New $10 million SETI Program

[bison 1,885]

There is a proposal in the United States House of Representatives that there be a new $10 million program within NASA to search for radio signals from extraterrestrial civilizations. This is in sharp contrast to 1993, when U.S. government funding for SETI was cut to nothing, only one year after such a program had begun. 

The proposal still has to make its way through the House and the Senate, and funding must then actually be voted to support the proposal, but at least this is a start. 

Please find a link, below, to an article with further information:

https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2018/05/seti-technosignatures-nasa-jill-tarter/558512/  

[OverSword 36,404]

Waste of money.

[Dejarma 2,235]

7 minutes ago, OverSword said:

Waste of money.

yep

[Alien Origins 1,590]

I will second that yep.

[bison 1,885]

Would any of you, who expressed the opinion that SETI is 'a waste of money', care to give your reasons for this stance? Further clarification would be appreciated. Thank you. 

[Dejarma 2,235]

38 minutes ago, bison said:

Would any of you, who expressed the opinion that SETI is 'a waste of money', care to give your reasons for this stance? Further clarification would be appreciated. Thank you. 

how will anyone know what an alien signal is? there's no yardstick to work with.

we may well pick up an intelligently created signal, but we aint gonna know it.

top minds will speculate on a strange signal received (if that ever happens) & come to a conclusion after trying to decode it & tell us it's a strong possibility (because they won't know for sure)= then what?

[bison 1,885]

There are certain principles of radio transmission that should apply, wherever this technology is in use. This gives us some basis for what we might expect from an extraterrestrial signal. SETI work started about 60 years ago, by listening for the most obvious sorts of signals. Since then, we have run through the possibilities of more and more difficult-to-detect signals, as our technical sophistication has increased. Sensitivity to weaker and weaker signals, the ability to analyze the content of narrower and narrower  signal bandwidths, and the ability to study wider and wider ranges of possible transmission frequencies simultaneously, have and will continue to increase our chances of success.

The efforts to understand the content of any SETI signals received will test our mental abilities, and cause them to expand in response to the challenge. Since we don't know now what the content of these signals will be, it's difficult to answer the question of how we will respond when we do begin to understand them. As these signals are likely to be from a more advanced form of life, it seems that their effect on us is can be expected to be enlightening, in a number of ways. We will, in any case, be responding to the challenge with which the universe present us. And that is the important thing.      

Edited May 12, 2018 by bison
improved word choice

[Dejarma 2,235]

4 minutes ago, bison said:

The efforts to understand the content of any SETI signals received will test our mental abilities,

10 million for a test

do you believe aliens are here & the US government are hiding this truth?

[Not A Rockstar 5,601]

I am a serious space junkie and am certain there are other living peoples out there somewhere in all that endless potential, but, I have some doubts about how we can be sure they even use radio waves, for example. But, then again, it is not a lot of money these days and it is interesting. Perhaps some sounds it picks up will reveal other things, too. Who knows. In principle I am always happy to read about more funding for Space information.

Thanks for the article Bison

 

[bison 1,885]

1 hour ago, Dejarma said:

10 million for a test

do you believe aliens are here & the US government are hiding this truth?

For an opportunity to test of our utmost abilities, and a remarkable chance for the ensuing growth as sentient beings, ten million dollars seems a very modest price. 

It appears to me that we have had fleeting visits from certain extraterrestrials, but that they are not openly communicative. Perhaps we must search the heavens for an extraterrestrial species that does wish to communicate with us. 

I sometimes think that what the governments of the world are really concealing about the UFO situation, is how little they understand about it, or can control it.

Edited May 12, 2018 by bison
added information

[Dejarma 2,235]

41 minutes ago, bison said:

For an opportunity to test of our utmost abilities, and a remarkable chance for the ensuing growth as sentient beings, ten million dollars seems a very modest price. 

It appears to me that we have had fleeting visits from certain extraterrestrials, but that they are not openly communicative. Perhaps we must search the heavens for an extraterrestrial species that does wish to communicate with us. 

I sometimes think that what the governments of the world are really concealing about the UFO situation, is how little they understand about it, or can control it.

oh ok then

[L.A.T.1961 314]

NASA might be able to save some money if signals have already been detected ?

The Newest Cosmic Radio Burst Has Stumped Scientists - 

Fast radio bursts are split-second intergalactic blips of radio waves we’ve detected over the last decade. You’d think that if we pointed our telescopes and other space cameras in the direction these bursts came from, we’d spot something else, too. But to date, we’ve got nothing—just radio waves.

Scientists spotted the newest burst (and the 22nd ever), FRB 150215, on February 15, 2015 with the Parkes Telescope in Australia. FRB 150215 was strange for lots of reasons—based on the direction in the sky it came from, we probably shouldn't have been able to see it. But despite what may have been the most well-coordinated follow-up effort yet with all sorts of equipment, scientists still don’t know the cause of it, or similar FRBs spotted on different occasions. That’s exciting, scary and frustrating.

https://gizmodo.com/the-newest-cosmic-radio-burst-has-stumped-scientists-1795068113

https://phys.org/news/2017-05-latest-fast-radio-mystery-source.html

 

[Alien Origins 1,590]

16 hours ago, bison said:

Would any of you, who expressed the opinion that SETI is 'a waste of money', care to give your reasons for this stance? Further clarification would be appreciated. Thank you. 

