- Breakthrough Initiative will scour one million of the closest stars to Earth
- It will use two powerful radio telescopes to listen for alien transmissions
- A third telescope will search for faint laser signals from other worlds
- The project will cover 10 times more sky and be 50 times more sensitive than previous attempts to search for intelligent extraterrestrial life
A new search for intelligent alien life using two of the world's most powerful telescopes has been launched by leading scientists including Professor Stephen Hawking.
The telescopes will scour one million of the closest stars to Earth for faint signals thrown out into space by intelligent life beyond our own world.
Scientists taking part in the $100 million (£64 million) initiative will also scan the very centre of our galaxy along with 100 of the closest galaxies for low power radio transmissions.