Laser-like signal coming from Tucanae (not Gliese 581e)???

Although we may think its a laser, it could be something completely unknown to us.

We have to think on terms we know here on earth. I would think this light source could be beyond our wildest imaginations.

I just hope a big alien child is not pointing a magnifying glass at earth thinking were an ant hill and hoping we catch on fire.

Momma alien may have caught him being naughty and put him on restriction and that's why we haven't seen a repeat.

Originally posted by Alexander the Great
That would be an amazing find....

If it wasn't from Wikipedia.

I don't trust the Wiki.

I provided the citation to the article, and I even did homework on the dude who found the signal...
I personally don't think Wikipedia is that bad... It just depends on the citations... You have to click on the blue numbers or the links at the bottom of the page...
BTW, nice avatar... A man that went wayyyy before his time, who was so ahead of his time.
(Sorry for deviating from the topic for a sec).

Hey guys, thank you all for your interest in this topic (I'm sure it's mutual). It feels good to actually contribute something solid instead of wondering and speculating like I always do about topics with no proof.

But anyway, I was just curious... Can laser signals have data embedded in them?

Also, it is kinda funny how we find this signal not too long after we detected the planet itself...

It could be a fluke - of course. And as far as finding a repeat, one poster said that detecting it again would be damn hard, for a laser beam is very narrow compared a radio signal, and Gliese 581e is always moving - making it in a different place all the time.

I could be a little off here (I am exhausted - just came back from camping), so If I'm not making sense, I apologize...

Either way, like I said, I am stoked, but my hopes aren't too up there.

And as yet another poster said (reading my mind ), this could be our in for disclosure - if it were to happen. - Merely because it would be less intimidating - for lack of a better word.

People would respond to it better if they said they detected a (true, bonafide) signal from another planet, as opposed to them saying UFOS and aliens exist and have been visiting all along...

Baby steps... Small doses... Let this be it...
Probably not, though.

And as far as the History Channel thing, that would be spectacular! But from what I read on the other thread, it's most likely something about that damned missing link.

Oh well, but hey - it doesn't hurt to dream (big), does it?

reply to post by impaired


Yes, lasers can have data embedded in them, in fact this practice is used today here on Earth....

Laser communications systems are wireless connections through the atmosphere. They work similarly to fiber optic links, except the beam is transmitted through free space. While the transmitter and receiver must require line-of-sight conditions, they have the benefit of eliminating the need for broadcast rights and buried cables. Laser communications systems can be easily deployed since they are inexpensive, small, low power and do not require any radio interference studies. The carrier used for the transmission signal is typically generated by a laser diode. Two parallel beams are needed, one for transmission and one for reception.

courses.cit.cornell.edu...

Originally posted by impaired

But anyway, I was just curious... Can laser signals have data embedded in them?

Hi impaired,

I don't think laser's could have data embedded in them but they could be used as a medium such as in fiber optics where you can send a series of dots and dashes like in morse code and and thus send a code that way..

peace

daz

Here's some information I dug up that gives some serious background on Austrailia's Optical SETI project, written by non other than Dr. Bhathal himself.

Austraila's Optical SETI Program

Originally posted by R3KR
When they went to the bottom of the ocean they said... huh ? life..errr,
When they went UNDER glaciers in the ocean they said..huh ? life..errr,

they said = scientist = people that should have known better.

What have I learned watching other people that try really hard to know stuff?, the people that are supposed to know stuff and say "this is how it is" and "that is how its supposed to be"... DONT KNOW S###

Point being, I think life can be any where. how do I think this ?
Life exists at temps well above +300F degrees under IMMENSE pressure, why couldnt is exists in all realms that are in between ? No reason to think it cant right ?

Very good point. I don't think many people realize how ignorant our scientists really are because of how ignorant we are ourselves. We're conditioned to think that the conditions on Earth are mandatory for life everywhere. Not that it's the governments doing...it's just all we've ever known.

I agree with what was said about extremophiles being very good examples of the possibilities of life elsewhere...but why not in the Solar System? If life can adapt to life under any condition, you would think it would be extremely common...Yet it's not. At least not around us. Perhaps it takes quite a large catalyst. We just don't know.

this sort of thing isnt all that uncommon. Astronomical radio source

The Sun As the nearest star, the Sun is the brightest radiation source in most frequencies, including the radio spectrum.

The Galactic Center The center of the Milky Way was the first radio source to be detected. It contains a number of radio sources, including Sagittarius A and the supermassive black hole at Sagittarius A*.

Supernova remnants Supernova remnants often show diffuse radio emission. Examples include Cassiopeia A, the brightest extrasolar radio source in the sky, and the Crab Nebula.

Pulsars Supernovas sometimes leave behind dense spinning neutron stars called pulsars. They emit jets of charged particles which emit synchrotron radiation in the radio spectrum. Examples include the Crab Pulsar, the first pulsar to be discovered.

Star forming regions Short radio waves are emitted from complex molecules in dense clouds of gas where stars are giving birth.

Spiral galaxies contain clouds of neutral hydrogen and carbon monoxide which emit radio waves. The radio frequencies of these two molecules were used to map a large portion of the Milky Way galaxy.

Radio galaxies Many galaxies are strong radio emitters. Some of the more notable are Centaurus A and Messier 87.

Quasars (short for "quasi-stellar radio source") were one of the first point-like radio sources to be discovered. Quasars' extreme red shift led us to conclude that they are distant active galactic nuclei. Active galactic nuclei have jets of charged particles which emit synchrotron radiation. One example is 3C 273, the optically brightest quasar in the sky.

