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Why we may never hear from aliens


Claire.

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We still haven’t heard from aliens – here’s why we might never

THE most ambitious search so far for extraterrestrial intelligence has released its first data – and there are no aliens yet. The lack of success could be explained by the result of a new approach to calculating the likelihood of detecting alien signals. This calculation suggests we might never make contact, even if extraterrestrial life is common.

Read more: New Scientist

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Who decided that we are able to detect alien signals at all?

Maybe they don't use the electromagnetic spectrum to communicate, or they use a part of it that we can't.

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We've looked for only a small portion of possible SETI signals, in terms of radio frequency, power level, modulation type, timing, sky direction, etc. Dr. Jill Tarter, of the SETI institute has likened our efforts to dipping a glass of water out of the ocean. It shouldn't surprise us at all that nothing has been found, as yet.  

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On 4/27/2017 at 3:52 AM, acute said:

Who decided that we are able to detect alien signals at all?

Nobody.

On 4/27/2017 at 3:52 AM, acute said:

Maybe they don't use the electromagnetic spectrum to communicate, or they use a part of it that we can't.

Perhaps. But we have to look for what we know and are possibly able to detect.

Cheers,
Badeskov

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is there any way to modulate waves from radio sources in space like pulsars and use them for communication? 

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9 hours ago, kartikg said:

is there any way to modulate waves from radio sources in space like pulsars and use them for communication? 

With our technology? No chance! Maybe some very advanced Aliens have mastered it, but I have my doubts. 

Cheers,

Badeskov

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Don't most experts think that the best way to communicate is by a laser? Unless our Solar System is specifically targeted, I don't see any reason why we'd receive a clear signal. 

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1 hour ago, DieChecker said:

Don't most experts think that the bes? t way to communicate is by a laser? Unless our Solar System is specifically targeted, I don't see any reason why we'd receive a clear signal. 

But wouldn't using a laser require point to point or line of sight? 

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2 hours ago, kartikg said:

But wouldn't using a laser require point to point or line of sight? 

Yeah. 99.999% of the nearby galaxy is point to point visible, right? Unless something is behind a dust cloud, the smaller objects like stars, planets and asteroids, aren't going to block LOS much.

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15 minutes ago, DieChecker said:

Yeah. 99.999% of the nearby galaxy is point to point visible, right? Unless something is behind a dust cloud, the smaller objects like stars, planets and asteroids, aren't going to block LOS much.

I am confused here Los is ok when we already have established communication which is the required apparatus but since we have no way of knowing where to point our laser isn't it a bad choice also since the planets will be moving how would we maintain the Los? 

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On 4/30/2017 at 3:04 AM, DieChecker said:

Don't most experts think that the best way to communicate is by a laser?

Space kitties will be going nuts.

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A laser is just a light, and carries zero information unless it is modulated.

The idea that Aliens will vary the light in any way that we can make sense of is dubious, unfortunately.

Edited by acute
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Even the simple existence of a laser beam from space, subject to a few ascertainable exceptions, would be good evidence of the existence of extraterrestrial intelligence. That alone would be a pretty amazing piece of information. 

It isn't too hard to imagine how such a beam could be modulated to covey further information. A simple example -- A string of prime numbers or an additive series, like the Fibonacci, could be expressed, merely by opening and closing a shutter in front of the laser repeatedly, if no more technically advanced form of modulation were desired. 

 

 

Edited by bison
corrected spelling
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On 4/30/2017 at 4:32 AM, kartikg said:

I am confused here Los is ok when we already have established communication which is the required apparatus but since we have no way of knowing where to point our laser isn't it a bad choice also since the planets will be moving how would we maintain the Los? 

A phone can track GPS satellites down the the movement created by relativistic dilation, due to simple programming, so I think we could manage to follow a known planet around a known star.

True, knowing where to point the laser is 99% of communication. Since ET probably has no idea we're here, he has no reason to point one at us. The odds of running into a random communication here on planet Earth is probably practically zero.

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I don't think it unreasonable that an advanced civilizations in space would have compiled catalogs of planets around other stars that show signs of life. We are about to begin making such observations ourselves.

Such catalogs wouldn't be a bad basis for the selective beaming of a laser beam at planets, to see if any response might be forthcoming. Our own planet would presumably be in such catalogs, and so could be subject to periodic laser beam signaling.  

Edited by bison
improved paragraph structure
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Yeah, I know.  Space aliens landed in Washington without permission. Trump deported them.

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18 hours ago, bison said:

I don't think it unreasonable that an advanced civilizations in space would have compiled catalogs of planets around other stars that show signs of life. We are about to begin making such observations ourselves.

Such catalogs wouldn't be a bad basis for the selective beaming of a laser beam at planets, to see if any response might be forthcoming. Our own planet would presumably be in such catalogs, and so could be subject to periodic laser beam signaling.  

True, but if we don't know that few seconds of sky to watch, we'll probably miss it. :o

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23 minutes ago, DieChecker said:

True, but if we don't know that few seconds of sky to watch, we'll probably miss it. :o

It would be just as stupid for them to announce their presence as for us to announce ours.  That said, it's a big sky and there are an awful lot of stars.  Do we propose to watch every one of them 24/7?

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18 hours ago, bison said:

I don't think it unreasonable that an advanced civilizations in space would have compiled catalogs of planets around other stars that show signs of life. We are about to begin making such observations ourselves.

Such catalogs wouldn't be a bad basis for the selective beaming of a laser beam at planets, to see if any response might be forthcoming. Our own planet would presumably be in such catalogs, and so could be subject to periodic laser beam signaling.  

This is good reasoning if you are really sure it is a good idea to let others know you are where you are and at the level of technology you have reached.

The one good reason I can think of for sending such signals is if you know about something you really want to warn others to avoid..  There would be a moral imperative in such a situation to take the risk.

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29 minutes ago, DieChecker said:

True, but if we don't know that few seconds of sky to watch, we'll probably miss it. :o

Yea it would have to be a 24/7 business.  What a boring job.

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