Random Thread: SETI is a waste of money...

[Khyber53]

SETI is both money well spent and the best way to search the heavens for anything remotely resembling intelligence. It's also remarkably cheap of a project to keep going since most of the equipment has been bought and paid for.

Has it turned up anything? Perhaps.

Probes have a number of problems, the greatest of which is time and distance. People throw around 60 light years, 22 light years and so on like it was a short hop from New York to Hoboken. Light moves at roughly 186,000 miles per second. Without even getting into relativistic calculations, half of lightspeed doesn't even make it twice the time.

And don't even think about stopping. In space, traveling from one destination to another is one half acceleration, then the other half deceleration... if you want to stop. Just do a flyby? No problem, but you won't get much information as you zip by at near relativistic speeds.

And say somehow you can build a probe that can scan and assess. How will it report back? Lightspeed transmissions would still have to make the journey back, literally years and years to report back info.

How do you aim the probes? It's incredibly complex to aim a probe at Mars and actually hit that planet, one we know fairly well and can predict its placement and orbits. Shooting something accurately through deep space would be an infinite series of calculations and recalculations to adjust for gravity wells and other anomalies... things that once detected would close so quickly with the probe that there would be no time to make course corrections, if it was even possible to change course. You don't just steer around in space like you were in an X-Wing fighter.

So, sitting here on this planet, listening patiently to the stars isn't such a bad idea. Any race that is sufficiently evolved has produced radio waves and we can hopefully get a picture of who they might have been. Been, because what we get will be their history. There's even a chance that when we do someday catch that signal, the ones who broadcast it might not even exist anymore.

Let's not even go into the idea that we constantly broadcast a veritable radio beacon into space 24/7 and someone out there might have already picked it up. Someone not very friendly.

[blackcatgrowl]

http://setiathome.berkeley.edu/

1. SETI research is conducted using data gathered by Radio Telescopes that are already paid for by other programs. Specifically, one such RT is the Arecibo Telescope in Puerto Rico. This data is gathered regardless of SETI's activities. A copy is provided to SETI for analysis.

2. The data gathered is sent to a distribution server at Berkley, which is then broken up in chunks and distributed to what is essentially a Bot-net of PCs. These PCs analyze the data to weed out astronomical and man-made sources, and look for patterns which could indicate a signal.

3. SETI is no longer government funded! It is funded by private contributions.

4. There is a possibility that we have already detected "something" that is un-natural, and non-man-made in origin.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_source_SHGb02%2B14a

So NA... there's no money to be saved here, except private contributions. And what people wish to spend their money on, after taxes, is their business. And in so far as what is able to be detected depends highly on the transmitting source.

You should research these things more before posting.

[The Saltman]

http://setiathome.berkeley.edu/

1. SETI research is conducted using data gathered by Radio Telescopes that are already paid for by other programs. Specifically, one such RT is the Arecibo Telescope in Puerto Rico. This data is gathered regardless of SETI's activities. A copy is provided to SETI for analysis.

2. The data gathered is sent to a distribution server at Berkley, which is then broken up in chunks and distributed to what is essentially a Bot-net of PCs. These PCs analyze the data to weed out astronomical and man-made sources, and look for patterns which could indicate a signal.

3. SETI is no longer government funded! It is funded by private contributions.

4. There is a possibility that we have already detected "something" that is an un-natural, and non-man-made in origin.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_source_SHGb02%2B14a

So NA... there's no money to be saved here, except private contributions. And what people wish to spend their money on, after taxes, is their business. And in so far as what is able to be detected depends highly on the transmitting source.

You should research these things more before posting.

/thread

[Awesomeness!!]

http://setiathome.berkeley.edu/

1. SETI research is conducted using data gathered by Radio Telescopes that are already paid for by other programs. Specifically, one such RT is the Arecibo Telescope in Puerto Rico. This data is gathered regardless of SETI's activities. A copy is provided to SETI for analysis.

Still a waste of time

2. The data gathered is sent to a distribution server at Berkley, which is then broken up in chunks and distributed to what is essentially a Bot-net of PCs. These PCs analyze the data to weed out astronomical and man-made sources, and look for patterns which could indicate a signal.

Still a waste of time

3. SETI is no longer government funded! It is funded by private contributions.

Well those people have every right to waste their money I guess

4. There is a possibility that we have already detected "something" that is un-natural, and non-man-made in origin.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_source_SHGb02%2B14a

No...I read the article...and no..

So NA... there's no money to be saved here, except private contributions. And what people wish to spend their money on, after taxes, is their business. And in so far as what is able to be detected depends highly on the transmitting source.

Still....a waste of time

You should research these things more before posting.

Anti MAtter probes ftw

[Zod]

I am almost done with my worm hole generator so I will let you jokers know when I actually find some aliens. Only thing left to do is complete the weed and cheeto compartments.

[Awesomeness!!]

I am almost done with my worm hole generator so I will let you jokers know when I actually find some aliens. Only thing left to do is complete the weed and cheeto compartments.

wormholes wouldn't lead you to aliens....probably just more open space...I know you're not serious, but I really wanted to say that.

[Zod]

wormholes wouldn't lead you to aliens....probably just more open space...I know you're not serious, but I really wanted to say that.

You obviously have not seen Contact

[Mr. Scot]

They could always direct their attention to finding intelligent life on this planet.

Then again, finding it in outer space is probably more likely :sosp:

[Awesomeness!!]

I also don't like how they are sending out messages all over the place. IF an alien race lands on Earth, we're probably in trouble because they have to be smarter than us if they 1. know how to make the journey and 2. can make the journey. All we can do is go to the moon, and one time the damn ship broke down rofl.

[Skew]

I am almost done with my worm hole generator so I will let you jokers know when I actually find some aliens. Only thing left to do is complete the weed and cheeto compartments.

You can't actually smoke weed when traveling at the speed of light. Fire is also light so you cannot direct it to burn the weed at light speed.

Trust me on this one.

But cheetos taste even better at light speed. And no crumbs.

[Zod]

Popular thought is that any species capable of such technology is also advanced enough to appreciate life and be peaceful. Only the lesser intelligent beings actually go out of their way to start trouble, like the ancient mongrels and current republicans.

[Panthro]

SETI has already ruled out this thread

[The Saltman]

one time my wife said my asshole looks like a wormhole....anybody else?

[Awesomeness!!]

fire isn't light. IT projects light, and just because your were going at the speed of light wouldn't mean you couldn't say...shine a flash light...and since a man made machine can't..under the laws of phyics travel the speed of light (it could only get about 99.9%) you would be ok.

trust me...smoke your weed.