BS: SETI- update 2004

Subject: BS: SETI- update 2004
From: beardedbruce
Date: 02 Sep 04 - 02:20 PM

news story

Right channel. Any comments?

Subject: RE: BS: SETI- update 2004
From: Shanghaiceltic
Date: 02 Sep 04 - 05:12 PM

Apparently the signal was very very brief, about one minute, and there is some dispute amongst scientists as to whether it is 'genuine' or just noise. Maybe it was an ET Mudcatter getting doored. But still it is quite exciting.

Scientists tune in to 'radio message from the aliens'
By Roger Highfield, Science Editor
(Filed: 02/09/2004)


A radio signal picked up by a search for extraterrestrial intelligence marks the best candidate yet for "first contact" by aliens.

The signal was traced to a point between the constellations Pisces and Aires, according to New Scientist.

Astronomers who have been scanning the universe for years seeking contact with intelligent life said it stood out as being "unusual".

The signal has been observed for only about a minute, not long enough to allow astronomers to analyse it in detail.

It is unlikely to be the result of any obvious radio interference or noise, and does not bear the hallmark of any known astronomical object.

Although it is the best candidate yet for contact with an alien life form, the astronomers say that it may turn out to be an unknown astronomical phenomenon, or simply a blemish produced by the telescope.

For six years, the SETI@home project (Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence), has used programs running as screensavers on millions of PCs worldwide to sift signals picked up by the Arecibo telescope, in Puerto Rico. David Anderson, the project's director, said he was intrigued by the signal but sceptical.

According to a new paper in Nature, we might be more successful searching our own backyard for clues to other life forms.

The article by Dr Gregory Wright and Christopher Rose, the professor of electrical and computer engineering at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, suggests that to discover if we are alone, we should look for signs in our planetary backyard, akin to the monolith in Arthur C Clarke's 2001.

They calculate that inscribing information and physically sending it to some location in deep space is more energy-efficient than using radio waves, which disperse.

"Think of a flashlight beam," says Prof Rose. "Its intensity decreases as it gets farther from its source." The same goes for radio waves.

However, a physical message stays where it lands. As for the form of alien messages, he speculates that it could be anything from text in a real language to, more likely, organic material embedded in an asteroid or in a crater.

Prof Rose suggests that there may be many messages, perhaps millions.

Subject: RE: BS: SETI- update 2004
From: Bill D
Date: 02 Sep 04 - 05:23 PM

mathematics says they are out there. I'd love it if we got some regular signals in my lifetime.

Subject: RE: BS: SETI- update 2004
From: Teresa
Date: 02 Sep 04 - 05:24 PM

Very interesting. :) I have the Seti@home screen saver, and I'm glad to be a part of that project in my own small way. First contact has been a lifetime dream of mine, and however it happens, it would be a wondrous event. We'll just have to wait and see what happens.

(The science-fiction author, the late Charles Sheffield wrote a fascinating series of novels about alien artifacts in space, known as the heritage series. I loved those books.)
T

Subject: RE: BS: SETI- update 2004
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 02 Sep 04 - 06:32 PM

It's probably the text message I sent to my friend that never made it to her phone. She's still waiting for me to pick her up......

Seriously, it's great that finally something has happened, but as I explained to Limpit, there is no reason why they should be a) little, b) green or c) any way inclined to leave our planet alone bearing in mind the state that 2/3rds of it is in.

LTS

Subject: RE: BS: SETI- update 2004
From: robomatic
Date: 02 Sep 04 - 06:58 PM

I think it could be very exciting but it could also be an alien version of "I Love Lucy" with bad writing and mascara running only everyone's got 3 arms with 4 fingers and their navels are on their foreheads.
"oh ricky....waahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"

Subject: RE: BS: SETI- update 2004
From: mack/misophist
Date: 02 Sep 04 - 11:36 PM

Too bad I can't get SETI to play nice on my machine. Oh well. Folding is probably more useful in the short run. But not as exciting.

Subject: RE: BS: SETI- update 2004
From: JennyO
Date: 03 Sep 04 - 04:26 AM

It's probably a Vogon Constructor Fleet, coming to demolish the earth to make way for a new hyperspace bypass.


PEOPLE OF EARTH - YOUR ATTENTION PLEASE.....

Subject: RE: BS: SETI- update 2004
From: Teresa
Date: 03 Sep 04 - 01:51 PM

Perhaps not.

But I still have hope.   :)
T

Subject: RE: BS: SETI- update 2004
From: Teresa
Date: 03 Sep 04 - 03:25 PM

Not the Vogon, though :) (just saw the message juxtaposition there ... I can't stand bad poetry! Ah well, maybe it would be worth it for all the fun adventure. :)
T

Subject: RE: BS: SETI- update 2004
From: JennyO
Date: 04 Sep 04 - 05:01 AM

..and really wild things!

Anyway, I think we already have enough bad poetry - after all, we have William McGonagall