It's an exciting time to be involved in the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) as the field recently received an outpouring of support from no other than famed physicist Stephen Hawking.
SETI has been around since 1960, born as Frank Drake, an astronomer, used an 85-foot radio telescope in an effort to try detecting interstellar radio transmissions possibly sent out by other beings in space. Decades have passed since then and SETI persists, although it has not been given as much research attention as other areas of science. In fact, SETI scientists have a hard time getting access to world-class telescopes, able to make their observations just once per year.
With Hawking's support though, as well as that of Russian billionaire Yuri Milner, the face of SETI is about to change. Getting $100 million in funding can do that.
With that much money, SETI scientists will not only be able to score more observation time in top radio telescopes around the world but it will also be able to build new equipment and encourage more colleagues to participate.
"Somewhere in the cosmos, perhaps intelligent life might be watching these lights of ours, aware of what they mean. It's time to commit to finding the answer, to search for life beyond Earth," said Hawking.
Specifically, the physicist's support will be directed to two new initiatives: Breakthrough Listen and Breakthrough Message.
Breakthrough Listen will involve surveying the stars closest to the Earth in the Milky Way and the 100 nearest galaxies to the planet in search of radio signals from extraterrestrial life. Breakthrough Message, on the other hand, is an international competition for determining what messages will be sent by people to their alien neighbors. Total prizes for the contest will amount to $1 million.
Both efforts will be funded by Milner's $100-million pledge. Though famed for backing tech companies, the Russian billionaire actually has his roots in science, having trained as a physicist. He also makes his support for the sciences known by forming the Breakthrough Prize Foundation. Breakthrough Listen and Breakthrough Message fall under the foundation's new division called Breakthrough Initiatives.
It remains unclear what form of extraterrestrial life SETI scientists are looking for but they are eager to find any kind of sign, even when difficult to decode, as this will signify that other life does exist beyond this planet.
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