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| Personal background |
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I'm from Kalamazoo, Michigan and a graduate of Western Michigan University with a degree in Physics. I'm also a member and current president of the Kalamazoo Astronomical Society, one of the oldest and largest clubs in Michigan.
My love of astronomy can be traced back to my youth. In those days I didn't know of any one that could teach me about the planets or the night sky, so I decided to teach myself. My main source of guidance was a 1983 edition of "Peterson's Field Guide to the Stars and Planets", which I still use to this day. The Galilean moons of Jupiter, rings of Saturn, and even Halley's Comet were rediscovered through my first telescope; a Jason 60 mm refractor.
My ultimate goal is to get a Ph.D in Astrophysics and do what I love and get paid for it. My main area of interest is searching for extrasolar planets. I would very much like to be the first person in history to actually discover an Earth-like planet orbiting another star.
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| Thoughts about SETI and SETI@home |
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| It has been said that the search for intelligent extraterrestrial life is a search for who we are. It's an endeavor that has aspects in both science and philosophy. The evidence we currently have seems to suggest that life does exist elsewhere in the universe. The "stuff" of life is present everywhere in the cosmos. Nature also seems to have a passion to repeat it self. There are uncounted stars like the Sun and uncounted galaxies like the Milky Way. It would seem to me that somewhere, perhaps in another remoter corner of the Milky Way, there exists a planet similar to our own. I would love to be the person to find it. Do I think SETI@home will someday be successful? Probably not, but I've been wrong before. Just ask my teachers! It is a worthwhile endeavor though and I'm proud to be a part of it. It's just that I'm not the type of person that can sit and wait for a radio telescope to intercept an alien transmission. I've got to look for their worlds. Just think what it would be like to point a future space telescope near a distant star like the Sun and image another world with blue oceans, white clouds, and continents covered with life. That is the day I wait for. |
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