Merging galaxy clusters often show diffuse radio emission.

reply to post by jkrog08



So does this mean when the signal arrives at Earth that we may be presented with the greatest IMAX interstellar experience ever imagined?

reply to post by Republican08


Most people don't know--but it is in (SOME of the through) books that when Quasars were first discovered they were throught to be LGM (the discover's term meaning Little Green Men). That secret was kept for months. Once the phenomena could no longer be kept secret, they blithly worked up a natural explanation for them. Look up the works of Alton Arp if you want to know the holes in the "official" quasar dilemma (and find out what happens when a reputable scientist bucks the system). And, OH, Yes! The exact same thing happened with the discovery of pulsars by a Brit female astronomer. They also were kept secret for a good bit until they had a plausible natural explanation.

But I still kinda think the two could be evidence for Kardashev's advanced stages of civilizations which has such incredible powers that we can't even dream about them! But I don't make the rules.

If we were to send a signal out to an unknown planet, how long would it take for the signal to get there? I guess my question or point would be if we just received this "signal", wouldn't it have been sent ages ago?

reply to post by Cds4344


Radio, light, etc... all travel at the speed of light in a vacuum (not cleaner). The actual time for a signal to reach another star system is measured in light years. The reply in light years x 2.

reply to post by SpacePunk


Yes I know, so theoretically if we think it came from around this "Superearth" we could determine the amount of time it took to reach us. Sorry I'm not aware of how far away this Gliese 581e is in light years, but I'm sure others are.

reply to post by Cds4344


It's 20.5 light-years away, if I am not mistaken, thus taking a signal 20 1/2 years to get there, or for it to reach here.

Originally posted by Cds4344
reply to post by SpacePunk

 

Yes I know, so theoretically if we think it came from around this "Superearth" we could determine the amount of time it took to reach us. Sorry I'm not aware of how far away this Gliese 581e is in light years, but I'm sure others are.

Just under 20 light years away, so they sent the signal in the late eighties after watching our TV shows from the late sixties. They could have stopped transmitting when 'Three's Company' started on the air.

Originally posted by exile1981

Originally posted by Cds4344
reply to post by SpacePunk

 

Yes I know, so theoretically if we think it came from around this "Superearth" we could determine the amount of time it took to reach us. Sorry I'm not aware of how far away this Gliese 581e is in light years, but I'm sure others are.

Just under 20 light years away, so they sent the signal in the late eighties after watching our TV shows from the late sixties. They could have stopped transmitting when 'Three's Company' started on the air.

Haha, makes sense. Interesting. Wonder what TV show made them want to ignore us for ever? Probably something to do with Aliens I bet.

To Impaired

I am with you on wikipedia I don't think its so bad... and about the 20.5 light years...they're laser technology could be so powerful and advanced maybe it doesn't take thousands of years to reach us what if they sent that transmission 2 or three years ago? Would you agree impaired that maybe they have technology that maybe we couldn't fathom and we don't know how to decode yet?

Originally posted by Dallas87
To Impaired

I am with you on wikipedia I don't think its so bad... and about the 20.5 light years...they're laser technology could be so powerful and advanced maybe it doesn't take thousands of years to reach us what if they sent that transmission 2 or three years ago? Would you agree impaired that maybe they have technology that maybe we couldn't fathom and we don't know how to decode yet?

Oh, absolutely, dude. I wouldn't be surprised.
See, we all think in human terms and are confined to our own paradigm or technology... Who or what's to think that superluminal speed doesn't exist?

Science fiction may not be so "fictional" after all...

I mean, look at how far we've come in just 300 years... If we would go back in time and tell people that in 300 years we'd have flying machines, could transplant a heart, or even talk to someone on the other side of the world wirelessly (hell, with wires even!), they would probably burn us at the stake!

We as of right now have NO IDEA what could be extrapolated from the technology we have now. No idea. And that is why it is called Science Fiction at the moment.

Feel me?

I know we have to wait on peer-review, but how about releasing the raw data? That would be awesome. What I've seen of the data, was just a strong peak on a spectrum. If this is all there is, there is no hope of finding information in the event.

Originally posted by daz__
I don't think laser's could have data embedded in them but they could be used as a medium such as in fiber optics where you can send a series of dots and dashes like in morse code and and thus send a code that way..

Not only can a laser beam carry data, it can carry holographic data

Holographic data storage: the next big thing?

Holographic storage works by storing a sequence of discrete data snapshots within the thickness of the media. The storage process starts when a laser beam is split into two signals. One beam is used as a reference signal. Another beam, called the data-carrying beam, is passed through a device called a spatial light modulator (SLM) which acts as a fine shutter system, passing and blocking light at points corresponding to ones and zeroes. The reference beam is then reflected to impinge on the data-carrying beam within the media. This creates a three-dimensional refraction pattern (the "hologram") that is captured in the media.

www.computerweekly.com...


Intel Engineers Use Light Waves to Carry Data

Intel researchers have developed a method of generating a continuous laser with a silicon device, one of the first steps toward introducing optical interconnects in future processors, servers, and PCs, the company said today.

www.pcworld.com...

How about those CD's you use? How is the data read from the CD and transfered to your screen?

How CDs Work
What the CD Player Does: Laser Focus

The fundamental job of the CD player is to focus the laser on the track of bumps. The laser beam passes through the polycarbonate layer, reflects off the aluminum layer and hits an opto-electronic device that detects changes in light. The bumps reflect light differently than the "lands" (the rest of the aluminum layer), and the opto-electronic sensor detects that change in reflectivity. The electronics in the drive interpret the changes in reflectivity in order to read the bits that make up the bytes.

electronics.howstuffworks.com...

Originally posted by daz__
I don't think laser's could have data embedded in them

Thinking is kewl, but Google is better