Speculations of the Existence of Intelligent Life on Other Planets

This allowed the project to catch up with the huge volume of backlogged data. Now the telescope pulls down near 40 gigabytes of data per day and sends it to volunteer computers all everyplace the world to be analyzed, where it is processed and returned via Internet. SETI now has over 2,000,000 people, "the bigheartedst image of volunteers for any Internet distributed computing project to date" utilize SETI@home (2). SETI would have had to spend millions of dollars to purchase supercomputers with the capability of process this vast amount of data in such a short time, but thanks to the volunteers, the processing was free (2).

The virtually compelling question, then, is whether all this data and this enormous amount of compend can truly detect signs of extraterrestrial life. Jonathan Lunine, co-chair of the committee and prof of planetary science and physics at the University of Arizona in Tucson, thinks that it can. "Lunine feels the key to success in life detection in the field is to try a range of techniques that vary in their specificity and wish for prior assumptions about the nature of life. Doing so go forth maximize the chances for success in searches at the planet itself." (Leonard 3). This, added to erudition and discernment about what clues to pursue and lay claim to and what clues to sidestep, bushel the difference between success and failure (Shostak, 4).

An example of such techniques is the two types of sky searches that SETI engages

5. Freudenrich, Craig C. "How SETI Works." HowStuffWorks. Retrieved on March 30, 2005, from http://science.howstuffworks.com/seti.htm

Using these techniques, SETI has accomplished a corporeal amount of research through a number of assorted projects, such as Interstellar Message Composition, which attempts to destine how to croak with extraterrestrial life when found; SERENDIP (Search for Extraterrestrial Radio Emissions from nearby Developed Intelligent Populations); and two Optical SETI projects which search for seeable or infrared designates from extraterrestrial civilizations, to name just a few.

Once signals are obtained, they need to be analyzed to determine whether they are from extraterrestrial sources.

Radio astronomers move the telescope so that it is no longer pointing at the target; when they do this, the signal should stop. When it is moved back on target, it should resume. In addition, interference-type sources like satellites, quasars, and pulsars need to be ruled out. Finally, the signal needs to be support by another wireless telescope.

Another drawback of SETI's work is that its dependance on radio telescopes limits its efforts. There are only a few radio telescopes in the world, and SETI has to take its turn to usage them, renting its share of the time, along with other scientists. Although it could build near radio telescopes just dedicated to the SETI project, this would be extremely expensive. opposite options include using radio data that other radio astronomers have collected and move to repurpose it for SETI's use or trying to expand the number of its limited observation runs.

in, wide-field searches and targeted searches (Freudenrich, 5). Wide-field searches examine large areas of sky at a time using a low-resolution type search. This type of search does not profess much specific data; it is just aimed at mending an area emitting signals that could indicate that it should be looked at more virtually with a targeted
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