>There should be civilizations millions of years older than ours whom we should be able to detect.

Meanwhile this fucker stares right at you.

https://arxiv.org/ftp/arxiv/papers/1412/1412.4011.pdf

>We consider activities that lead ultimately
to a galactic structure consisting of a central inner core surrounded by a more distant ring of
stars separated by a relatively sparser ‘gap’, where star systems and stellar materials may have
been removed, ‘lifted’ or turned into Dyson Spheres. When one looks to the sky, one finds
that such galaxies do indeed exist—including the beautiful ringed galaxy known as ‘Hoag’s
Object’ (PGC 54559) in the constellation Serpens. This leads us to pose the question: Is
Hoag’s Object an example of galaxy-scale macro-engineering? And this suggests a program
of possible observational activities and theoretical explorations, several of which are
presented here, that could be carried out in order to begin to investigate this beguiling
question.