© Mark Ollig
On Sept. 19, 1959, Nature magazine published the article, “Searching for Interstellar Communication,” written by Philip Morrison and Giuseppi Cocconi.
“No theories yet exist which enable a reliable estimate of the probabilities of planet formation, [the] origin of life, or evolution of societies possessing advanced scientific capabilities,” reads the first sentence.
Morrison and Cocconi, both physicists from Cornell University in New York, go into further detail on a proposal of how to search for intelligence beyond the Earth.
Their last sentence accurately states, “The probability of success is difficult to estimate; but if we never search, the chance of success is zero.”
The first serious attempt at detecting interstellar radio transmissions from deep space began in 1960, by Frank Drake, an astrophysicist, and radio astronomer for the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) in Green Bank, WV.
Drake selected two stars to study; the Tau Ceti in the constellation Cetus, and the Epsilon Eridani in the constellation Eridanus.
Both stars are as old as the sun. They are 11 light-years, or 66 trillion miles away from Earth.
For six hours each day from April to July in 1960, the NRAO radio telescope listened to 1,420 MHz for any modulated pulses or radio signals suggesting extraterrestrial intelligence.
Anxiety must have run high when a secret military experiment set off a false extraterrestrial message signal alert. With this single exception, by the end of July, the only thing heard was static.
On Oct. 28, 1961, Nature magazine published an April 15, 1961 paper authored by American physicists Charles Townes and Robert Schwartz, titled “Interstellar and Interplanetary Communication by Optical Masers.”
A “maser” or microwave amplification by stimulated emission of radiation, is the predecessor of laser (light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation) technology.
Their paper suggests an alternative method of receiving and transmitting communications with extraterrestrials, using sophisticated optical laser technology, which an advanced extraterrestrial civilization could be using.
The paper submits, rather than microwave radio, an extraterrestrial civilization’s interstellar communications might be transmitted using optical light wavelengths via laser technology.
They suggest if planets light-years from Earth were using optical laser beams for communications, we could detect them with telescopes and spectrographs being used in 1961.
Of course, in 1961, the use of lasers on this planet was still in its infancy.
The first working laser operated May 16, 1960, at Hughes Research Laboratory in California.
In 2018, I wrote a column on a study that proposes how a linear laser beam transmitted from Earth could be used as a “planetary porch light.”
The idea was to transmit a laser beam strong enough not to be obscured by our sun’s radiation so that it could be seen light-years away.
Possibly, an astronomer living on one of the three planets said to be orbiting Proxima Centauri, which is the nearest star, 4.24 light-years from Earth, would be able to detect the linear laser beam originating from our planet.
This astronomer might become curious about the straight line of radiated monochromatic light originating from Sol’s third planet, our sun. Would a satellite be sent to Earth to investigate?
In 1974, Frank Drake created the Arecibo message.
The message was transmitted using interstellar radio into the M13 Global Star Cluster 25,000 light-years away from Earth, on a frequency of 2,380 MHz.
The Arecibo Observatory radio telescope and transmitting antenna dish in Puerto Rico were used to send the three-minute message with 450 kW (Kilowatt) of power.
This message consisted of 210 bytes of information broken down into seven separate references.
The references included the digits one to 10; the formula making up deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA; an illustrative stick figure outline of a human; Earth’s population in 1974 (4 billion); the essential elements of life on Earth; and a graphic of our solar system.
Other messages have been sent, such as the one on a small plaque attached to the Pioneer 10 spacecraft launched March 2, 1972. This plaque contains information to be deciphered by any alien civilization finding it.
The most famous interstellar messages were launched in fall 1977, aboard the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft, now located 13 and 11 billion miles, respectively, from Earth.
A gold-covered phonograph record, etched with humankind’s messages to whatever intelligence finds it, is attached to each Voyager.
Cornell University’s article, “Earth’s first attempt to phone E.T.,” and the Arecibo message is at https://bit.ly/3gKmx0v.
The 1959 article, “Searching for Interstellar Communication,” can be read at https://bit.ly/2TZnIzi.
The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence Institute began Feb. 1, 1985. Its website is www.seti.org.
Frank Drake, known as The Father of SETI, turned 90 years old May 28, and is still involved with the search for extraterrestrial intelligence.
So, is there anybody out there?
Consider what astronomer Carl Sagan said, “The universe is a pretty big place. If it’s just us, seems like an awful waste of space.”
Stay safe out there.
