Eric Korpela

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Eric Korpela is a research astronomer at the University of California, Berkeley, [1] He is the director of the SETI@home project, [2] [3] [4] [5] a distributed computing project that was launched in 1999 to use individuals computers to analyze data collected in the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI). [3] Korpela notes that with modern-day mobile devices having greater capacities than personal computers did in 1999, SETI@home has developed an Android app to analyze data gathered by the Breakthrough Listen SETI project. [3]

Contents

Scientific work

Korpela is known for his assessment of putative signals from extraterrestrial intelligence. He was skeptical about the claim that 234 signals detected by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey may be from extraterrestrial intelligence, suggesting instead that this may be due to instrumental effects or the method by which the data was analyzed. [6] When a radio signal was detected from the vicinity of the star HD 164595 that some interpreted as a possible signal from extraterrestrial intelligence, Korpela was skeptical, [7] noting "there's really nothing about this 'signal' that would distinguish it from a natural radio transient." [1] Korpela said he was unimpressed by this signal, [8] observing that SETI@home had detected millions of similar signals in the past. [9] He suggested the signal could not be differentiated from signals generated by space-based human technologies, adding "there's also nothing that could distinguish it from a satellite passing through the telescope field of view." [1] In reviewing criteria for a more credible signal from extraterrestrial intelligence than the signal from HD 164595, Korpela said that a credible signal would be detectable from two telescopes on two continents, with the best candidate signals originating from a single point in space. [4] Signals from extraterrestrial intelligence should also be continuous, he suggested. [4] [10]

Looking to future best practices for announcing possible detection of extraterrestrial intelligence, Korpela argued that putative detections should be confirmed by another telescope before being reported to the public. [4] He also advocated the use of the Rio Scale to give "some realism" to possible detections. [5] If a signal is confirmed to be from extraterrestrial intelligence, he advocates not replying without a decision by the world community. [11] [12]

According to Korpela, among the promising targets for future SETI searches are TRAPPIST-1 and Proxima b. [11]

Korpela suggested that extraterrestrial intelligence may be motivated to contact humans because they may have evolved to be curious. [4]

Most cited papers

Other topics

Related Research Articles

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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.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Communication with extraterrestrial intelligence</span> Branch of SETI

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Astropulse</span> BOINC based volunteer computing SETI@home subproject

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Technosignature</span> Property that provides scientific evidence for the presence of technology

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Breakthrough Listen</span> Initiative to search for intelligent extraterrestrial life

Breakthrough Listen is a project to search for intelligent extraterrestrial communications in the Universe. With $100 million in funding and thousands of hours of dedicated telescope time on state-of-the-art facilities, it is the most comprehensive search for alien communications to date. The project began in January 2016, and is expected to continue for 10 years. It is a component of Yuri Milner's Breakthrough Initiatives program. The science program for Breakthrough Listen is based at Berkeley SETI Research Center, located in the Astronomy Department at the University of California, Berkeley.

HD 164595 b is a confirmed exoplanet orbiting around a Sun-like star HD 164595 every 40 days some 94.36 light-years away. It was detected with the radial velocity technique with the SOPHIE echelle spectrograph. The planet has a minimal mass equivalent of 16 Earths.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Berkeley SETI Research Center</span>

The Berkeley SETI Research Center (BSRC) conducts experiments searching for optical and electromagnetic transmissions from intelligent extraterrestrial civilizations. The center is based at the University of California, Berkeley.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BLC1</span> Narrowband radio signal detected in April and May 2019

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The Rio scale was proposed in 2000 as a means of quantifying the significance of a SETI detection. The scale was designed by Iván Almár and Jill Tarter to help tell policy-makers how likely, from 0 to 10, it is that an extraterrestrial radio signal has been produced by an intelligent civilization.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Ferris, Robert (2016-08-30). "Strong signal from outer space catches scientists' attention". www.cnbc.com. Retrieved 2019-01-20.
  2. ↑ Oberhaus, Daniel (2016-07-08). "If We Want to Find Aliens, We Need to Save the Arecibo Telescope". Vice. Retrieved 2019-01-20.
  3. 1 2 3 "Listening to starlight: Our ongoing search for alien intelligence". Engadget. 25 May 2017. Retrieved 2019-01-20.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Lüdemann, Dagny (2016-09-02). "Außerirdische: "Wenn, dann zerstören uns Aliens aus Versehen"". Die Zeit (in German). ISSN   0044-2070 . Retrieved 2019-01-20.
  5. 1 2 Leu, Chelsea (2016-10-14). "Astronomers use this handy scale to figure out if aliens are talking to us". Wired. ISSN   1059-1028 . Retrieved 2019-01-20.
  6. ↑ "Des astronomes auraient détecté 234 signaux extraterrestres". Fredzone (in French). 2016-10-26. Retrieved 2019-01-20.
  7. ↑ "Are Aliens Talking To Us?". NPR.org. Retrieved 2019-01-20.
  8. ↑ "Mysteriöses Signal aus dem All: Forscher zweifeln an Alien-Hypothese". Spiegel Online. 2016-08-30. Retrieved 2019-01-20.
  9. ↑ "Deuten die mysteriösen Radiosignale aus dem All auf eine Superzivilisation hin?". FOCUS Online (in German). Retrieved 2019-01-20.
  10. ↑ Scoles, Sarah (2017-05-23). "A Brief History of SETI@Home". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2019-01-20.
  11. 1 2 Lüdemann, Dagny (2017-02-26). "Aliens: "Ich bin ja kein Verschwörungstheoretiker, aber …"". Die Zeit (in German). ISSN   0044-2070 . Retrieved 2019-01-20.
  12. ↑ Schadwinkel, Alina (2017-07-16). "Suche nach Außerirdischen: Kann den Aliens mal einer Bescheid sagen". Die Zeit (in German). ISSN   0044-2070 . Retrieved 2019-01-20.
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Google Scholar author page. Accessed March 21, 2021
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