The tools of the…

STARINGSTARING

ALEX WAYMANALEX WAYMAN

No Close Encounters of any kind

For a long time now human beings have believed in the possibility of alien life.

To this day, however, there is no credible evidence of alien life, and no contact has been made.

How will they contact us?

Lets get the obvious out of the way…

UFOs– Alien life traveling to our planet– Face to “Face” contact– Good for media and uninformed

public– Bad for science.

Consider this…

Cost of energy on Earth = $0.10 per kilowatt hour

$40 Billion per passenger

“Imagine sending a small rocket to Alpha Centauri, one that’s the size of the Mayflower (180 tons, with 102 pilgrims on board). Your intention is to get this modest interstellar ark to our nearest stellar neighbor in 50 years, which requires about 150 billion billion joules of energy.” – SETI Science, Rare Earth

it could be worse

It’s WorseThe Drake Equation doesn’t help…

Given: • 10,000 Milky Way Civilizations• Milky Way Volume of 2.36*1013 Ly3

There is about 1331 Ly between us and our There is about 1331 Ly between us and our closest neighbor.closest neighbor.

With so many other means of contact at the disposal of an intelligent civilization, this

option is needlessly inefficient and unlikely.

Status Quo

How do most scientists expect us to be How do most scientists expect us to be contacted by ETs?contacted by ETs?

electromagnetic wave signalselectromagnetic wave signals

specifically…specifically…Radio WavesRadio Waves

Take us, for instance…Take us, for instance…

We have leaked radio We have leaked radio waves since the 1940s.waves since the 1940s.

We can detect the same We can detect the same transmissions from ETs.transmissions from ETs.

How do we do it?

– Radio Telescopes detect radio waves of stars and Radio Telescopes detect radio waves of stars and planets.planets.

– SETI searches for artificial signals coming from SETI searches for artificial signals coming from certain solar systems.certain solar systems.

– Criteria:Criteria:• single star systemssingle star systems• solar systems with “old” stars like our ownsolar systems with “old” stars like our own

The Problems with Radio

• Electromagnetic signals are emitted in cones– The farther they need to go the more powerful

the transmission must be.

• Radio and Television signals aren’t what they used to be.– Cable and Satellite do not leak signals into

outer space.

• Humanity’s window of detection…100 years.

• Does the same go for ETs?

On the other hand…On the other hand…

This may be why we haven’t found any This may be why we haven’t found any ETs ourselvesETs ourselves

Alternatives

Radio waves aren’t the only option.Our Alternative…The Beacon.

We could look for messages pointed right at us.

Alternatives

Three Mediums…Three Mediums…

• Laser Beacons

• Physical Packages

• Genetic Messages

Laser Contact

• OpticalSETI, etc. already are looking.OpticalSETI, etc. already are looking.• Moores Law and future nuclear lasers Moores Law and future nuclear lasers

suggest it’s possible.suggest it’s possible.• Harvard OSETI Telescope dedicated to Harvard OSETI Telescope dedicated to

laser detectionlaser detection• Some things to considerSome things to consider

– The signal would need to be pointed directly The signal would need to be pointed directly at us.at us.

– An intelligent civilization could send a signal An intelligent civilization could send a signal out to 10,000 planets in one minute.out to 10,000 planets in one minute.

• Encoded physical objects are better Encoded physical objects are better than electromagnetic signals because…than electromagnetic signals because…– They don’t become diluted as they travelThey don’t become diluted as they travel– They can stay on a planet indefinitelyThey can stay on a planet indefinitely

• The best choice for a one-way messageThe best choice for a one-way message– Timing is not an issueTiming is not an issue– Large messages are not a problemLarge messages are not a problem

• Arthur C. Clarke’s short stories and Arthur C. Clarke’s short stories and novels explored this concept.novels explored this concept.

““The truth isThe truth is in ourselves.” in ourselves.”

• What about a monolith inside What about a monolith inside our bodies?our bodies?

• ““Junk DNA” stays the same for Junk DNA” stays the same for tens of millions of yearstens of millions of years

• Engineered viruses insert code Engineered viruses insert code inside our “junk DNA”inside our “junk DNA”

““The truth isThe truth is in ourselves.” in ourselves.”

• A physical message that isA physical message that is

– Self-replicating Self-replicating

– Immune to the elementsImmune to the elements

But don’t get me wrong…

• UFOs have not been ruled out– Our propulsion technology continues to advance.

• SETI’s Radio Telescope program is here to stay– Allen Array proves that radio telescopes are a respected tool in

the search for ETs.

• There are many more detection methods being put into practice or on the drawing board.

Any Questions?

…please be gentle