Potential signal detection at SETI??

[Regulator75]

[Looch City]

^ That guy must be ####ting his pants right now. He's waited so long.

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by Iggy City

^ That guy must be ####ting his pants right now. He's waited so long.

I doubt he is ####ting his pants.

MOD EDIT: Too much.

[polak]

The Russians sat on this signal for a year? That is extremely sketch considering STEP ONE of signal detection would be to confirm the signal with another telescope....

[FlamesAddiction]

I'm militantly skeptical about these things and when stories like this happen, my first thought is it is a marketing ploy to try and get (or scam) some funding from someone. The fact they waited a year and didn't bother trying to confirm with another telescope, just screams that to me.

It seems like such a waste of resources. It's like investing your money into Lottomax tickets. It's fun the dream about the possibilities, but I pity anyone who makes in their life work.

[polak]

Radio telescopes do have other functions besides listening for aliens but SETI is a pretty "hopeful" exercise. Makes you wonder how they justify their funding. I personally would triple their budget if I was president. I'd also swap the military budget and NASAs budget.

You know how many problems NASA would solve if they had the budget and resources of the US Military?

Make me president.

[Kybosh]

Um. The US Military is no slouch when it comes to technological innovation either.

[Puppet Guy]

Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction

I'm militantly skeptical about these things and when stories like this happen, my first thought is it is a marketing ploy to try and get (or scam) some funding from someone. The fact they waited a year and didn't bother trying to confirm with another telescope, just screams that to me.

It seems like such a waste of resources. It's like investing your money into Lottomax tickets. It's fun the dream about the possibilities, but I pity anyone who makes in their life work.

As rational as one tries to be with stories like this, deep down you want something to come of it. In the last year alone, with NASA predicting discovery of alien life by 2025, Proxima B, the Alien Megastructure and now this, I do wonder if it's more a case of "when" and not "if" we meet ET. And hopefully he brings the plutonium nyborg.

[polak]

Originally Posted by Kybosh

Um. The US Military is no slouch when it comes to technological innovation either.

Yeah but they hog it all.

[Muta]

Originally Posted by polak

Yeah but they hog it all.

Or, all the black projects that they work on (probably WITH NASA) put them 30 years in the tehcnological future... stuff that'll never see the light of day until decades from now.

Keep in mind, the F-117 Nighthawk was a black project as well, having started in the mid-1970's and only came out publicly in 1988.

*adjusts tin foil hat*

[Locke]

Probably just these guys around one of the mics.

[FlamesAddiction]

Originally Posted by Muta

Or, all the black projects that they work on (probably WITH NASA) put them 30 years in the tehcnological future... stuff that'll never see the light of day until decades from now.

Keep in mind, the F-117 Nighthawk was a black project as well, having started in the mid-1970's and only came out publicly in 1988.

*adjusts tin foil hat*

True. Anything significant discovered by NASA will filter through the military first and they will decide what becomes public knowledge.

[peter12]

We're probably alone. Maybe the first sentient species. I'd prefer that to be the case. A little bit more excitement. Anyway, even if we discovered another intelligence somewhere out there, we haven't made much headway in figuring out our own alien selves.

[polak]

Originally Posted by peter12

We're probably alone. Maybe the first sentient species. I'd prefer that to be the case. A little bit more excitement. Anyway, even if we discovered another intelligence somewhere out there, we haven't made much headway in figuring out our own alien selves.

Best article I've read on the Fermi Paradox:

http://waitbutwhy.com/2014/05/fermi-paradox.html

[pseudoreality]

Originally Posted by peter12

We're probably alone. Maybe the first sentient species. I'd prefer that to be the case. A little bit more excitement. Anyway, even if we discovered another intelligence somewhere out there, we haven't made much headway in figuring out our own alien selves.

How is being alone more exciting?

[peter12]

Originally Posted by pseudoreality

How is being alone more exciting?

Because we have to sort things out ourselves, instead of falling for the old Sagan delusion of praying that extra-terrestrials enlighten us before the bombs drop.

[troutman]

Originally Posted by icecube

"To search expectantly for a radio signal from an extraterrestrial source is probably as culture-bound an assumption as to search the galaxy for a good Italian restaurant"- Terrance Mckenna

Not sure that is an apt analogy.

Assumptions made by SETI:

http://www.seti.org/faq#obs1

Virtually all radio SETI experiments have looked for what are called “narrow-band signals.” These are radio emissions that extend over only a small part of the radio spectrum. Imagine tuning your car radio late at night … There’s static everywhere on the dial, but suddenly you hear a squeal – a signal at a particular frequency – and you know you’ve found a station.

Narrow-band signals – perhaps only a few Hertz wide or less – are the mark of a purposely built transmitter. Natural cosmic noisemakers, such as pulsars, quasars, and the turbulent, thin interstellar gas of our own Milky Way, do not make radio signals that are this narrow. The static from these objects is spread all across the dial.

In terrestrial radio practice, narrow-band signals are often called “carriers.” They pack a lot of energy into a small amount of spectral space, and consequently are the easiest type of signal to find for any given power level. If E.T. intentionally sends us a signal, those signals may well have at least one narrow-band component to get our attention.

[peter12]

Originally Posted by polak

Best article I've read on the Fermi Paradox:

http://waitbutwhy.com/2014/05/fermi-paradox.html

Yeah, I've agonized over this before - particularly the Great Filter (where is the damn thing?!). Turns out anxiety is just part of being a small pink, hairy bipedal with a relatively huge-sized brain.

[The Fonz]

Nvm

[troutman]

Why does SETI set a narrow-band radio signal of 1 Hz as the "hailing signal" for possible intelligent societies in the universe?


https://www.quora.com/Why-does-SETI-...n-the-universe