in all weather conditions for study and measurement. Radio waves are also utilised for communication on Earth, which includes wifi and mobile phones.

The use of varied radio frequencies along with different lanes on the radio highway, is closely regulated, out of which a few narrow lanes are reserved for radio astronomy for study and other astronomical projects

However, the scientists have claimed that there was little traffic on the radio highway in previous decades. Scientists commonly ventured beyond traditional radio astronomy lanes to receive the signals from the black hole. Achieving the extreme precision required in modern geodesy now depends on accessing frequencies beyond those strictly set aside for astronomy.

Radio traffic on the rise

In the recent past, with the advancement of technology, human-made electromagnetic pollution has exponentially increased. Following the emergence of wifi and mobile phone services, scientists had to move to higher frequencies. But now they began running out of lanes.

Five to six generations of mobile phones (each occupying a new lane) are crowding the spectrum of radio frequency, along with internet connections now directly beaming from a fleet of thousands of satellites.

The multitude of powerful signals is often too strong for geodetic observatories to detect the very weak signals emitted by black holes. This potentially jeopardises key satellite-based services.