EXTRRTERRESTRIRLS AND UFOS 131
moving electrons; beyond 10 gigahertz, noise from oxygen and water
molecules in our own atmosphere would interfere with any signals.)
They selected 1,420 gigahertz as the most promising frequency in
which to listen to signals from outer space, since that was the emission
frequency for ordinary hydrogen gas, the most plentiful element in the
universe. (Frequencies around that range are nicknamed the "watering hole," given their convenience for extraterrestrial communication.)
Searches for evidence of intelligent signals near the watering hole,
however, have been disappointing. In 1960 Frank Drake initiated Project Ozma (named after the Queen of Oz) to search for signals using
the 25-meter radio telescope in Green Bank, West Virginia. No signals
were ever found, either in Project Ozma or in other projects that, in fits
and starts, tried to scan the night sky over the years.
In 1971 an ambitious proposal was made by NASA to fund SETI research. Dubbed Project Cyclops, the effort involved fifteen hundred radio telescopes at a cost of $10 billion. Not surprisingly, the research
never went anywhere. Funding did become available for a much more
modest proposal, to send a carefully coded message to alien life in
outer space. In 1974 a coded message of 1,679 bits was transmitted via
the giant Arecibo radio telescope in Puerto Rico toward the Globular
Cluster M13, about 25,100 light-years away. In this short message, scientists created a 23 x 73 dimensional grid pattern that plotted the location of our solar system, containing an illustration of human beings
and some chemical formulae. (Because of the large distances involved,
the earliest date for a reply from outer space would be 52,174 years
from now.)
Congress has not been impressed with the significance of these
projects, even after a mysterious radio signal, called the "Wow" signal,
was received in 1977. It consisted of a series of letters and numbers that
seemed to be nonrandom and seemed to be signaling the existence of
intelligence. (Some who have seen the Wow signal have not been convinced.)
In 1995, frustrated by the lack of funding from the federal government, astronomers turned to private sources to start the nonprofit SETI
moving electrons; beyond 10 gigahertz, noise from oxygen and water
molecules in our own atmosphere would interfere with any signals.)
They selected 1,420 gigahertz as the most promising frequency in
which to listen to signals from outer space, since that was the emission
frequency for ordinary hydrogen gas, the most plentiful element in the
universe. (Frequencies around that range are nicknamed the "watering hole," given their convenience for extraterrestrial communication.)
Searches for evidence of intelligent signals near the watering hole,
however, have been disappointing. In 1960 Frank Drake initiated Project Ozma (named after the Queen of Oz) to search for signals using
the 25-meter radio telescope in Green Bank, West Virginia. No signals
were ever found, either in Project Ozma or in other projects that, in fits
and starts, tried to scan the night sky over the years.
In 1971 an ambitious proposal was made by NASA to fund SETI research. Dubbed Project Cyclops, the effort involved fifteen hundred radio telescopes at a cost of $10 billion. Not surprisingly, the research
never went anywhere. Funding did become available for a much more
modest proposal, to send a carefully coded message to alien life in
outer space. In 1974 a coded message of 1,679 bits was transmitted via
the giant Arecibo radio telescope in Puerto Rico toward the Globular
Cluster M13, about 25,100 light-years away. In this short message, scientists created a 23 x 73 dimensional grid pattern that plotted the location of our solar system, containing an illustration of human beings
and some chemical formulae. (Because of the large distances involved,
the earliest date for a reply from outer space would be 52,174 years
from now.)
Congress has not been impressed with the significance of these
projects, even after a mysterious radio signal, called the "Wow" signal,
was received in 1977. It consisted of a series of letters and numbers that
seemed to be nonrandom and seemed to be signaling the existence of
intelligence. (Some who have seen the Wow signal have not been convinced.)
In 1995, frustrated by the lack of funding from the federal government, astronomers turned to private sources to start the nonprofit SETI