"So what?s new with SETI?"
It?s an easy question: a query that the media frequently pose, and for obvious reasons. Of course, it would be nice to say, "well, we detected three Type II civilizations last week, but they weren?t especially interesting," and sometimes I do this for effect. But of course it?s not true, and until it is, some people assume that there?s nothing new with SETI.
Wrong. Despite all the difficulties that beset it (mostly connected with funding), SETI is currently experiencing a paroxysm of creative ferment. The new year is sure to be memorable, as glossy new instruments come on-line. Success in SETI depends on speed: how quickly can you check out large expanses of celestial acreage? Well, SETI is about to seriously crank up its speed, and metaphorically trade in chariots for jets.
At Harvard University, a survey telescope designed to sweep massive swaths of the sky in a hunt for extraterrestrial laser flashes is becoming a reality. In Puerto Rico, the famed Arecibo telescope is getting a new feed that will speed up searches by seven times. And in California, the SETI Institute and Berkeley?s Radio Astronomy Lab will soon be scanning the star-clotted realms of the inner Milky Way with the first-stage implementation of the Allen Telescope Array (ATA).
...
No, it?s not the discovery of yet another Type II civilization. But it?s a breathtaking step toward making such discoveries happen. So you see, there is news
read the Full Story The New and Improved SETI
Happy new Year, and best wishes
Sir Ulli
It?s an easy question: a query that the media frequently pose, and for obvious reasons. Of course, it would be nice to say, "well, we detected three Type II civilizations last week, but they weren?t especially interesting," and sometimes I do this for effect. But of course it?s not true, and until it is, some people assume that there?s nothing new with SETI.
Wrong. Despite all the difficulties that beset it (mostly connected with funding), SETI is currently experiencing a paroxysm of creative ferment. The new year is sure to be memorable, as glossy new instruments come on-line. Success in SETI depends on speed: how quickly can you check out large expanses of celestial acreage? Well, SETI is about to seriously crank up its speed, and metaphorically trade in chariots for jets.
At Harvard University, a survey telescope designed to sweep massive swaths of the sky in a hunt for extraterrestrial laser flashes is becoming a reality. In Puerto Rico, the famed Arecibo telescope is getting a new feed that will speed up searches by seven times. And in California, the SETI Institute and Berkeley?s Radio Astronomy Lab will soon be scanning the star-clotted realms of the inner Milky Way with the first-stage implementation of the Allen Telescope Array (ATA).
...
No, it?s not the discovery of yet another Type II civilization. But it?s a breathtaking step toward making such discoveries happen. So you see, there is news
read the Full Story The New and Improved SETI
Happy new Year, and best wishes
Sir Ulli
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