Astronomers Hope to Find E.T. in Next 25 Years

Reuters via Yahoo! ^ | Tue Jul 16, 6:34 AM ET | By Belinda Goldsmith

[Momaw Nadon]

CANBERRA (Reuters) - Scientists searching the stars for aliens are convinced an E.T. is out there -- it's just that they haven't had the know-how to detect such a being.

But now technological advances have opened the way for scientists to check millions of previously unknown star systems, dramatically increasing the chances of finding intelligent life in outer space in the next 25 years, the world's largest private extraterrestrial agency believes.

"We're looking for needles in the haystack that is our galaxy, but there could be thousands of needles out there," Seth Shostak, the senior astronomer at California's non-profit Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence ( news - web sites) (SETI) Institute, told Reuters in an interview on Tuesday.

"If that's the case, with the number of new star systems we now hope to check, we should find one of those in the next 25 years."

But Shostak, visiting Australia to attend a conference on extraterrestrial research, said detecting alien life, like the big-eyed alien in the film E.T., was only the start.

"Even if we detect life out there, we'll still know nothing about what form of life we have detected and I doubt they'll be able -- or want -- to communicate with us," Shostak said.

Since it was founded in 1984, the SETI Institute has monitored radio signals, hoping to pick up a transmission from outer space. Its Project Phoenix conducts two annual three-week sessions on a radio telescope at Arecibo, Puerto Rico.

Project Phoenix, widely seen as the inspiration for the 1997 film "Contact" starring Jodie Foster, which depicted a search for life beyond earth, is the privately funded successor to an original NASA ( news - web sites) program that was canceled in 1993 amid much skepticism by the U.S. Congress.

But the search has been slow. About 500 of 1,000 targeted stars have been examined -- and no extraterrestrial transmissions have been detected.

E.T. NOT ON THE LINE

"We do get signals all the time but when checked out they have all been human made...and are not from E.T., more AT&T," said Shostak.

He said the privately-funded institute was developing a giant US$26 million telescope to start operating in 2005 that can search the stars for signals at least 100 times faster.

The so-called Allen Telescope Array, named after sponsor and Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, is a network of more than 350, six-meter (20-foot) satellite dishes with a collecting area exceeding that of a 100-meter (338-foot) telescope.

The Allen array, to be built at the Hat Creek Observatory about 290 miles northeast of San Fransciso, will also expand the institute's stellar reconnaissance to 100,000 or even one million nearby stars, searching 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Shostak said he is convinced there is intelligent life out there -- but don't expect to find a loveable, boggle-eyed E.T..

He said if any aliens share the same carbon-based organic chemistry as humans, they would probably have a central processing system, eyes, a mouth or two, legs and some form of reproduction.

But Shostak thinks any intelligent extraterrestrial life will have gone light years beyond the intelligence of man.

"What we are more likely to hear will be so far beyond our own level that it might not be biological anymore but some artificial form of life," he said. "Don't expect a blobby, squishy alien to be on the end of the line."

[Momaw Nadon]

God created all things and there his no mention of "aliens" in His word.

What about Ezekiel 1?

[RightWhale]

These atheists can look all they want but they are going to find any UFOs. They don't exist.

I wouldn't go that far. It is possible there is another civilization out there somewhere. Odds are extremely small, but not quite zero. Still, it looks like there is no one out there, so far. The new telescope will deliver a lot more data and increase the chances of finding something by a factor of 100. It's not 100 times dead zero, but 100 times a small number.

[The Duke]

And let me guess...they can do this if we'll just fund them X number of dollars for the next 25 years(?)

The headline could just as easily, and credibly, have said "Cancer researchers expect to find cancer cure within the next 25 years".

[RightWhale]

they can do this if we'll just fund them X number of dollars for the next 25 years

SETI is privately funded now. It wasn't always, but for many years it has been privately funded.

Both NASA and ESA are actively searching for life with our tax dollar, but not through SETI.

[Frank_Discussion]

"...Similar to the warp-drive signature of the Star Trek Universe.

Discouraging fact, on another hand, is that even if ET do exist, what is a chance that our one century of technological advance out of billions years of the Universe existence brings us on the level where anybody is interested to meaningfully communicate; in any other way that we communicate with frogs by dissecting them?"

I agree with your sentiment, but I think you may have missed one of my points. If we "backward humans" have happened upon faster-than-light communication, then maybe the requirements for galactic community aren't so stringent, regardless of not having an natural IQ of 300 or being an extremely old species.

