according to scientific facts, the nearest stars to us are only a few lightyears away.
A lightyear is how far light year travels in one year.
So naturally, for most of the closest stars we've pretty much determined that there is no life on them.
Seti, if I understand it, is searching the stars for intelligent life.
So we are searching for stars that are several thousand lightyears away from us.
nothing travels faster than light. (that we know of)
Seti is searching light, radio, and electromagentic radition from space.
If light is the fastest of everything Seti is searching for, every signal read today is at least a couple of thousand of years old.
So in effect Seti is searching for planets and life that is quite literally several thousand years behind whenever it is heard, Right? Yes.
So what are they listening for?
If you accept the Christian Creation view of the universe, backed by Scientific facts and fossil records, any other intelligent life out there is that many thousand of years behind us. And if we picked up anything from them, it would be the same signals that we were emitting several thousand years ago... which was none.
If you accept the Big Bang theory that is a proven bunch of crock, or you accept the "creation evolution" theory that is again, a proven bunch of crock on fossil records alone, and thus think the universe is several billion years old you run into another problem. If another intelligent life evolved at the same rate we did, or a little bit faster rate, then they are at the same point we are in technology, or just a bit in front of us. But the signals we would be recieving coming from where-ever they are would be several thousand years old. Again, like us, they weren't transmitting anything back then.
If you accept such a faster rate that they already have "faster than light" travel, why are we looking for them? They, if they existed, would be able to find us much quicker. Also, we don't have anything that can pick up faster than light travel. So if some other life came close enough, stopped, let out some signals, and we did pick up a signal, other than knowing someone else is out there, how would you make contact. You wouldn't, your great-grandkids would. Which is rather pointless.
So is Seti and all other such projects a waste of time and energy and finances? Yes.
Until the barrier that is the speed of light is broken, Seti and all other projects like it are effectively searching the distant past for eletronic noises or signals that simply cannot have reached us yet, and won't reach us for thousands of years to come.
When/if the barrier is broken and we can get past those years of travel, then projects like Seti become worthwhile.
A lightyear is how far light year travels in one year.
So naturally, for most of the closest stars we've pretty much determined that there is no life on them.
Seti, if I understand it, is searching the stars for intelligent life.
So we are searching for stars that are several thousand lightyears away from us.
nothing travels faster than light. (that we know of)
Seti is searching light, radio, and electromagentic radition from space.
If light is the fastest of everything Seti is searching for, every signal read today is at least a couple of thousand of years old.
So in effect Seti is searching for planets and life that is quite literally several thousand years behind whenever it is heard, Right? Yes.
So what are they listening for?
If you accept the Christian Creation view of the universe, backed by Scientific facts and fossil records, any other intelligent life out there is that many thousand of years behind us. And if we picked up anything from them, it would be the same signals that we were emitting several thousand years ago... which was none.
If you accept the Big Bang theory that is a proven bunch of crock, or you accept the "creation evolution" theory that is again, a proven bunch of crock on fossil records alone, and thus think the universe is several billion years old you run into another problem. If another intelligent life evolved at the same rate we did, or a little bit faster rate, then they are at the same point we are in technology, or just a bit in front of us. But the signals we would be recieving coming from where-ever they are would be several thousand years old. Again, like us, they weren't transmitting anything back then.
If you accept such a faster rate that they already have "faster than light" travel, why are we looking for them? They, if they existed, would be able to find us much quicker. Also, we don't have anything that can pick up faster than light travel. So if some other life came close enough, stopped, let out some signals, and we did pick up a signal, other than knowing someone else is out there, how would you make contact. You wouldn't, your great-grandkids would. Which is rather pointless.
So is Seti and all other such projects a waste of time and energy and finances? Yes.
Until the barrier that is the speed of light is broken, Seti and all other projects like it are effectively searching the distant past for eletronic noises or signals that simply cannot have reached us yet, and won't reach us for thousands of years to come.
When/if the barrier is broken and we can get past those years of travel, then projects like Seti become worthwhile.
