What are the chances that life evolved on other planets? 100%. What are the chances that some of THAT life evolved "intelligence"? Say 0.00001%. What is the chance that that life form is beaming messages to us? Zero. Nada. Zilch.
But...
What is the chance that intelligent live has junk TV, radio-transmitted music and other forms of EMF communication? Very very high. Therefore, the way to find extraterrestrial intelligence elsewhere in the universe is to try to tune in their version of Days of Our LIves or MTV. Hey, we'll take the Milton Berle Show if we have to.
And now, finally, scientists have caught on and are considering doing just this.
ASTRON is researching the potential role of the LOFAR telescope in the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence (SETI). This initiative has been taken by Professor Michael Garrett, General Director of ASTRON and professor of radio techniques in astronomy at Leiden University in the Netherlands. Researchers from all over the world will contribute to this effort to find ways in which LOFAR can be used in the search for extraterrestrial life.
...
LOFAR (the Low Frequency Array), a new telescope that is currently being built by ASTRON, consists of about 25,000 small antennas that will receive signals from space. Despite the huge distances between stars, the next generation of radio telescopes, such as LOFAR, begin to offer the possibility of detecting radio signals beamed towards the Earth by other intelligent beings. For the nearest stars, LOFAR might even be able to detect the leakage radiation associated with extraterrestrial radio and TV transmitters.
According to Professor Garrett, LOFAR is well suited to SETI research. 'LOFAR can extend the search for extra-terrestrial intelligence to an entirely unexplored part of the low-frequency radio spectrum, an area that is heavily used for civil and military communications here on Earth. In addition, LOFAR can survey large areas of the sky simultaneously - an important advantage if SETI signals are rare or transient in nature.'
Professor Dan Werthimer, the SETI@home project Scientist at the University of Berkeley in the United States, says: 'SETI searches are still only scratching the surface, we need to use as many different telescopes, techniques and strategies as possible, in order to maximize our chances of success.'
...
- Log in to post comments
More like this
I'd quibble with that Greg. As much as I agree there is always the possibility that it hasn't happened yet. :)
University of Berkeley?
--UCBerkeley '70
Hey, it could be the University of Berkeley. There is a 'Berkeley' school of music (in Boston). Here in Minnesota, I live a few blocks from Northwestern. When I was in Massachusetts, just south of town was "SMU" (Southeastern Mass U).
Doug: Five bucks says I'm right.
"What are the chances that life evolved on other planets?"
It depends on whether the planet is a Plutoid...!
"What are the chances that life evolved on other planets?"
It depends on whether the planet is a Plutoid...!
Alas, would that the likeliest leakage radiation were I Love Lucy and The Great Gildersleeve. In fact, if we consider the Earth's example, the most distinctive emissions come from early-warning radar systems scanning the horizons for incoming missiles. Woody Sullivan did a study of this in Science years ago, including measurements of the leakage signal reflected from the moon.
If it's any consolation, though, such radars provide a lot more information about the home planet (for example, its rotation rate) than the less directional radio and TV signals.
I should update my comment based on the breaking news that the US and Russia are moving to use a Russian radar system for the detection and tracking of potentially Earth-crossing asteroids. One could imagine that a well-developed ETI might invest heavily in such a system, so that might be the most detectable signal it produces.
Earth-crossing - what a lovely euphemism for dinosaur-extinction-level-impacts.