SETI announcement tomorrow

[CoolTen10]

What do you think it could be? They found an alien signal?

[norland2424]

only thing i can find is this

The SETI Institute ‏@SETIInstitute 5h5 hours ago

Senior astronomer @SethShostak will be on Coast to Coast AM tonight from 10pm to midnight, PST. More info: http://buff.ly/1l8r5Qu

[cweb]

"Well George, we did make contact with aliens and they were on their way here... But then they heard your show last night, soooo... Say goodbye to electricity."

[Morgus]

Do you mean the NASA (not SETI) announcement about Mars today?
NASA today announced that Mars lost its atmosphere billions of years ago due to solar winds...

[SciFiAuthor]

Do you mean the NASA (not SETI) announcement about Mars today?
NASA today announced that Mars lost its atmosphere billions of years ago due to solar winds...

SETI was supposed to announce their preliminary findings today for the WTF star, but as yet have not.

[Morgus]

SETI was supposed to announce their preliminary findings today for the WTF star, but as yet have not.

I highly doubt they will detect primitive radio signals from an advanced civilization anyway - they would be using something like "subspace communications" which we wouldn't detect... 

[SciFiAuthor]

I highly doubt they will detect primitive radio signals from an advanced civilization anyway - they would be using something like "subspace communications" which we wouldn't detect... 

Yeah, I wouldn't expect that we'd find much in radio both for the reason you state but also that this star is really far away for radio telescopes to detect a civilization unless they are broadcasting superpowerful signals specifically designed to be a beacon.

[MV/Liberace!]

...they would be using something like "subspace communications" which we wouldn't detect... 

Is that thang turbo charged?

[inuk2600]

I think Seth said around supper time (pacific time?). He didn't sound particularly excited, just normal.

[GeorgieForPresident2216]

Meanwhile we're missing out on the exploration that's going on in our own backyard, like Cassini's probing of Saturn's beautiful moon Enceladus.

[SciFiAuthor]

Meanwhile we're missing out on the exploration that's going on in our own backyard, like Cassini's probing of Saturn's beautiful moon Enceladus.

I'm excited, Enceladus is one of the most interesting moons in the solar system with an apparent liquid water ocean and sprays of ice coming from deep below through cracks in the surface ice.

[chefist]

I highly doubt they will detect primitive radio signals from an advanced civilization anyway - they would be using something like "subspace communications" which we wouldn't detect... 

We have scientists putting shrimp on a treadmill or have amoeba gather around an LED to gather data...I'm pretty sure these smart ass aliens would have some of their own interested in finding life in the universe, no matter how primitive...

I am a huge Carl Sagan fan, have been since I was a kid, but one of his most idiotic statements was that aliens would not be interested in us...pure BullShit! Would scientists love to go back in time and see the first human make fire? ABSOLUTELY! So would an alien race want to see a foreign world make fire for the first time or explode the first nuclear device? OF COURSE!   Sagan got this one wrong!

[SciFiAuthor]

We have scientists putting shrimp on a treadmill or have amoeba gather around an LED to gather data...I'm pretty sure these smart ass aliens would have some of their own interested in finding life in the universe, no matter how primitive...

I am a huge Carl Sagan fan, have been since I was a kid, but one of his most idiotic statements was that aliens would not be interested in us...pure BullShit! Would scientists love to go back in time and see the first human make fire? ABSOLUTELY! So would an alien race want to see a foreign world make fire for the first time or explode the first nuclear device? OF COURSE!   Sagan got this one wrong!

Interesting point. If the aliens have scientists like our own, then you can bet they'd want to study us. They'd be interested in every aspect of life on this planet.

[SciFiAuthor]

Press release is out. No signals.

http://www.seti.org/seti-institute/press-release/looking-deliberate-radio-signals-kic-8462852

[chefist]

Interesting point. If the aliens have scientists like our own, then you can bet they'd want to study us. They'd be interested in every aspect of life on this planet.

WURD! Hell, we are excited about finding any new potential world or star that shows any interesting abnormal data...I'm pretty sure aliens would too...

