The SETI Observer

Dear SETI Enthusiast:

As the month draws to a close, so too does a chapter in the history of SETI and the Institute itself. Early next month Project Phoenix, the world's flagship targeted SETI search, will conclude its last observation after nearly a decade.

Phoenix has thoroughly scrutinized roughly 800 nearby sun-like stars in nearly ten years of observing at some of the world's greatest radio telescopes in Arecibo, Puerto Rico, Green Bank, West Virginia, Parkes, Australia, and Jodrell Bank, England. Our astronomers and engineers have logged countless miles and labored long hours in this ambitious endeavor. Over the last ten years, Project Phoenix has offered our astronomers the unique opportunity to rigorously pursue a scientific exploration for evidence of cosmic company.

The search, of course, is not ending. Indeed, we will soon launch a SETI project that will ultimately speed up our SETI searching by a factor of 300! When complete, the Allen Telescope Array will be the world's first instrument dedicated 24/7 to a targeted SETI search. No longer will our staff spend days readying equipment for long shipments, leave family and friends for weeks, and feel the pressures of needing to maximize infinitely precious and limited observing time on the radio telescope. This is exciting!

Yet I cannot help but feel stirred during these final days of our last deployment, when the anticipation of knowing that we may yet detect a signal is as keen as always. Arecibo is a magical place, and deployment, for all its rigors, is a magical time for our scientists, and for me. It is never easy to say good-bye.

I invite you now to contemplate the past, present, and future as you explore the links of the SETI Observer.

Thomas Pierson
CEO, SETI Institute

Members of TeamSETI have had many opportunities to learn about our SETI observations in the pages of the SETI Institute News, while SETI Observer readers have followed Project Phoenix over the last few observing sessions on SETICam and in diary entries. This Sunday night, Are We Alone?, the weekly science radio show of the SETI Institute, will broadcast live from the control room in Arecibo Puerto Rico. If you have questions for Dr. Seth Shostak, SETI astronomer and show host, call in for answers! Find out how at http://www.seti.org/arewealone/.

It was not always a straight and easy path from building computer games to creating virtual planets and moons in his computer, but SETI Institute astrogeophysicist, Dr. Brad Dalton, has followed his "childlike wonder" at the world around him to build an exciting and rewarding career. "Science," he insists, "is fun!" Read more about Brad Dalton

Earlier this month, many people celebrated Darwin Day. All SETI Institute educators and scientists are in some way touched by the legacy of this great man, and a number have paid homage to Charles Darwin on the anniversary of his 195th birthday. Read more at http://publish.seti.org/general/articles.php?id=163 and http://publish.seti.org/general/articles.php?id=164

Be one of the first five to answer the following question correctly and get a cool SETI Institute T-shirt. We'll post the answer in next month's e-newsletter. Choose the phrase that best completes this statement and send your answer to newsletter@seti.org.

Project Phoenix

1. is the worldÆs largest SETI experiment and uses home computers to process SETI data.
2. will be followed by a SETI search on the Allen Telescope Array, which currently has the largest collecting area of any radio telescope.
3. will conclude in March, 2004 after examining about 800 nearby stars over nearly a decade.
4. is a joint project of the SETI Institute and the University of California, Berkeley.

Select the most correct answer
In the last SETI Observer, we asked you to select the most correct answer Project Ozma was

1. an early attempt to use radio astronomy for a SETI "survey," covering many stars across broad areas of the sky.
2. conducted at the Green Bank observatory by Drs. Frank Drake and Carl Sagan in 1960.
3. conducted in 1960 after astronomer Dr. Frank Drake read a Nature paper by Morrison and Cocconi, who discussed using radio waves to communicate across extra-stellar distances.
4. the first scientific search for evidence of artificially produced radio waves originating from civilizations inhabiting a solar system other than our own.

The correct answer was "D." Many readers answered ôB.ö Because this is worded in a way that could infer a connection between Ozma and the paper in Nature, "D" is the better answer.