setiQuest is an inactive project of the SETI Institute, whose declared aim is to "globalize the search for extra-terrestrial intelligence and empower a new generation of SETI enthusiasts", [note 1] [note 2] by creating means for a deeper involvement from the interested public. [3] The project focuses on amplifying the human potential of SETI enthusiasts, and consists of four main fronts: Software, DSP Algorithms, Citizen Scientists, and Data release. Although there is no present activity on setiQuest per-se, much of the code and raw data products are still available on its successor site. [4]
The setiQuest project started with Jill Tarter's "TED wish". Tarter was one of three recipients of the 2009 TED prize, which targets outstanding individuals and tries to grant them "one wish to change the world". [5] Tarter's wish was:
I wish that you would empower Earthlings everywhere to become active participants in the ultimate search for cosmic company. [2]
After the award, the project materialized through a website, [3] that later garnered grass-roots public involvement on its discussion forum, and also in IRC meetings, various social networks, and a wiki. Some of these channels were set up by the community itself, and others were facilitated through the support of several institutions, in cooperation with the SETI Institute.
The software aspect of the project initially entailed opening the source code of SonATA, the software used on the Allen Telescope Array (ATA), into Open SonATA, to allow improvement by hobbyist programmers who are passionate about the subject or enjoy contributing to open source code development projects. To further this goal, setiQuest was accepted as part of the Google Summer of Code 2011 program.[ citation needed ]
The Algorithms subproject provides a channel for the creation of improved Digital signal processing (DSP) algorithms for detection of signals in the background noise captured by the ATA. The algorithms used on the ATA currently only search for continuous wave signals (that is, signals that appear at one frequency as a single tone) or pulsed signals. [6] The goal of this participation mode was to allow signal processing enthusiasts to expand the search to other waveforms, perform improvements in the current algorithms or propose innovative new ones.
setiQuest also targets those who are less technically inclined, through the development of game-like apps to engage participants as Citizen Scientists, examining real data from SETI observations with the Allen Telescope Array. These apps were meant to harness the ability of the human brain to instinctively detect patterns, even in non-trivial cases where automated tools currently fail. The first of such apps, setiQuest Explorer was released in March 2011. [1] [7] [8]
Do you wear headphones and listen to music while you work to sharpen your concentration? Could you imagine listening to data instead and responding to anomalies?
To encourage developers to create new apps, the SETI Institute has made a large amount of its data available to the public, under a Creative Commons 3.0 license. This data, a subset of the approximately 100 terabytes collected every day, can be downloaded through the setiQuest website. [10]
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.
A digital signal processor (DSP) is a specialized microprocessor chip, with its architecture optimized for the operational needs of digital signal processing. DSPs are fabricated on MOS integrated circuit chips. They are widely used in audio signal processing, telecommunications, digital image processing, radar, sonar and speech recognition systems, and in common consumer electronic devices such as mobile phones, disk drives and high-definition television (HDTV) products.
SETI@home is an Internet-based public volunteer computing project employing the BOINC software platform created by the Berkeley SETI Research Center and is hosted by the Space Sciences Laboratory, at the University of California, Berkeley. Its purpose is to analyze radio signals, searching for signs of extraterrestrial intelligence, and as such is one of many activities undertaken as part of the worldwide SETI effort.
Jill Cornell Tarter is an American astronomer best known for her work on the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI). Tarter is the former director of the Center for SETI Research, holding the Bernard M. Oliver Chair for SETI at the SETI Institute. In 2002, Discover magazine recognized her as one of the 50 most important women in science.
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 apply the knowledge gained to inspire and guide present and future generations. It aims for discovery and for sharing knowledge as scientific ambassadors to the public, the press, and the government. SETI stands for the "search for extraterrestrial intelligence". The Institute consists of three primary centers: The Carl Sagan Center, devoted to the study of life in the universe, the Center for Education, focused on astronomy, astrobiology and space science for students and educators, and the Center for Public Outreach, producing "Big Picture Science," the Institute's general science radio show and podcast, and "SETI Talks" weekly colloquium series.
The Wow! signal was a strong narrowband radio signal received 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 the expected hallmarks of extraterrestrial origin.
The Allen Telescope Array (ATA), formerly known as the One Hectare Telescope (1hT), is a radio telescope array dedicated to astronomical observations and a simultaneous search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI). The array is situated at the Hat Creek Radio Observatory in Shasta County, 290 miles (470 km) northeast of San Francisco, California.
A VoIP phone or IP phone uses voice over IP technologies for placing and transmitting telephone calls over an IP network, such as the Internet, instead of the traditional public switched telephone network (PSTN).
Astropulse is a distributed computing project that uses volunteers around the globe to lend their unused computing power to search for primordial black holes, pulsars, and extraterrestrial intelligence (ETI). Volunteer resources are harnessed through Berkeley Open Infrastructure for Network Computing (BOINC) platform. In 1999, the Space Sciences Laboratory launched SETI@home, which would rely on massively parallel computation on desktop computers scattered around the world. SETI@home utilizes recorded data from the Arecibo radio telescope and searches for narrow-bandwidth radio signals from space, signifying the presence of extraterrestrial technology. It was soon recognized that this same data might be scoured for other signals of value to the astronomy and physics community.
The baudline time-frequency browser is a signal analysis tool designed for scientific visualization. It runs on several Unix-like operating systems under the X Window System. Baudline is useful for real-time spectral monitoring, collected signals analysis, generating test signals, making distortion measurements, and playing back audio files.
SERENDIP is a Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence (SETI) program originated by the Berkeley SETI Research Center at the University of California, Berkeley.
Robert H. Gray is an American data analyst, author, and astronomer, and author of The Elusive Wow: Searching for Extraterrestrial Intelligence.
Open SonATA stands for Open SETI on the Allen Telescope Array and is the open source version of the software are used for signal detection by the SETI Institute on the Allen Telescope Array (ATA). The software currently runs on Linux and macOS operating systems and is intended to be ported to multiple platforms. The Allen Telescope Array uses the OpenSUSE operating system on the SonATA computers.
Google Authenticator is a software-based authenticator by Google that implements two-step verification services using the Time-based One-time Password Algorithm and HMAC-based One-time Password algorithm, for authenticating users of software applications.
SETILive was an online project of Zooniverse that utilized live participants to analyze radio telescope data in real time to recognize patterns to find extraterrestrial intelligences (ETI's). The project ceased live operations on 12 October 2014, but still allows archival analysis.
SETIcon was a public convention organized by the SETI Institute and held twice in Santa Clara, California. It was an interdisciplinary conference, with talks focusing on a wide range of issues related to the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI). The programs included panels with prominent scientists from NASA and SETI; talks by science fiction writers, artists, and actors; and panels to explore controversial issues and compare perspectives. The sessions were non-technical and meant to increase awareness, interest, and funding for the SETI Institute. The convention attracted professional scientists, educators, space enthusiasts, and science fiction fans. Astronomical tattoos were not uncommon among attendees.
Thomas Pierson was founder and CEO of the SETI Institute, a non-profit institute conducting research in Astrobiology.
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.
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.
The Transient Array Radio Telescope (TART) is a low-cost open-source array radio telescope consisting of 24 all-sky GNSS receivers operating at the L1-band (1.575 GHz). TART was designed as an all-sky survey instrument for detecting radio bursts, as well as providing a test-bed for the development of new synthesis imaging and calibration algorithms. All of the telescope hardware including radio receivers, correlators and operating software are open source. A TART-2 radio-telescope can be built for approximately 1000 Euros, and the telescope antenna array requires 4m x 4m area for deployment.