Why SETI may be a dead end.

Yes, it shows that we have a strong, stubborn will. At any rate, I feel that it is a good program. It'd be interesting one day to suddenly get a signal, aye?

Originally posted by amber83
It'd be interesting one day to suddenly get a signal, aye?

It would certainly be interesting amber!!

Just in case people haven't looked in our SETI@home forums, incidentally, you *might* be interested in this thread which discusses the views of SETI Institute's senior astronomer, Seth Shostak.

So assuming intelligent life somehow contacts us....what do you think the implications would be? I'm thinking back to Contact, and how the argument about God vs Science. Makes me wonder what would happen.

if an alien civilisation wants to contact us they won't use radio waves

Originally posted by amber83
So assuming intelligent life somehow contacts us....what do you think the implications would be? I'm thinking back to Contact, and how the argument about God vs Science. Makes me wonder what would happen.

Hi amber!!

Thank you for your positive reply

Considerations of this have already been discussed as the SETI Protocols. A Google search will reveal more links about this I'm sure.

For myself, I would be fascinated just to have proof that ETI exists - and intrigued at the possibility of monitoring their signal(s). Would, for example, the signal be deliberately "beamed" in our direction (by chance) and therefore have the potential of containing some "encoded" message or would it be a mixture of radio "noise" (such as we radiate unintentionally - and increasingly - from our radio emissions on Earth)?

Of course, the same would be true if UFO's were proved to be piloted vehicles from another world - a landing on the White House lawn would be pretty conclusive!! Yet, despite UFO's being reported for many years - and testament from millions of people world wide - the jury is still out. So, to me at least, attempting to find radio signals from another world (that could be verified by other radio telescopes) would be extremely important, as it would demonstrate, unequivocally, that (intelligent) Life exists elsewhere.

As for the ramifications to the Human Race, our psyche, social order and religion, etc - well I suspect that reactions would be varied and extreme (for example, remember Heaven's Gate?)

For myself, though, I'd feel that the search had just begun, for where there is one, why not more??

'Til then, let's keep "crunching"!!

Originally posted by DarkSide
if an alien civilisation wants to contact us they won't use radio waves

You *know* this truth do you DarkSide? Have you any supporting evidence for this please, for your sources are far better informed than mine.

And, what if they don't deliberately *try* to contact us but rather that RFI "leaks" away from their planet and it is this increase in radio "noise" that we detect?

I hold a personal belief that there's too much space out there for it to be just us on Earth. I'd like to take a quote from MIB...

"500 years everybody KNEW the Earth was flat, and 5 hours ago, you KNEW you were alone in the Universe"

I think this saying is true. Human beings are so wrapped up in the fact that there couldn't possibly be other intelligent life in the Universe that some of us can't see outside the box. I do not think that 'intelligent life' requires that they resemble a human being, but that they have an intelligent thought process. Perhaps they're dogs with intelligence? The key fact is...nobody knows, but logic will lead us to believe that we can't possibly be the only intelligent life. At least, I don't personally believe that we are.

I used to run packets on my computer for SETI @ home, but I haven't in quite some time. I probably should again, just to contribute my part. You never know...LGM might be lurking just around the bend!

Originally posted by QuestOne of the more disturbing things to come from identifying extrasolar planets is that virtually every star we look at has a gas giant in close orbit to it.

Yes, that has been a disturbing development for sure. I'm not an expert on the detection of extrasolar planet detection beyond the basics but I've been curious about a couple of things. Maybe you can shed some light on them.

Since the planets we have discovered so far have been gas giants relatively close to their companion stars, would that fact alone be the main reason we are able to detect them through a stars wobble?

As well, we haven't been able to identify a solar system like ours (as you said, with the gas giants being further out) I wonder if the rate of wobble from a solar system like ours would be far more difficult to detect?

Just curious what your opinion would be.

Cheers!

Carl Sagan was the man!

Originally posted by amber83
Carl Sagan was the man!

Absolutely!

We must do what we can to search. If we stop searching radio waves, then what have we got? There is always a chance we will find something. Until we find a more effective way of searching for ETI then SETI have got my support

And plus if you were going to contact a civilization on a technically lower level than your-self, who would you contact them? With the simplest (or discovered first) method of communication, radio.