Seti@home picked up a radio signal

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SunnyD

SunnyD

Belgian Waffler
Jan 2, 2001
32,675
146
106
www.neftastic.com
Originally posted by: DWW
SETI is the biggest waste of time ever and for many reasons.

The only hope for true discovery and communication between us and "them" would be to build something FTL which isn't likely to happen (at least for a long time).

Radio transmissions are good to what, 100 light years away or so?

That is -not- a big enough area and that is -NOT- a very fast mode of communication.

Build me an Alcubierre drive and I'll consider it possible to find aliens. But SETI? SETI is a joke and waste of CPU cycles.
Click to expand...

That's like saying optical telescopes are a joke because what we're looking at with them is an image millions of years old, so we're not looking at an accurate representation of our universe. DUH!

We're not trying to talk to them - we're trying to find out if anyone else is out there. That's why SETI exists. We're trying to answer some fundimental social and theological questions that have existed for hundreds, or even thousands of years. We could care less about talking to them at this point.
 
D

DWW

Platinum Member
Apr 4, 2003
2,030
0
0
Originally posted by: SunnyD
Originally posted by: DWW
SETI is the biggest waste of time ever and for many reasons.

The only hope for true discovery and communication between us and "them" would be to build something FTL which isn't likely to happen (at least for a long time).

Radio transmissions are good to what, 100 light years away or so?

That is -not- a big enough area and that is -NOT- a very fast mode of communication.

Build me an Alcubierre drive and I'll consider it possible to find aliens. But SETI? SETI is a joke and waste of CPU cycles.
Click to expand...

That's like saying optical telescopes are a joke because what we're looking at with them is an image millions of years old, so we're not looking at an accurate representation of our universe. DUH!

We're not trying to talk to them - we're trying to find out if anyone else is out there. That's why SETI exists. We're trying to answer some fundimental social and theological questions that have existed for hundreds, or even thousands of years. We could care less about talking to them at this point.
Click to expand...

SETI listens to transmissions. If 100 light years away is the reasonable limit (signal intensity degrades at the rate of 1/r^2, correct?), anything more is so weak it would make nonsense and wouldn't be discernable from some natural galactic event, background noise (radiation?) or some such.

Even if you AREN'T trying to communicate with them, you won't even be able to tell if it is an intelligent, artificially created signal once its past a certain distance. Do you understand this concept?

Therefore, and paired with the likelihood intelligent life (other than humans) is within a 100 light year raidus of earth puts you at a next to no chance of finding out "if anyone else is out there".
 
S

ShotgunSteven

Lifer
May 31, 2001
15,326
2
0
Originally posted by: Insane3D
Originally posted by: HeroOfPellinor
So you'll burn up your processors trying to contact aliens you have no cause to believe exist?
Click to expand...


So you'll waste your life worshipping a deity you have no cause to believe exists?

Can I play this game too?

:p
Click to expand...

There isn't a Gawd@Home distributed computing project yet?
 
SunnyD

SunnyD

Belgian Waffler
Jan 2, 2001
32,675
146
106
www.neftastic.com
Originally posted by: DWW
SETI listens to transmissions. If 100 light years away is the reasonable limit (signal intensity degrades at the rate of 1/r^2, correct?), anything more is so weak it would make nonsense and wouldn't be discernable from some natural galactic event, background noise (radiation?) or some such.

Even if you AREN'T trying to communicate with them, you won't even be able to tell if it is an intelligent, artificially created signal once its past a certain distance. Do you understand this concept?

Therefore, and paired with the likelihood intelligent life (other than humans) is within a 100 light year raidus of earth puts you at a next to no chance of finding out "if anyone else is out there".
Click to expand...

You ask a stupid question of an amature radio op. The thing about EM radiation is that regardless of whether or not it's "intelligent" or "communacative" is that we are trying to discern locations of likely artificial EM sources. Keep in mind that while "radio" itself isn't going to provide a lot of information, it's the corralative data that we will be looking for in the upcoming time period to help us determine what it is. This will include further radio study, as well as optical and sub/super optical frequencies. Once this is all done, then we're talking.

Furthermore - what if by chance the signal that we're picking up is artificial. What would it take... What happens if these guys know we're out here? What if they want to let us know? Easy... once we're talking high frequency transmission "broadcast" is useless. What IF they're using a line-of-sight transmission? Now you're talking about conditions useful to high-powered long-range transmission.

It CAN happen. I'm not saying it is, since the bulk of the universe is made of RF emitting phenominon. But it CAN happen.
 
SagaLore

SagaLore

Elite Member
Dec 18, 2001
24,036
21
81
Originally posted by: DWW
SETI is the biggest waste of time ever and for many reasons.

The only hope for true discovery and communication between us and "them" would be to build something FTL which isn't likely to happen (at least for a long time).

Radio transmissions are good to what, 100 light years away or so?

That is -not- a big enough area and that is -NOT- a very fast mode of communication.