I don't know about other countries but 10 million dollars would go a long way in helping to solve a few problems on the home front...And what are we going to do with these signals if we locate them? I can understand searching for life beyond our little piece of the cosmos. I also feel that maybe there are other life forms out there some where. They are basically searching for the proverbial needle in a hay stack. 

And who says we are intelligent? We put that term on ourselves. The human race has a high regard for its biological make up when it should not at all...

[bison 1,885]

Hugely greater sums are spent regularly on solving problems 'on the home front'.  It does not seem amiss that a very modest sum, by U.S. government standards, be spent  on trying to answer what is conceded to be one of the greatest scientific questions: Are we alone in the universe? 

It may seem that we are searching for something next-to-impossible to find, in seeking signals from extraterrestrial civilizations, but if we do not attempt it, the chances are zero. Seeking to accomplish very difficult tasks brings out the best in humanity. It helps keep our dreams alive. 

What will we do with the signals if we find them? There's no telling what benefits will come from them, what knowledge and wisdom they may hold for us. 

[OverSword 36,404]

On 5/11/2018 at 4:12 PM, bison said:

Would any of you, who expressed the opinion that SETI is 'a waste of money', care to give your reasons for this stance? Further clarification would be appreciated. Thank you. 

Sure. 

The likelihood of another intelligent species existing near us in either space or time is statistically remote.  There are no doubt scientists at NASA who could use $10M for projects that could actually yield some useful data.  There is other theoretical space phenomena that they set out to detect via radio detection methods and did so much sooner than this boondoggle. 

If some eccentric billionaire wants to fund this himself I say knock yourself out but public funds can be put to much better use.

 

[OverSword 36,404]

On 5/11/2018 at 7:18 PM, bison said:

It appears to me that we have had fleeting visits from certain extraterrestrials, but that they are not openly communicative. Perhaps we must search the heavens for an extraterrestrial species that does wish to communicate with us. 

I sometimes think that what the governments of the world are really concealing about the UFO situation, is how little they understand about it, or can control it.

Oh wow!  I see where you're coming from now!

[OverSword 36,404]

On 5/12/2018 at 8:46 AM, Alien Origins said:

And who says we are intelligent? We put that term on ourselves. The human race has a high regard for its biological make up when it should not at all...

That's obviously not true. 

[bison 1,885]

Is the likelihood of nearby extraterrestrial civilizations 'remote'? I doubt it. Conditions have been suitable for life to arise and evolve into intelligence for far longer than life on this planet has been around. A species a billion years more advanced than we are is not an unreasonable idea, given what we know.

Even at very modest (sub-light) rates of territorial expansion, such elder species could have spread throughout the galaxy, many times over, by now.  I strongly suspect that we are not openly contacted on purpose. Perhaps it is left to us to decide when such contact should occur, indicating by our behavior when we are ready for this.  Persistent, intent  listening for signs of intelligence in the universe may indicate such readiness. We may find that such searching will be rewarded with truly remarkable discoveries.   

[moonman 894]

Don't radio waves have an "expiration point"? Like after a certain distance they become so weak and dispersed that they become basically non existent?

[OverSword 36,404]

39 minutes ago, bison said:

Is the likelihood of nearby extraterrestrial civilizations 'remote'? I doubt it. Conditions have been suitable for life to arise and evolve into intelligence for far longer than life on this planet has been around. A species a billion years more advanced than we are is not an unreasonable idea, given what we know.

Life evolving elsewhere is probably a given, intelligent life is not.  Example, sharks have remained essentially unchanged for millennia.  Why didn't they evolve to become intelligent?  Why haven't any other of the billions of different forms of life that have evolved on the earth?  Because intelligence is not inevitable.

Watch the  video below and see just what rare circumstances led to humanity.

 

[OverSword 36,404]

Ooops.  Wrong video above, although worth watching.  I think this is the one I meant to post.

 

[dwarf vs grey ufo 30]

6 minutes ago, OverSword said:

Life evolving elsewhere is probably a given, intelligent life is not.  Example, sharks have remained essentially unchanged for millennia.  Why didn't they evolve to become intelligent?  Why haven't any other of the billions of different forms of life that have evolved on the earth?  Because intelligence is not inevitable.

Watch the  video below and see just what rare circumstances led to humanity.

The rare circumstance was aliens arriving and modifying one of the native gorilla's with a small amount of their DNA which replicates Grey formation of brain matter

All life is intelligent, animals just speak a language that greys/humans don't interpret or can't.
I can though.

[OverSword 36,404]

2 minutes ago, dwarf vs grey ufo said:

The rare circumstance was aliens arriving and modifying one of the native gorilla's with a small amount of their DNA which replicates Grey formation of brain matter

All life is intelligent, animals just speak a language that greys/humans don't interpret or can't.
I can though.

I hope you're joking.  If not, FYI the key word in science fiction is not science.

[dwarf vs grey ufo 30]

1 minute ago, OverSword said:

I hope you're joking.  If not, FYI the key word in science fiction is not science.

This is what they said when i told them vaccines are harmful.
They said just stop talking about it.
I said what if they lost internet and a study just came out proving 100% they are bad, I still shouldn't talk about it?
They said Yup.

[XenoFish 69,387]

10 minutes ago, dwarf vs grey ufo said:

The rare circumstance was aliens arriving and modifying one of the native gorilla's with a small amount of their DNA which replicates Grey formation of brain matter

All life is intelligent, animals just speak a language that greys/humans don't interpret or can't.
I can though.