Sunday, October 05, 2008

Little bang and Project Argus

Welcome! "Alien Life" tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. You may notice that this and future entries are shorter than usual; career, family and book deal commitments have forced me to cut back some of my projects. Now, here's today's news:
g Stars -New research shows that a distant exploding star could have triggered the formation of our solar system. The study is helping astrobiologists understand the conditions in which habitable planets might form. See article.
g Life - The remains of a unique dinosaur discovered in Argentina are helping scientists understand the connections between dinosaurs and birds. The study sheds light on an important moment in the evolution of life on our planet. See article.
g Message -
The SETI League, Inc. launched its Project Argus all-sky survey in April 1996, with the ambitious goal of real-time all-sky coverage. This SETI experiment is unique in that it employs the talents and energies of thousands of dedicated amateur radio astronomers worldwide. In its first four years, Project Argus has grown from five small prototype radio telescopes to more than one hundred operational stations, with hundreds more under construction. The project is still decades away from its projected 5,000 stations able to see in all directions at once. Nevertheless, much has been learned about how to build radio telescopes inexpensively, operate them with the utmost of professionalism, and interpret received data with scientific rigor. See article.
g Imagining -Like first contact stories? Be sure to read Brian Aldiss’ 1964 classic novel “The Dark Light Years”.

Honoring the Past, Inspiring the Future

2 comments:

James Brown said...

SETI League "more than a hundered operational stations"
If only it were so. In fact there is only one operational station and that is www.SETI.Net. SETI Net is the only one that has ever been in operation.

Not only that but there are only five SETI stations OF ANY DESCRIPTION on the face of the earth.

Rob Bignell said...

About 1-1/2 years after this post, I'm glad to report that SETI.net is still up and running in Del Mar, Calif. The Web site listed is interesting and lists potential hits.