Phil Edwards: In February 1995, a petite research organization known as the Seti Institute introduced the most comprehensive search for the answer to a centuries -old question: Are we alone in the universe?
This Sunday is the 30th anniversary of the first astronomical observations carried out for search, called Project Phoenix. These observations were carried out at Parkes Observatory in the country of Wiradjuri in the middle west of New South Wales in Australia – houses for one of the world's largest radio telescopes.
But Project Phoenix was lucky to leave the ground.
Three years earlier, NASA began an ambitious ten -year, $ 100 million search for extraterrestrial intelligentsia (Seti). However, in 1993, the United States Congress reduced all funds for the program due to the growing budget deficit in the USA. In addition, Seti skeptics in the Congress ridiculed the program as a long search for “Little Green Men”.
Fortunately, the Seti Institute secured a sufficient number of private donations to revive the project – and the Phoenix project was created from Ashes.
Listening to radio signals
If life is elsewhere, it is natural to assume that it has evolved for many millions of years on a planet circulating with a long -term star similar to our sun. So Seti searches usually go to the closest stars reminiscent of the sun, listening to radio signals, which are either intentionally radiated to our path, or are a technical signal radiating from another planet.
Technical signatures are restricted to a narrow frequency range and produced by advanced civilization, such as ours.
Astronomers exploit radio waves because they can penetrate into gas and dust clouds in our galaxy. They can also travel at long distances without excessive power requirements.
Murriyang, a 64 -meter CSIRO radio telescope in Parke Observatory, has been operating since 1961. He made astronomical discoveries and played a key role in tracking space missions – especially Apollo 11 Moonwalk.
As the largest radio telescope in the southern hemisphere, it is also a natural object for exploit for Seti purposes in the southern sky.
While Project Phoenix planned to exploit several enormous telescopes around the world, these objects were undergoing grave improvement. So the observation program began in Parkes.
On February 2, 1995, Murriyang indicated a carefully chosen star of 49 lithe from Earth in the constellation, of course Phoenix. This was the first observation carried out as part of the project.
Logistic and technological success
The Phoenix project was conducted by Jill Tarter, a well -known researcher Seti, who spent many long nights at Parkes, supervising observations within 16 weeks devoted to searching. (The character of Jodie Foster in contact with the 1998 film was largely based on Jill.)
The Project Phoenix team brought a trailer full of computers with the latest touch screen technology to process data.
Bogong's butter was caused by some early processing breaks. These enormous, night moths were attracted to the lithe from computer screens, flying to them with sufficient force to change the settings.
Within 16 weeks, the Project Phoenix team observed 209 stars using Munsyang at frequencies from 1200 to 3000 mega-Hertz. They were looking for both continuous and pulsating signals to maximize the chance to find real signals of foreign life.
Radio telescopes are able to detect destitute radio emissions from distant blue objects. But they are also sensitive to radio waves produced in a current society (our own techno signal) by cell phones, Bluetooth connections, aviation radar and GPS satellites.
These types of local interference can imitate the types of signal seti search. So the distinction between them is crucial.
To do this, Project Phoenix decided to exploit the second radio telescope at a distance to obtain independent control of any detected signals. CSIRO provided access to the 22 -meter MOPRA radio telescope, about 200 kilometers north of Parks to track real -time signal candidates.
Within 16 weeks, the team detected a total of 148,949 signals in Parkes – of which about 80% can be easily rejected as local signals. The team checked just over 18,000 signals in Parkes and Mope. Only 39 passed all tests and looked like powerful Seti candidates. But after a closer inspection, the team identified them as from satellites.
As Jill Tarter summed up in the article in 1997:
“Although there is no evidence on [extraterrestrial intelligence] A signal was found, no mysterious or unexplained signals were left, and Australian implementation was a logistic and technological success. “
Next generation of radio telescopes
When Project Phoenix ended in 2004, project manager Peter Backus said “we live in a quiet area.”
But efforts are still looking for aliens with greater sensitivity, in a wider frequency and more goals.
Breakough Listening, another project financed privately, began in 2015, re -using, among others, the PałoS telescope.
Breakthrough listening aims to examine a million closest stars and 100 nearest galaxies.
One unexpected signal detected in Parkes in 2019. As part of this project, it was examined in tedious details before it was found that it was also a locally generated signal.
The next generation of radio telescopes will ensure a jump of sensitivity compared to objects – using a larger collecting area, improvement of resolution and excellent processing.
Examples of these novel generation radio telescopes include the SKA-LOW telescope, under construction in Western Australia and the Ska-Mid telescope, built in South Africa. They will be used to answer a wide range of astronomical questions – including whether there is life outside the earth.
As Pionier Seti Frank Drake once noted:
“The most fascinating, interesting thing that can be found in the universe is no other type of star or galaxy … but a different kind of life.”
Phil Edwards, senior scientist, Australia Telescope National Facility Science, Csiro
This article is published from Conversation under the Creative Commons license. Read Original article.
Image Source: Pixabay.com
