SETI recieves signal from SOL type star!

[Eli]

Originally posted by Q Cubed
well, first, we'd be puzzled as to what exactly the message meant, and surprised that the chose to send back a distorted version of our first broadcast--the 1936 olympics. then, we'd figure out, slowly but surely, that on top of that signal, there was data.

once we found out there was data, we'd be surprised at the sheer amount of it--but unfortunately stuck on how to decode it; at least, until a titan of the new economy gave a shot at it and figured that the data might be assembled into virtual three-dimensional cubes. once we tried that, we'd find that the data provides plans for a machine that apparently would hold five people.

we'd select five people to go into the machine, after much handwringing and political upheaval. we'd send those five people down the machine, only to have them appear to have gone nowhere.

they would claim that they were on some intergalactic journey, one which spanned over 24 hours and led to vega, among other places. but without proof, we would disbelieve them.

until we found out that there was a pattern in pi.

Sounds familiar.

[Harry Seldon]

All I know is, if we are contacted I better pick up the DAT file that contains the signal this time considering that out of the thousands of DAT files I've crunched not one was selected for seti@home's rescan project.

Not that I'm bitter or anything.

[FrustratedPoet]

Originally posted by Eli


Sounds familiar.

What film is that?

[Q Classic]

the book/film is contact, by carl sagan.

[alva]

Maybe we could play a PBEM game of Civ with them? 20 billion years to play one turn sounds pretty standard.

, but they have to send it back within 24 hours or forfeit their turn
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I've they send us a file, better make sure we'll update our virus checker
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No matter what, it would be cool though and may give humanity some direction/unity. Big 'may' though

[CerberusIV]

Or we could decipher the message and discover that it says "This is notification that your planet is scheduled to be demolished to make way for a hyperspace bypass. You have two years to register any objection. If no objection is registered at your local planning office at Alpha Centauri the demolition will proceed" and then realise it took five years to get here.

[alva]

Sounds familiar too, this time FP aint gonna ask where you got it from though

[FrustratedPoet]

[Eli]

Originally posted by Q Cubed
the book/film is contact, by carl sagan.

I only saw the movie... But wasnt the actress sent alone to wherever it was?

[Q Classic]

in the movie, jodie foster's character, ellie arroway, was sent alone.

in the book, she was chosen alongside five others--one american, one russian, one chinese, one indian, and one other i can't remember.

[Cruddy]

Well, I'd say maybe it's a fake. As in, somebody sent out a deep space probe in the 80s to fake a message to get some world unity.

How do you verify a deep space signal? I'm sure the astrophysicists could have a way of doing this...

But personally, I'm deeply sceptical of current SETI efforts. Trying to isolate one signal from the radiation sources behind it would need a big radio array - in my opinion, bigger than what we can currently do.

I'm not going to say never - but I have doubts it is possible with today's technology.

[Flandrien]

What is so special about a SOL type star ?

[CerberusIV]

Originally posted by Flandrien
What is so special about a SOL type star ?

It is assumed to take several billion years for intelligent life to develop. Larger stars burn their fuel faster and would turn into red giants or whatever, destroying their planets, before life had time to evolve there beyond microbes. Smaller stars don't generate enough light to keep an earth sized planet habitable.

There are a lot of other reasons why a star system might not have planets similar to earth but the size of the star is the first factor to consider.

That all assumes that intelligent life can only evolve on an earth type planet and be somewhat similar to us of course.

[DinoDoc]

Originally posted by Big Crunch
If its directed at us I would be more concerned than if it was just traffic noise.

Why?

[Dauphin]

It would mean they may still be ignorant of our, or our planets, existence. If space is a cutthroat place then not being noticed yet is surely a plus.