Build me an Alcubierre drive and I'll consider it possible to find aliens. But SETI? SETI is a joke and waste of CPU cycles.
Click to expand...

faster than light tunneling
 
R

RaynorWolfcastle

Diamond Member
Feb 8, 2001
8,968
16
81
why the heck would aliens communicate at a wavelength that hydrogen absorbs and emits? If anything, i'd want to stay away from that frequency to avoid communication channel problems, I'm guessing it's much more likely to be some natural EM source.

SunnyD, It also says there isn't anything there within 1000 LY so we won't have any sort of confirmation of life, assuming it really is an artificial signal, until 2000 years from now. I can't say I'm holding my breath.
 
OutHouse

OutHouse

Lifer
Jun 5, 2000
36,410
616
126
Originally posted by: ShotgunSteven
Heard an interview with the head of SETI (not SETI@Home) and he said the story was being blown out of proportion by the initial reporter. He contacted the SETI@Home folks at Berkeley and apparently it was a misunderstanding on the part of the reporter. It's just the current best candidate out of the current batch, apparently.
Click to expand...


yip heard the same interview. its nothing to get all excited about.
 
Vic

Vic

Elite Member
Jun 12, 2001
50,422
14,337
136
There are other explanations besides extraterrestrial contact that may explain the signal. New Scientist said the signal could be generated by a previously unknown astronomical phenomenon or even be a by-product from the telescope itself.
Click to expand...
Reminds me of a few years back when the media loudly proclaimed that a scientist found Noah's Ark in the Black Sea, when in fact the scientist found an old Roman merchant boat and knew it to be such (even told the media so), but the media refused to print anything but the sensationalism. Seems like the same thing here. A cool find, but blown way out of fact and proportion.
 
D

DWW

Platinum Member
Apr 4, 2003
2,030
0
0
Originally posted by: SunnyD
Originally posted by: DWW
SETI listens to transmissions. If 100 light years away is the reasonable limit (signal intensity degrades at the rate of 1/r^2, correct?), anything more is so weak it would make nonsense and wouldn't be discernable from some natural galactic event, background noise (radiation?) or some such.

Even if you AREN'T trying to communicate with them, you won't even be able to tell if it is an intelligent, artificially created signal once its past a certain distance. Do you understand this concept?

Therefore, and paired with the likelihood intelligent life (other than humans) is within a 100 light year raidus of earth puts you at a next to no chance of finding out "if anyone else is out there".
Click to expand...

You ask a stupid question of an amature radio op. The thing about EM radiation is that regardless of whether or not it's "intelligent" or "communacative" is that we are trying to discern locations of likely artificial EM sources. Keep in mind that while "radio" itself isn't going to provide a lot of information, it's the corralative data that we will be looking for in the upcoming time period to help us determine what it is. This will include further radio study, as well as optical and sub/super optical frequencies. Once this is all done, then we're talking.

Furthermore - what if by chance the signal that we're picking up is artificial. What would it take... What happens if these guys know we're out here? What if they want to let us know? Easy... once we're talking high frequency transmission "broadcast" is useless. What IF they're using a line-of-sight transmission? Now you're talking about conditions useful to high-powered long-range transmission.

It CAN happen. I'm not saying it is, since the bulk of the universe is made of RF emitting phenominon. But it CAN happen.
Click to expand...

I'm not talking about communicative. Do you think a signal that has travelled a thousand, million or ten million light years--we will be able to not only receive this, but also determine without doubt it is "artificial" and not some natural phenomenon?

Wow!
 
Hayabusa Rider

Hayabusa Rider

Admin Emeritus & Elite Member
Jan 26, 2000
50,879
4,268
126
I have no idea if anyone else is out there, however if life does exist it may be so different that we can't communicate effectively if it were sitting across the table from us. That doesn't mean we shouldnt listen, but don't hold your breath.
 
J

jyates

Diamond Member
Aug 18, 2001
3,847
0
76
Or it could be the kid talking on his CB radio down the road from the
antenna :)
 
SunnyD

SunnyD

Belgian Waffler
Jan 2, 2001
32,675
146
106
www.neftastic.com
Originally posted by: DWW
I'm not talking about communicative. Do you think a signal that has travelled a thousand, million or ten million light years--we will be able to not only receive this, but also determine without doubt it is "artificial" and not some natural phenomenon?

Wow!
Click to expand...

Are you saying it's impossible for any form of intelligent life (that may be far advanced than us even) to be able to transmit a radio signal, be it broadcast or directional at such a power that it could travel and propigate as far as us?

It's hypothetical. It's improbable. But it certainly isn't outside the realm of possibility.
 
preslove

preslove

Lifer
Sep 10, 2003
16,754
64
91
Originally posted by: HeroOfPellinor
So you'll burn up your processors trying to contact aliens you have no cause to believe exist?
Click to expand...

So you'll burn up your brain (what little of it there is) trying to post about the God you have no cause to believe exist?
 
T

TitanDiddly

Guest
Dec 8, 2003
12,696
1
0
Originally posted by: preslove
Originally posted by: HeroOfPellinor
So you'll burn up your processors trying to contact aliens you have no cause to believe exist?
Click to expand...

So you'll burn up your brain (what little of it there is) trying to post about the God you have no cause to believe exist?
Click to expand...

Flamebait- Just say no!(c)
 
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