In a recent conversation with SETI Institute Trustee, Dr. Frank Drake, we discussed the last 50 years of SETI research. Watch as Frank, for the very first time, describes his experience when he believed he discovered a sign of intelligent life in the universe!
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Trained as a quantum mechanic, Dr. Gerry Harp was deeply interested in possibilities for using the multiple telescopes
of the Allen Telescope Array to generate steerable "beams" on the sky – beams that could be far smaller than any single antenna
could produce. Such beams don't emit anything, but work in reverse by capturing only energy that comes from the sky in a certain
direction. Gerry joined the SETI Institute in 2000, practically at the telescope's inception and uses the telescope for SETI research.
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« Why do We Explore? | Main | Exploration of an Extraterrestrial Ocean »
Frank Drake: First Contact
Posted on: June 30, 2010 6:01 PM, by SETI Institute
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Sorry for going off on a tangent again, a news item just arrived that makes the chances of finding complex life more likely. "Discovery of a complex, multicellular life from over two billion years ago".
http://www.physorg.com/news197132216.html
This shows that multicellular life can emerge as soon as there is enough oxygen around. Unfortunately, this was a false spring, and multicellular life had to wait until the ocean became *permanently* oxygenated ca. 600 million years ago for life to really take off.
Now back to the Drake comments.
Posted by: Birger Johansson | June 30, 2010 6:28 PM
Amazing stuff. Im waiting for the day when that magic blurb of a headline appears on the morning computer web page; or ipad. " Scientists worldwide; captivated by what appears to be an artificial signal from...." Im wondering if a good strategy would be to search a section of the galaxy that houses the _Oldest stars. That is no doubt where the stage has been set the longest for evolution to play out its destiny.....Radio, however; is beginning to show its age. As for optical; is it possible a narrowly focused beam might paint an astronomical object with its light; so that it can be observed from reflection; from a large number of vantage points. Keep searching; its just a matter of a few years until the big day...;-)
Posted by: skeptical alien | July 2, 2010 8:36 PM
"Skeptical Alien" is a right thinker! There are now efforts at several places to detect narrowly focused laser beams which could well be so bright, if just analogs to our own laser capabilities are used to transmit, that they can be detected reliably with very small, say one-meter and larger, telescopes. More such searches are planned, but are proceeding slowly for lack of funds.
In the meantime, radio is not "old" yet. Any realistic appraisal of our past radio searches reaches the conclusion that we should not have succeeded yet. We believe we must make comprehensive searches of more than a million stars before a success is plausible.
Posted by: Frank Drake | July 3, 2010 1:50 AM
In conjunction with the search for extraterrestrial intelligence the goal of colonizing Mars and making it habitable is a good one. It could distract us from the current conflicts that seem to be consuming us. It would also inspire a new generation of scientists, physicians and engineers just as Apollo did when I was growing up.
Is it possible that alien intelligence is watching to see if we are able to colonize another planet before they make contact?
Posted by: Nader Ajluni | July 3, 2010 6:09 PM
My research ended with the big bang and stymied back to the center of gravitational force applied to the mechanics necessary to determine the predominant position of the alter ego state of intelligence.
Posted by: A.L.N. | July 6, 2010 3:11 AM
I dont have audio fecility on this computer and unable to follow the video. But sticking to the topic, following the well discussed reasons, biological species of higher intelligence will arise only in near-earth sige planets of sun-sized stars. With the rarity of the earth like oxygen bearing ecosystem and well-balanced protective environment existing over sustained geological periods, my estimate is that there will not be another intelligent civilisation within a radius of space containing around 100,000 stars. Perhaps even much more. Taking cue from our own example, once technology really takes off, a biological species will not take more than a few hundred or one thousand years of continuous progress from the lift-off stage to be giving way substantially to a non-biological artificial product (artificial species). In most cases these species are likely to lapse back into less technical levels from chaos and distruction. The chance of intercepting signals from such distances of space is extremely low (near zero) and even if intercepted will be likely from species already downgraded or extinct. Very rare examples of species who passes the test of Intelligence and cross over/evolve to the next stage of Artificial Intelligene, are not be dealing with us, unless they require our Earth for some urgent reason. The argument that highly intelligennt species are not likely to disturb our progress in isolation (as also intended by nature by putting brfore us the barrier of Speed of Light)is to my thinking very correct. Moreover Human Beings at this stage is not yet ready to cope with such an close contact.... Still I am all for SETI, if at all to prove me wrong. But if the contact is very intrusive or extensive, Humans will definitely loose its identity and its present drive to reach the frontiers of the Universe.
Posted by: PRADEEP GOSWAMI | July 8, 2010 8:33 AM
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Posted by: PRADEEP GOSWAMI | July 8, 2010 8:39 AM