On Sept. 19, 1959, Nature magazine published the article, “Searching for Interstellar Communication,” written by Philip Morrison and Giuseppi Cocconi.
“No theories yet exist which enable a reliable estimate of the probabilities of planet formation, [the] origin of life, or evolution of societies possessing advanced scientific capabilities,” reads the first sentence.
Morrison and Cocconi, both physicists from Cornell University in New York, go into further detail on a proposal of how to search for intelligence beyond the Earth.
Their last sentence accurately states, “The probability of success is difficult to estimate; but if we never search, the chance of success is zero.”
The first serious attempt at detecting interstellar radio transmissions from deep space began in 1960, by Frank Drake, an astrophysicist, and radio astronomer for the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) in Green Bank, WV.
Drake selected two stars to study; the Tau Ceti in the constellation Cetus, and the Epsilon Eridani in the constellation Eridanus.
Both stars are as old as the sun. They are 11 light-years, or 66 trillion miles away from Earth.
For six hours each day from April to July in 1960, the NRAO radio telescope listened to 1,420 MHz for any modulated pulses or radio signals suggesting extraterrestrial intelligence.
Anxiety must have run high when a secret military experiment set off a false extraterrestrial message signal alert. With this single exception, by the end of July, the only thing heard was static.
On Oct. 28, 1961, Nature magazine published an April 15, 1961 paper authored by American physicists Charles Townes and Robert Schwartz, titled “Interstellar and Interplanetary Communication by Optical Masers.”
A “maser” or microwave amplification by stimulated emission of radiation, is the predecessor of laser (light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation) technology.
Their paper suggests an alternative method of receiving and transmitting communications with extraterrestrials, using sophisticated optical laser technology, which an advanced extraterrestrial civilization could be using.
The paper submits, rather than microwave radio, an extraterrestrial civilization’s interstellar communications might be transmitted using optical light wavelengths via laser technology.
They suggest if planets light-years from Earth were using optical laser beams for communications, we could detect them with telescopes and spectrographs being used in 1961.
Of course, in 1961, the use of lasers on this planet was still in its infancy.
The first working laser operated May 16, 1960, at Hughes Research Laboratory in California.
In 2018, I wrote a column on a study that proposes how a linear laser beam transmitted from Earth could be used as a “planetary porch light.”
The idea was to transmit a laser beam strong enough not to be obscured by our sun’s radiation so that it could be seen light-years away.
Possibly, an astronomer living on one of the three planets said to be orbiting Proxima Centauri, which is the nearest star, 4.24 light-years from Earth, would be able to detect the linear laser beam originating from our planet.
This astronomer might become curious about the straight line of radiated monochromatic light originating from Sol’s third planet, our sun. Would a satellite be sent to Earth to investigate?
In 1974, Frank Drake created the Arecibo message.
The message was transmitted using interstellar radio into the M13 Global Star Cluster 25,000 light-years away from Earth, on a frequency of 2,380 MHz.
The Arecibo Observatory radio telescope and transmitting antenna dish in Puerto Rico were used to send the three-minute message with 450 kW (Kilowatt) of power.
This message consisted of 210 bytes of information broken down into seven separate references.
The references included the digits one to 10; the formula making up deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA; an illustrative stick figure outline of a human; Earth’s population in 1974 (4 billion); the essential elements of life on Earth; and a graphic of our solar system.
Other messages have been sent, such as the one on a small plaque attached to the Pioneer 10 spacecraft launched March 2, 1972. This plaque contains information to be deciphered by any alien civilization finding it.
The most famous interstellar messages were launched in fall 1977, aboard the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft, now located 13 and 11 billion miles, respectively, from Earth.
A gold-covered phonograph record, etched with humankind’s messages to whatever intelligence finds it, is attached to each Voyager.
Cornell University’s article, “Earth’s first attempt to phone E.T.,” and the Arecibo message is at https://bit.ly/3gKmx0v.
The 1959 article, “Searching for Interstellar Communication,” can be read at https://bit.ly/2TZnIzi.
The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence Institute began Feb. 1, 1985. Its website is www.seti.org.
Frank Drake, known as The Father of SETI, turned 90 years old May 28, and is still involved with the search for extraterrestrial intelligence.
So, is there anybody out there?
Consider what astronomer Carl Sagan said, “The universe is a pretty big place. If it’s just us, seems like an awful waste of space.”
Stay safe out there.
Sept. 19, 1959, Nature magazine
