'95/'97 search for signals from Gliese 581: without result!?

SETI has already listened for intelligent signals from Gliese 581 on two occasions in 1995 and 1997 - without result.

SETI Institute scientists Seth Shostak, Jill Tarter, and Frank Drake have all expressed their excitement about the news and the implications for SETI searching. Gliese 581 has been targeted for SETI searches twice in the past with no hint of a radio signal, but this new information may mean a third search with the more powerful Allen Telescope Array.

SETI

“M stars are the most accessible, yet challenging, targets for habitable zone terrestrial planet searches,” says journal Editor-in-Chief, Sherry L. Cady, Ph.D., Associate Professor in the Department of Geology at Portland State University. “The potential for M Star habitable zone planets to evolve biospheres and retain them are but two of the many reasons to include M stars in the search for evidence of life beyond the confines of Earth.”

Why are SETI scientists interested in M-Stars? As Dr. Peter Backus, Observing Programs Manager for SETI, concluded in a preliminary report on the M-Stars workshop, “One…aspect of M dwarfs makes them intriguing for SETI: they may be ideal hosts for advanced technological civilizations because they live an extraordinarily long time. Stars like the Sun live (i.e., they fuse hydrogen into helium) for only about 10 billion years. No M dwarf that ever formed has yet to die; no M dwarf will die for more than another 100 billion years. With such long lifetimes, there are big possibilities for these small stars

SETI

SETI is obviously interested in Red Dwarfs star system - but why NO signal whatsoever from Gliese 581 or many other red dwarfs- which are so abundant in Space ( 80% )!?

Originally posted by blue bird
SETI has already listened for intelligent signals from Gliese 581 on two occasions in 1995 and 1997 - without result.

SETI is obviously interested in Red Dwarfs star system - but why NO signal whatsoever from Gliese 581 or many other red dwarfs- which are so abundant in Space ( 80% )!?

Perhaps they are not using the technologies that are being targeted by SETI? As far we know, civilizations that develop elsewhere in the universe might be using lasers, perhaps they are all telepathic, maybe they only communicate in print? The possibilities are endless. There is simply no way to predict how a civilization will evolve. Again, SETI is presuming, by listening for "radio signals" that an alien race would have evolved in a similar way as civilization developed on the Earth -- with similar technologies.

My own belief is one that has been suggested by Carl Sagan and others; that space is a dangerous place and it's not always wise to be noticeable. If the universe is really teeming with life, one could presume that not all of this "life" is necessarily friendly. It might behoove a civilization to, literally, hide it's presence from it's "neighbors". In nature, most creatures have evolved camoflage in an effort to live out their existence without "interference" from other creatures that might cause harm. This might very well be the case throughout the universe.

Just because we don't pick up any signals from any sources does not mean that intelligent civilizations don't exist. It may simply mean that they don't want anyone to notice them and they have taken measures to make certain they remain that way.

Well....maybe so, benevolent tyrant.

I don't have any doubts - that in this vast Universe exist a Life, be it highly developed or less developed.

And, I am not also holding my breath on Gliese 581 c - it is rather puffed up...

Also - I think that "goldilocks zone" is rather narrow way of thinking ...why not cold planets methane or ammonia based...or hot planets silicon or sulfur based..


My question to you is: way then we send signals?
Are we naive? Is it better to keep low profile? Are there "predators" civilization out there?

yeah, despite the hype from the astronomy community this planet is not very good. We all have a duty to present a best case scenario to try and garner some public imagination & more importantly further funding.

Its the smallest planet we have detected and its the first in the HZ of a star and that is news. But its really still way too big and most likely has an atmosphere a few miles thick.

ESA COROT telescope should give us a few earth size planets around red dwarf stars in August ( between 0.75 & 2 earth masses)

Nasas kepler telescope lauches next year and will find earth size planets around stars like our sun- thats when things will get really exciting.

remember SETI right now would only detect a signal if a civilization was intentionally beaming one out in our direction.

Hopefully soon we will be able to detect much weaker leaked signals from things like RADAR & TV on other planets.
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