METI (Messaging Extraterrestrial Intelligence)

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METI International, known simply as METI, is a non-profit research organization founded in July 2015 by Douglas Vakoch [1] that creates and transmits interstellar messages to attempt to communicate with extraterrestrial civilizations. [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] It is based in San Francisco, California. [3] [6]

Contents

Overview

METI targets nearby stars and researches the nature of the messages to send. [1] [9] On October 16, 17, and 18, 2017, it sent a message consisting of a scientific and mathematical tutorial to the red dwarf Luyten's Star, just over 12 light years from Earth. [10] [11] [12] The message was sent from a radio transmitter at the EISCAT research facility in Tromsø, Norway. [13] One of METI's missions is to examine people's views of transmitting interstellar messages. [2]

METI's aim is to build an interdisciplinary community to design interstellar messages, within the context of the evolution of intelligence and language. [14] In May 2016, it convened the meeting “The Intelligence Of SETI: Cognition And Communication In Extraterrestrial Intelligence” in Puerto Rico. [2] [5] In May 2018 in Los Angeles, it held “Language in the Cosmos” in conjunction with the International Space Development Conference. [14] [15] to examine the connection between astrobiology and linguistics. [9] On March 22, 2017, it held a workshop in Paris examining the question "What is life?" from an extraterrestrial perspective. [16]

METI also conducts an optical search of extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI). [17] [2] Its optical observatory in Panama looks for laser pulses from advanced civilizations. It has examined anomalous stars like the nearby red dwarf star Ross 128, [18] as well as HD 164595, 94 light years from Earth. [17] None of the searches has yielded evidence of artificial signals. [17] [18]

Criticism

American scientist and science-fiction author David Brin has questioned "whether small groups of zealots should bypass all institutions, peer critique, risk appraisal or public opinion, to shout ‘yoohoo’ into a potentially hazardous cosmos" and so force a fait accompli on humanity. [19]

Numerous other authors and scientists have expressed similar concerns, generally known as the "Dark Forest Theory" of ETI, including Stephen Hawking. [20] [21] Of particular interest in science fiction is Cixin Liu's Remembrance of Earth's Past , exploring the theory and some of its implications. [22] [23]

Notable members

Notable members of METI's Board of Directors and Advisory Council include:

See also

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexander Ollongren</span> Dutch scientist (born 1928)

JonkheerAlexander Ollongren is a professor emeritus at Leiden University. He serves on the Advisory Council of METI.

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

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Douglas Vakoch</span> American 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 a dozen books in SETI, astrobiology, the psychology of space exploration, and ecocriticism. He is general editor of two-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).

<i>Archaeology, Anthropology, and Interstellar Communication</i> 2014 essay collection

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References

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  3. 1 2 Krieger, Lisa (2016-12-27). "Tired of listening, scientists plan to send greetings out to other worlds". The Sydney Morning Herald.
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  18. 1 2 Wall, Mike (2017-07-18). "Astronomers Detect Strange Signals from Red Dwarf Star". Scientific American.
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  23. "Statement Regarding METI/Active SETI". setiathome.berkeley.edu. Retrieved 2021-03-12.