[FOTZeiss] FW: SETI: 50th Anniversary of SETI Commemorated with New Observing Project

[Glenn A. Walsh]

FYI

gaw

Glenn A. Walsh, Project Director,
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--- On Fri, 11/5/10, LARRY KLAES <ljk4 at MSN.COM> wrote:

> From: LARRY KLAES <ljk4 at MSN.COM>
> Subject: FW: SETI: 50th Anniversary of SETI Commemorated with New Observing Project
> To: HASTRO-L at listserv.wvu.edu
> Date: Friday, November 5, 2010, 4:34 AM
>  
> > Date: Wed, 3 Nov 2010 17:26:08 -0400
> > Subject: SETI: 50th Anniversary of SETI Commemorated
> with New Observing Project
> > From: rick.fienberg at aas.org
> > To: Rick.Fienberg at aas.org
> > 
> > THE FOLLOWING RELEASE WAS RECEIVED FROM THE SETI
> INSTITUTE IN MOUNTAIN
> > VIEW, CALIFORNIA, AND IS FORWARDED FOR YOUR
> INFORMATION. (FORWARDING
> > DOES NOT IMPLY ENDORSEMENT BY THE AMERICAN
> ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY.) Rick
> > Fienberg, AAS Press Officer: rick.fienberg at aas.org,
> +1 202-328-2010
> > x116.
> > 
> > November 3, 2010
> > 
> > Media Contact:
> > Karen Randall
> > SETI Institute
> > krandall at seti.org
> > +1 650-960-4537
> > 
> > Science Contacts:
> > Douglas Vakoch
> > SETI Institute
> > dvakoch at seti.org
> > +1 510-688-0028
> > 
> > Shin-ya Narusawa
> > Nishi-Harima Astronomical Observatory
> > narusawa at nhao.jp
> > 
> > ASTRONOMERS WORLDWIDE COMMEMORATE 50TH ANNIVERSARY
> > OF SEARCH FOR EXTRATERRESTRIALS THROUGH NEW OBSERVING
> PROJECT
> > 
> > This week astronomers from twelve countries on six
> continents will
> > mark the fiftieth anniversary of the search for
> extraterrestrial
> > intelligence (SETI) by beginning a coordinated series
> of observations
> > of several nearby stars -- including two stars that
> were the target of
> > the first search.
> > 
> > To demonstrate the advances in SETI over the past half
> century, on
> > November 5, 2010, astronomers in Australia, Japan, and
> Korea will
> > begin observations for radio and laser signals from
> civilizations
> > circling these stars, followed over the next day by
> SETI searches in
> > Italy, the Netherlands, France, Argentina, and the
> United States.
> > Additional observations will take place in late
> November 2010.
> > 
> > The first SETI experiment, Project Ozma, was conducted
> in April 1960
> > by astronomer Frank Drake, now at the SETI Institute
> in Mountain View,
> > California. Project Ozma -- named after the book
> “The Wonderful Wizard
> > of Oz” -- listened for radio signals from
> extraterrestrial
> > civilizations and started a new field of science. To
> commemorate this
> > first search and the advances in SETI science and
> technology over the
> > past half century, astronomer Shin-ya Narusawa of
> Nishi-Harima
> > Astronomical Observatory in Japan launched Project
> Dorothy, named
> > after the heroine of the same story.
> > 
> > “It is thrilling for me to witness the beginnings of
> Project Dorothy,
> > the continuation of my search of fifty years ago,”
> said Drake. “To
> > have so many talented people using so many telescopes
> in this new
> > search, with the electronics and computer equipment of
> today, is a
> > joyful thing to me. The equipment of today is far
> better than what we
> > could have fifty years ago, and will result in both
> very much better
> > and very much more data than could be obtained
> then.”
> > 
> > “Two of the original stars from Project Ozma -- Tau
> Ceti and Epsilon
> > Eridani -- are the nearest solar-type stars in the
> northern
> > hemisphere,” explained Narusawa. “Therefore, these
> two stars were the
> > best SETI targets a half century ago. They remain the
> symbol of
> > project Ozma and are two of the target stars for
> Project Dorothy,” he
> > added. “But astronomy has improved over the last
> five decades, and
> > about five hundred planets have been discovered around
> other stars.
> > Some of these stellar systems have planets located the
> right distance
> > from their stars to support life. We also included
> such stars among
> > the targets of Project Dorothy.”
> > 
> > “Project Dorothy vividly demonstrates just how far
> SETI has come in
> > the past fifty years,” said the SETI Institute’s
> Douglas Vakoch, who
> > is a member of Project Dorothy’s Working Group.
> “Astronomers can now
> > do SETI research at observatories from South Africa to
> the
> > Netherlands, from Argentina to India, from Japan to
> Italy, as well as
> > from the longstanding American projects at the SETI
> Institute, the
> > University of California at Berkeley, and Harvard
> University. The
> > lessons learned through Project Dorothy provide
> critical preparation
> > for the day we finally detect a signal from another
> civilization,”
> > Vakoch explained. Because of the daily rotation of the
> Earth, many
> > stars are visible for only a portion of the day from a
> single
> > observatory. “By learning how to coordinate
> international SETI
> > observations now, we’ll be better prepared to track
> a signal
> > continuously, around the world, after first
> contact,” he said.
> > 
> > “Over the past fifty years our searches have not yet
> produced the
> > discovery we all hope for,” said Drake. “This is
> understandable -- in
> > our vast and awesome universe it will take long,
> painstaking, and
> > comprehensive searches before we will have a good
> chance of success.
> > This is the major lesson learned from previous
> searches. Project
> > Dorothy is a major step in meeting the challenge
> created by this
> > lesson.”
> > 
> > The SETI Institute will observe five target stars
> using the Allen
> > Telescope Array (ATA), located in northern California.
> The ATA will
> > examine these stars between 1:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m.
> Pacific Daylight
> > Time, November 6, 2010.
> > 
> >
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>     
>         
>           
>