radio transmissions

Tag: radio transmissions

Scientists To Study Mysterious Interstellar Asteroid For Signs Of Alien Technology

December 14, 2017
ExoNews Editor

by Ed Mazza December 12, 2017 (huffingtonpost.com)

• Earlier this autumn, a long cigar-shaped asteroid named ‘Oumuamua’ was confirmed as the first known object from outside the solar system. [It was first reported in the ExoNews on November 24th.]

• An organization called “Breakthrough Listen” will spend $100 million to detect evidence of an extraterrestrial transmitter using the Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope in West Virginia. While it should only take less than a minute to detect, they will spend ten hours observing the ‘asteroid’ across four radio bands.

Earlier this autumn, an asteroid named ’Oumuamua captured the attention of the scientific world when it was confirmed as the first known object from outside the solar system. Now, Breakthrough Listen wants to see if it’s the first sign of life beyond our planet.

On Wednesday, the $100 million project to detect potential evidence of extraterrestrials plans to use the Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope in West Virginia to observe the asteroid across four radio bands for 10 hours.
“Most likely it is of natural origin, but because it is so peculiar, we would like to check if it has any sign of artificial origin, such as radio emissions,” Avi Loeb, professor of astronomy at Harvard University and an adviser to Breakthrough Listen, told The Guardian. “If we do detect a signal that appears artificial in origin, we’ll know immediately.”
According to a news release, it will take less than a minute to detect a transmitter with the power of a cellphone.

“We don’t want to be sensational in any way, and we are very realistic about the chances this is artificial,” Yuri Milner, the Silicon Valley billionaire behind the Breakthrough Initiatives, told Scientific American. “But because this is a unique situation, we think mankind can afford 10 hours of observing time using the best equipment on the planet to check a low-probability hypothesis.”

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Scientists Transmit Songs to Planet With Potential Alien Life

December 2, 2017
ExoNews Editor

by Paul Seaburn November 18, 2017 (mysteriousuniverse.org)

On October 16-18, scientists from Tromsø, Norway transmitted radio signals to a “habitable zone” planet called GJ273b orbiting a red dwarf star in the constellation Canis Major.
They used the transmitter itself as a musical instrument, sending basic melodies by transmitting pulses at a series of different radio frequencies that maintain the same sort of intervals between one another that we see in the intervals between musical notes.
The “music” was composed for this project by sound artist Holly Herndon, French composer Jean-Michel Jarre, and the experimental electronic-music duo Matmos.
The signal also contained a sort of ‘cosmic clock’ to help the ETs figure out our concept of time.

There are serious questions being pondered and actions being taken by our top minds these days and there’s no reason why the thought process shouldn’t be open to all humans, especially since the end result could potentially put all humans in danger of being destroyed by aliens … especially aliens who don’t like techno-pop music. The questions? Would you broadcast radio signals at a planet that may contain alien life? If you say yes, would you send music or words? If you chose music, what songs would you send? Space Oddity? Rocket Man? The 1812 Overture? Space Cowboy?

GeekWire reports that a group of scientists and artists calling themselves Sónar Calling GJ273b didn’t bother to ask us before transmitting signals on three successive days, Oct. 16-18, from the EISCAT radio antenna in Tromsø, Norway. The transmissions were aimed at GJ273b, a planet twice the mass of Earth, orbiting GJ273 or Luyten’s Star, a red dwarf in the constellation Canis Major. GJ273b is in a habitable zone orbit and could harbor life, so it’s a prime target for messaging extraterrestrial intelligence (METI) according to METI International, a co-sponsor of Sónar Calling GJ273b.

The other sponsors are the Institute of Space Studies of Catalonia, Spain, and the Sónar music festival in Barcelona. So the inhabitants of GJ273b will someday be tapping their toes (or whatever appendages they’ve developed) to flamenco, opera, Spanish jazz and classical guitar songs – right?

“We will turn the EISCAT transmitter into a musical instrument, sending basic melodies by transmitting pulses at a series of different radio frequencies that maintain the same sort of intervals between one another that we see in the intervals between musical notes.”

What is that … polka? (Sorry, polka fans). Do we want them to like us or hate us? Douglas Vakoch, president of METI International, says those “pulses” were composed especially for this project by people like sound artist Holly Herndon, French composer Jean-Michel Jarre and the experimental electronic-music duo Matmos.

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