Time markers in interstellar communication

Abstract

The chances that two civilizations establish contact with each other by means of interstellar radio communication are exceedingly small in the absence of time markers which will tell the two civilizations when to search for one another. In the case of binary stars, suitable time markers are provided by the apastron and the periastron. Single star civilization would transmit signals to binaries at the observation of apastron and periastron and the binary star civilization would scan single stars at the proper time for the reception of these signals.