List of interstellar radio messages

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This is a list of interstellar radio messages (IRMs) transmitted from Earth.

Contents

Known Transmissions

Stars to which messages were sent include:

TargetDistance (ly)SentExpected ArrivalMessage
Messier 13 25,00016 November 197425974 Arecibo message
Epsilon Eridani 10.519861997 Poetica Vaginal
Tau Ceti 11.919861998
16 Cyg A 6924 May 1999 2068 Cosmic Call 1
15 Sge 5730 June 1999 2056
 ?6730 June 19992066
Gl 777 521 July 19992051
 ?6829 August 20012069 Teen Age Message
47 UMa 463 September 20012047
37 Gem 563 September 20012057
 ?573 September 20012058
 ?514 September 20012052
 ?574 September 20012058
 ?336 July 20032036 Cosmic Call 2
 ?376 July 20032040
55 Cnc 416 July 20032044
 ?416 July 20032044
47 UMa 466 July 20032049
Polaris 4334 February 20082439 Across the Universe
Gliese 581 20.39 October 20082029 A Message From Earth
Gliese 581 20.328 August 20092030 Hello From Earth
TZ Arietis 14.62009-11-092024 RuBisCo Stars (RuBisCO genetic sequence)
Teegarden's Star 12.52009-11-092021
Kappa¹ Ceti 29.82009-11-102039
Polaris 43310 October 20162450 A Simple Response to an Elemental Message
Luyten b 12.3616 October 20172030 Sónar Calling GJ273b
2018-05-14 2031

Classification of interstellar radio messages

The 1986 Poetica Vaginal signal, briefly transmitted from the MIT Millstone Radar, was an techno-art project created by Joe Davis who was concerned about government censorship of messages such as the removal of genitalia on the Voyager probe record. His response was to use a sensitive instrument to record the contractions of a woman's vaginal canal, convert it into analog signal and digitally map the input into a phoenetic audible representation (or voice). [1] The project was able to send out a few "test signals" consisting of this data to the intended targets; however, the US Air Force shutdown the project before it sent out the bulk of the message. [1]

"Across the Universe", "Hello From Earth" and "A Simple Response to an Elemental Message" are not always considered serious. The first two of them were sent to Polaris, which is 431 light years distant from us and whose planetary system, even if it exists, may not be suited for life, because it is a supergiant star, spectral type F7Ib which is only 70 million years old. [2] In addition, both transmission rates were very high, about 128 kbit/s, for such moderate transmitter power (about 18 kW). The main defect of the "Hello From Earth" is an insufficient scientific and technical justification, since no famous SETI scientist made statements with validation of HFE's design. As it follows from : "After the final message was collected on Monday 24 August 2009, messages were exported as a text file and sent to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, where they were encoded into binary, packaged and tested before transmission", but nobody explained why he hopes that such encoded and packaged text will be understood and conceived by possible extraterrestrials.

Some use the term Active SETI Project, but Alexander Zaitsev, who was a scientific head of composing and transmissions of Cosmic Call 1999 & 2003, and Teen Age Message 2001, and a scientific consultant of A Message From Earth, emphasized that he considers above IRMs as the METI ( Messaging to Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence Projects).

These seven messages have targeted stars between 20 and 69 light-years from the Earth. The exception is the Arecibo message, which targeted globular cluster M13, approximately 24,000 light-years away. The first message to reach its destination will be A Message From Earth, which should reach the Gliese 581 planetary system in Libra in 2029.

On 13 February 2015, scientists (including Geoffrey Marcy, Seth Shostak, Frank Drake, David Grinspoon and David Brin) at a convention of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, discussed Active SETI and whether transmitting a message to possible intelligent extraterrestrials in the Cosmos was a good idea; [3] [4] one result was a statement, (which was not signed by Seth Shostak or Frank Drake), that a "worldwide scientific, political and humanitarian discussion must occur before any message is sent". [5]

IRM Projects

There are twelve realized IRM projects:

Along with serious IRM projects, a number of pseudo-METI [11] projects also exist:

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Drake equation</span> Estimate of extraterrestrial civilizations

The Drake equation is a probabilistic argument used to estimate the number of active, communicative extraterrestrial civilizations in the Milky Way Galaxy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fermi paradox</span> Problem of the lack of evidence for alien life despite its apparent likelihood

The Fermi paradox is the discrepancy between the lack of conclusive evidence of advanced extraterrestrial life and the apparently high likelihood of its existence. Those affirming the paradox generally conclude that if the conditions required for life to arise from non-living matter are as permissive as the available evidence on Earth indicates, then extraterrestrial life would be sufficiently common such that it would be implausible for it not to have been detected yet.