[akwilly]

Press release is out. No signals.

http://www.seti.org/seti-institute/press-release/looking-deliberate-radio-signals-kic-8462852

Damn that was kind of a bummer

[chefist]

Damn that was kind of a bummer

Probably not ET...but don't rule out the ego of Sleestak...their search may have had very narrow parameters...

[SciFiAuthor]

Probably not ET...but don't rule out the ego of Sleestak...their search may have had very narrow parameters...

Don't forget that the Berkeley SETI team is also looking. I get the sense that there is some tension between the two groups.

[chefist]

Don't forget that the Berkeley SETI team is also looking. I get the sense that there is some tension between the two groups.

I'm hoping the open minded Bay Area group can find something else...if not...an abandoned Star Destroyer! ;-)

[GravitySucks]

I'm hoping the open minded Bay Area group can find something else...if not...an abandoned Star Destroyer! ;-)

Nothing to see here, nothing to hear here, move along...

[SciFiAuthor]

I'm hoping the open minded Bay Area group can find something else...if not...an abandoned Star Destroyer! ;-)

Possibly, but I suspect that radio astronomy won't crack this nut. It will be the spectrum that does it. The next time a dip event happens that can be optically observed then it should settle the issue. That's assuming we have time before Darth Vader uses the death star to obliterate us for our insolence in looking at his ride.

[chefist]

Possibly, but I suspect that radio astronomy won't crack this nut. It will be the spectrum that does it. The next time a dip event happens that can be optically observed then it should settle the issue.

Agreed...would they have any communications in those frequencies or even use radio signals at all? who knows...if they did have interested scientists they would have a reverse SETI...sending old tech signals and not just looking for them...

Star Wars had folks like the Sand People...seemed to have less tech than us...I could be wrong but I'm a Trekie anyway...

[Designx]

I think it's hilarious that SETI even put any time into listening to the Tabby star. This story is so ridiculous to begin with - especially the idea of 1950's sci-fi rotating around a star.

[SciFiAuthor]

Agreed...would they have any communications in those frequencies or even use radio signals at all? who knows...if they did have interested scientists they would have a reverse SETI...sending old tech signals and not just looking for them...

Star Wars had folks like the Sand People...seemed to have less tech than us...I could be wrong but I'm a Trekie anyway...

I think SETI is going about it the wrong way. You don't need to send out terrawatts worth of radio signal just to say hello. All you need to do is just build a huge perhaps triangular baffle to block the light of your star in such a way as to appear unnatural. I'm not sure how the sand people remained a nuisance on Tattooine when they had primitive rifle things and everyone else had laser blasters.

[SciFiAuthor]

I think it's hilarious that SETI even put any time into listening to the Tabby star. This story is so ridiculous to begin with - especially the idea of 1950's sci-fi rotating around a star.

Oh they had a reason and it wasn't Dyson spheres, the light curve for the 16 percent occlusion event was so strange that they'd have been negligent not to take an immediate look. It's a factor of a hundred times more weird looking than the WOW signal was. That said, it's probably natural, but if it is it's something that we haven't encountered before. 

[Caruthers612]

I highly doubt they will detect primitive radio signals from an advanced civilization anyway - they would be using something like "subspace communications" which we wouldn't detect... 

            Or smoke signals. We'd never see that coming.

[Caruthers612]

Meanwhile we're missing out on the exploration that's going on in our own backyard, like Cassini's probing of Saturn's beautiful moon Enceladus.

       I know, it's gorgeous. Anyone else think it looks like a Lush bath ball?

[trostol]

Meanwhile we're missing out on the exploration that's going on in our own backyard, like Cassini's probing of Saturn's beautiful moon Enceladus.

thats a pretty awesome shot

[aldousburbank]

I think extraterrestials of a highly intelligent nature are already communicating with our civilization through the music of Rush.

[SciFiAuthor]

I think extraterrestials of a highly intelligent nature are already communicating with our civilization through the music of Rush.

Those are just Canadians. I do have some suspicions that Frank Zappa was an alien though.