[RadioAstronomer]

Now as for SETI, it is a waste of time in its current form. Now I do believe an alien civilizations are out there, possibly within our own galactic neighborhood ( within 100 LY). Unfortunately, I do not believe we are advanced enough to detect them . I doubt they are using radio waves (in fact, I doubt we will be in another 100 years). Also, there is the big problem of background noise. These earth based dishes pick up a whole lot of static in the form of earth-bound radio transmissions as well as satellite interference. They need to get a reciever up into space and away from all of the trash. Visual astronomy took a giant leap forward with the Hubble; now they need to do the same with radio astronomy. Once they do that, it MIGHT have a chance, but it goes back to my first point; they must also be using radio waves for communication.

Since there are only four fundamental forces in the universe and EM appears to be the most practical for long distance communication, why would they not use EM? We break up our search into tiny narrow band channels. We also are able to filter terrestrial noise out of the system. My search is looking at millions of frequencies simultaneously.

[Frank_Discussion]

I haven't read any of Velikovsky's work, so I can't really comment on that. But I will say that both scientific and religious dogma is harmful at times, to everybody.

And Dogma means belief and action without proof, and is usually manufactured to garner power/authority in a given set of ideas. Dogma doesn't necessarily follow or support the facts of a situation.

[Sabertooth]

SETI is win win science.

As long as the funding holds out.

[RadioAstronomer]

Discouraging fact, on another hand, is that even if ET do exist, what is a chance that our one century of technological advance out of billions years of the Universe existence brings us on the level where anybody is interested to meaningfully communicate; in any other way that we communicate with frogs by dissecting them?"

If we do find that extremely narrowband signal heralding the fact we aren't the only intelligence in this vast universe, I think it would further our understanding of our relationship with this universe. With C being the fundamental limit (speed) of communication, "talking" with another race would be quite impracticable. Not much of a conversation if you have to wait 3000 years for a reply to your hello. Still we would know as a species that we were not the only organisms contemplating the existence of the universe. Finding another intelligent race would definitely redefine our place in the universe.

[RadioAstronomer]

As long as the funding holds out.

Mine will :-)

[FormerLurker]

Don't forget the Biblical Anakim and Nephilim..

Are Giants Returning to the Holy Land?

Seraphim,Cherubim & Ezekiel's Wheels

THE HISTORY OF THE NEPHILIM

[Paid4This]

Oh, my mistake. It's birds you don't believe in. Except for the songbirds specifically mentioned, right?

[RadioAstronomer]

Any thing to add?

Hope I did :-)

[RightWhale]

certainly there are other life forms out there in the universe

Almost certain, but also equally certain it is all bacteria level.

[RadioAstronomer]

Paging Dr. BEM, Dr. BEM, please pick up the white courtesy phone...

ROFL! :-)

[Frank_Discussion]

"Since there are only four fundamental forces in the universe and EM appears to be the most practical for long distance communication, why would they not use EM?"

Four fundamental forces in the universe governed by classical physics. Quantum Physics predicts additional forces and additional properties of the classical ones, which makes more exotic communication possible.

The EM search is an important one, and I expect it will bear fruit some day. Just don't subscribe to the notion that EM is all that's available for communication. We are actively tinkering with alternatives now.

[LRS]

We may find that we humans are not the real "backward ones" in the universe...

I have often considered if people would clasify the Egyptians who built the pyramids as being unintelligent. Sure, they may not have developed nuclear power, but I would speculate that if one was to take a 5 year old out of the Nile Delta, circa 2400 BC, and wisk them into the present, they would be able to develope as much computer skills as the average present day person has. Point being, there may actually be a great deal of intelligent life "out there". They just might not have taken the same roads that we have taken, and never have developed space and SETI programs. I don't dismiss more advanced civilistions than ours existing, but given how all the pratfalls that can take a civilsation "backwards", our current level may not be reached as often as some dreamers imagine...

[Sabertooth]

Since there are only four fundamental forces in the universe ...

An oft-repeated error of scientists is that there are four undamental forces: stron, weak, gravity, and EM. You guys are always forgetting the most important one...

The Sex Drive.

[SkyRat]

I agree with your sentiment, but I think you may have missed one of my points. If we "backward humans" have happened upon faster-than-light communication,

We did? o_O ? Why did nobody tell me. Is it time to sell my AT&T shares?

[Caipirabob]

Why are they looking so far away? I thought E.T. was having an "Ethics Hearing" in congress today.