The search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) is a collective term for scientific searches for intelligent extraterrestrial life. Methods include monitoring electromagnetic radiation for signs of transmissions from civilizations on other planets, optical observation, and the search for physical artifacts. Attempts to message extraterrestrial intelligences have also been made.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frank Drake</span> American astronomer and astrophysicist (1930–2022)

Frank Donald Drake was an American astrophysicist and astrobiologist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kardashev scale</span> Measure of a civilizations evolution

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 harnessing and using. The measure was proposed by Soviet astronomer Nikolai Kardashev (1932–2019) in 1964 and was named after him.

Interstellar communication is the transmission of signals between planetary systems. Sending interstellar messages is potentially much easier than interstellar travel, being possible with technologies and equipment which are currently available. However, the distances from Earth to other potentially inhabited systems introduce prohibitive delays, assuming the limitations of the speed of light. Even an immediate reply to radio communications sent to stars tens of thousands of light-years away would take many human generations to arrive.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SETI Institute</span> Not-for-profit research organization

The SETI Institute is a not-for-profit research organization incorporated in 1984 whose mission is to explore, understand, and explain the origin and nature of life in the universe, and to use this knowledge to inspire and guide present and future generations, sharing knowledge with the public, the press, and the government. SETI stands for the "search for extraterrestrial intelligence".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wow! signal</span> 1977 narrowband radio signal from SETI

The Wow! signal was a strong narrowband radio signal detected on August 15, 1977, by Ohio State University's Big Ear radio telescope in the United States, then used to support the search for extraterrestrial intelligence. The signal appeared to come from the direction of the constellation Sagittarius and bore expected hallmarks of extraterrestrial origin.

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

The communication with extraterrestrial intelligence (CETI) is a branch of the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) that focuses on composing and deciphering interstellar messages that theoretically could be understood by another technological civilization. The best-known CETI experiment of its kind was the 1974 Arecibo message composed by Frank Drake.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Teen Age Message</span> Series of interstellar radio transmissions

The Teen Age Message (TAM) was a series of interstellar radio transmissions sent from the Yevpatoria Planetary Radar to six solar-type stars during August–September 2001. The structure of the TAM was suggested by Alexander Zaitsev, Chief Scientist at Russia's Institute of Radio-engineering and Electronics. The message's content and target stars were selected by a group of teens from four Russian cities, who collaborated in person and via the Internet. Each transmission comprised three sections: a sounding, a live theremin concert, and digital data including images and text. TAM was humanity's fourth Active SETI broadcast and the first musical interstellar radio message.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexander Zaitsev (astronomer)</span> Russian astronomer (1945–2021)

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cosmic Call</span> Interstellar radio messages sent to nearby stars in 1999 and 2003

Cosmic Call was the name of two sets of interstellar radio messages that were sent from RT-70 in Yevpatoria, Ukraine in 1999 and 2003 to various nearby stars. The messages were designed with noise-resistant format and characters.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lone Signal</span> Crowdfunded project to send interstellar communications to extraterrestrials

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.

Breakthrough Initiatives is a science-based program founded in 2015 and funded by Julia and Yuri Milner, also of Breakthrough Prize, to search for extraterrestrial intelligence over a span of at least 10 years. The program is divided into multiple projects. Breakthrough Listen will comprise an effort to search over 1,000,000 stars for artificial radio or laser signals. A parallel project called Breakthrough Message is an effort to create a message "representative of humanity and planet Earth". The project Breakthrough Starshot, co-founded with Mark Zuckerberg, aims to send a swarm of probes to the nearest star at about 20% the speed of light. The project Breakthrough Watch aims to identify and characterize Earth-sized, rocky planets around Alpha Centauri and other stars within 20 light years of Earth. Breakthrough plans to send a mission to Saturn's moon Enceladus, in search for life in its warm ocean, and in 2018 signed a partnership agreement with NASA for the project.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A Simple Response to an Elemental Message</span>

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.

