Cosmic Call was the name of two sets of interstellar radio messages that were sent from RT-70 in Yevpatoria, Ukraine in 1999 (Cosmic Call 1) and 2003 (Cosmic Call 2) to various nearby stars. The messages were designed with noise-resistant format and characters. [1] [2]
The project was funded by Team Encounter, [3] a Texas-based startup, which went out of business in 2004. [4]
Both transmissions were at ~150 kW, 5.01 GHz (FSK +/-24 kHz). [5]
Each Cosmic Call 1 session had the following structure. The Scientific Part (DDM, BM, AM, and ESM) was sent three times (at 100 bit/s), [6] and the Public Part (PP) was sent once (at 2000 bit/s), [6] according to the following arrangement:
where DDM is the Dutil-Dumas Message, [7] [8] created by Canadian scientists Yvan Dutil and Stéphane Dumas, BM is the Braastad Message, AM is the Arecibo Message, and ESM is the Encounter 2001 Staff Message. [6]
Each Cosmic Call 2 session in 2003 had the following structure:
where DDM2 is modernized DDM (aka Interstellar Rosetta Stone, ISR), BIG is Bilingual Image Glossary. [5] All but the PP were transmitted at 400 bit/s [5]
The ISR was 263,906 bits; BM, 88,687 bits, AM, 1,679 bits; BIG was 12 binary images 121,301 bits; ESM 24,899 bits. Total = 500,472 bits for 53 minutes. PP was 220 megabytes and sent at a rate of 100,000 bit/s for 11 hours total. [5]
The DDM incorrectly states the neutron mass as 1.67392... instead of the known value 1.67492... This error was corrected in DDM2.
The messages were sent to the following stars: [9]
| Name | Designation HD | Constellation | Date sent | Arrival date | Message |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 Cyg A | HD 186408 | Cygnus | May 24, 1999 | November 2069 | Cosmic Call 1 |
| 15 Sge | HD 190406 | Sagitta | June 30, 1999 | February 2057 | Cosmic Call 1 |
| HD 178428 | Sagitta | June 30, 1999 | October 2067 | Cosmic Call 1 | |
| Gl 777 | HD 190360 | Cygnus | July 1, 1999 | April 2051 | Cosmic Call 1 |
| GJ 49 | Hip 4872 | Cassiopeia | July 6, 2003 | April 2036 | Cosmic Call 2 |
| GJ 208 | HD 245409 | Orion | July 6, 2003 | August 2040 | Cosmic Call 2 |
| 55 Cnc | HD 75732 | Cancer | July 6, 2003 | May 2044 | Cosmic Call 2 |
| HD 10307 | Andromeda | July 6, 2003 | September 2044 | Cosmic Call 2 | |
| 47 UMa | HD 95128 | Ursa Major | July 6, 2003 | May 2049 | Cosmic Call 2 |
Lincos is a constructed language first described in 1960 by Dr. Hans Freudenthal in his book Lincos: Design of a Language for Cosmic Intercourse, Part 1. It is a language designed to be understandable by any possible intelligent extraterrestrial life form, for use in interstellar radio transmissions. Freudenthal considered that such a language should be easily understood by beings not acquainted with any Earthling syntax or language. Lincos was designed to be capable of encapsulating "the whole bulk of our knowledge".
The search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) is a collective term for scientific searches for intelligent extraterrestrial life, for example, monitoring electromagnetic radiation for signs of transmissions from civilizations on other planets.
Frank Donald Drake was an American astrophysicist and astrobiologist.
The Kardashev scale is a method of measuring a civilization's level of technological advancement based on the amount of energy it is capable of using. The measure was proposed by Soviet astronomer Nikolai Kardashev in 1964 and was named after him.
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Cosmic dust – also called extraterrestrial dust, space dust, or star dust – is dust that occurs in outer space or has fallen onto Earth. Most cosmic dust particles measure between a few molecules and 0.1 mm (100 μm), such as micrometeoroids. Larger particles are called meteoroids. Cosmic dust can be further distinguished by its astronomical location: intergalactic dust, interstellar dust, interplanetary dust, and circumplanetary dust. There are several methods to obtain space dust measurement.
Aleksandr Leonidovich Zaitsev was a Russian and Soviet radio engineer and astronomer from Fryazino. He worked on radar astronomy devices, near-Earth asteroid radar research, and SETI.
Active SETI is the attempt to send messages to intelligent extraterrestrial life. Active SETI messages are predominantly sent in the form of radio signals. Physical messages like that of the Pioneer plaque may also be considered an active SETI message. Active SETI is also known as METI.
Yvan Dutil, born April 6, 1970, is a Canadian astrophysicist. He is a member of the Bioastronomy Commission of the International Astronomical Union and of the International Academy of Astronautics's Permanent Committee on the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence (SETI). He and colleague Stéphane Dumas, created a noise-resistant coding system for messages aimed at communicating with extraterrestrial civilization. This system was used in the creation of messages beamed towards close stars from the Yevpatoria RT-70 radio telescope in Ukraine in 1999 and 2003.
The cultural impact of extraterrestrial contact is the corpus of changes to terrestrial science, technology, religion, politics, and ecosystems resulting from contact with an extraterrestrial civilization. This concept is closely related to the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI), which attempts to locate intelligent life as opposed to analyzing the implications of contact with that life.
Lone Signal was a crowdfunded active SETI project designed to send interstellar messages from Earth to a possible extraterrestrial civilization. Founded by businessman Pierre Fabre and supported by several entrepreneurs, Lone Signal was based at the Jamesburg Earth Station in Carmel, California.
Stéphane Dumas (1970–2016) was a Canadian physicist who, together with his colleague Yvan Dutil, has created a noise-resistant coding system for messages aimed at communicating with extraterrestrial civilization. This system was used in the creation of messages beamed towards close stars from the Yevpatoria RT-70 radio telescope in Ukraine in 1999 and 2003.
A Simple Response to an Elemental Message (ASREM) was an Interstellar Radio Message (IRM) consisting primarily of 3775 worldwide responses to this initiative's posed question; "How will our present, environmental interactions shape the future?" This transmission also features a smaller 'Honorary Mention' text archive and a series of images of Earth.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to extraterrestrial life:
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