METI International, known simply as METI, is a non-profit research organization founded in July 2015 by Douglas Vakoch that creates and transmits interstellar messages to attempt to communicate with extraterrestrial civilizations. It is based in San Francisco, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Douglas Vakoch</span> American pro-contact astrobiologist (born 1961)

Douglas A. Vakoch is an American astrobiologist, search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) researcher, psychologist, and president of METI International, a nonprofit research and educational organization devoted to transmitting intentional signals to extraterrestrial civilizations. Vakoch led METI's participation in Sónar Calling GJ 273b, which transmitted a series of interstellar messages to Luyten's Star, located 12.4 light years from Earth. Vakoch advocates ongoing transmission projects, arguing that this does not increase risks of an alien invasion as suggested by British cosmologist Stephen Hawking. He has participated in several SETI observation programs, and after sixteen years at the SETI Institute, where he was director of Interstellar Message Composition, Vakoch founded METI International. He has edited over two dozen books in SETI, astrobiology, the psychology of space exploration, ecocriticism, COVID, and transgender studies. Vakoch helped design the message included on NASA's Europa Clipper spacecraft. He is general editor of three book series in ecocriticism and in the intersection of space and society. Vakoch has appeared widely on television and radio as a commentator on SETI and astrobiology. He is an emeritus professor of clinical psychology at the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Outline of extraterrestrial life</span> Overview of and topical guide to extraterrestrial life

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to extraterrestrial life:

References

  1. 1 2 3 "BIOMEDIALE". 13 February 2009. Archived from the original on 13 February 2009. Retrieved 9 March 2024.
  2. ↑ Wielen, R.; Jahreiß, H.; Dettbarn, C.; Lenhardt, H.; Schwan, H. (2000). "Polaris: Astrometric orbit, position, and proper motion". Astronomy and Astrophysics. 360: 399. arXiv: astro-ph/0002406 . Bibcode:2000A&A...360..399W.
  3. ↑ Borenstein, Seth (of AP News) (13 February 2015). "Should We Call the Cosmos Seeking ET? Or Is That Risky?". New York Times . Retrieved 14 February 2015.
  4. ↑ Ghosh, Pallab (12 February 2015). "Scientist: 'Try to contact aliens'". BBC News . Retrieved 12 February 2015.
  5. ↑ Various (13 February 2015). "Statement – Regarding Messaging To Extraterrestrial Intelligence (METI) / Active Searches For Extraterrestrial Intelligence (Active SETI)". University of California, Berkeley . Retrieved 14 February 2015.
  6. ↑ An Awkward History of Our Space Transmissions
  7. ↑ Reply To 'WOW! Signal' Gets Beamed Into Space
  8. ↑ "A Simple Response". European Space Agency official website. 28 July 2016. Retrieved 6 October 2016.
  9. ↑ "How to send a message to another planet". The Economist . 16 November 2017. Retrieved 19 November 2017.
  10. ↑ "Sónar Calling GJ 273b". Sónar Calling. Sónar Music Festival. Retrieved 1 May 2021.
  11. ↑ Cooper, Keith (3 May 2010), SETI: Cosmic Call, Astronomy Now, archived from the original on 26 May 2015, retrieved 5 May 2010
  12. ↑ Gibbs, W. Wayt (2001), "Art as a Form of Life", Scientific American , 284 (4): 40–41, Bibcode:2001SciAm.284d..40G, doi:10.1038/scientificamerican0401-40
  13. ↑ Deep Space Network Frequently Asked Questions, Deep Space Communications Network, archived from the original on 4 January 2010
  14. ↑ List in Space: Calling the Cosmos Gets Commercial, Space_com, 23 March 2005
  15. ↑ Connecting with the Cosmos, CNES, 26 January 2006, archived from the original on 13 May 2010
  16. ↑ Doritos Makes History With World's First ET Advert, Spacedaily.com, 13 June 2008
  17. ↑ Chandler, David L. (24 November 2009), ET: Check your voicemail, MIT News
  18. ↑ Harris, Mark (16 September 2009), Is Sent Forever the worst Apollo 11 tie-in?, TechRadar, archived from the original on 2 March 2010
  19. ↑ Colvile, Robert (9 February 2010), Calling ET: Your chance to send a message to alien life, The Daily Telegraph, archived from the original on 11 February 2010
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