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Profile Mr. Kevvy Crowdfunding Project Donor*Special Project $250 donor
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Message 1952400 - Posted: 27 Aug 2018, 19:57:19 UTC - in response to Message 1952385.  

Not just locked away, but the chance of developing communications technology without fire, (feasible) electricity or even hands is arguably remote... even if we could reach them. there would be probably be nothing to reach.
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Message 1952999 - Posted: 31 Aug 2018, 3:50:43 UTC - in response to Message 1952400.  

Besides, we all know that real men develop oxygen homeostasis, quicly transition from water to land and sky, and do not aimlessly bubble up around stinky deep-sea hydrothermal vents, right ? =:)

On a more serious note, Mr Kevvy, congrats for your 15th place in the 2018 WOW Event. To be there at the top against more than 730 opponents means seriously powerful, finely-tuned rigs.

Not just locked away, but the chance of developing communications technology without fire, (feasible) electricity or even hands is arguably remote... even if we could reach them. there would be probably be nothing to reach.
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Message 1953001 - Posted: 31 Aug 2018, 4:07:24 UTC

Enough goofing around: SETI research, the Rio 2.0 scale 
and the fight against fake news (a less politically-correct report).

SETI Researchers Want to End the Alien-Detection Hype
By Meghan Bartels, Space.com Senior Writer | July 31, 2018
https://www.space.com/41327-seti-alien-signals-hype-richter-scale.html

Researchers looking for signals from technologically advanced aliens pick up countless strange pings — but so far, nothing has convinced them that a message really came from aliens.

But that doesn't mean there aren't plenty of overblown media headlines about potential alien detections. So a team of researchers pursuing the search for extraterrestrial intelligence, or SETI, has decided to revive a scale meant to ground these detections in reality. They shared their scale, called Rio 2.0, in a new paper that takes aim at SETI researchers and the media for irresponsible coverage of potential detections.

"It's absolutely crucial that when we talk about something so hugely significant as the discovery of intelligent life beyond the Earth, we do it clearly and carefully," lead author Duncan Forgan, a SETI scientist at the University of St Andrews in the U.K., said in a statement from the SETI Institute. "Having Rio 2.0 allows us to rank a signal quickly in a way that the general public can easily understand, and helps us keep their trust in a world filled with fake news."

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Message 1953004 - Posted: 31 Aug 2018, 4:46:36 UTC
Last modified: 31 Aug 2018, 4:49:11 UTC

Food for thought. 

Our Attitude Toward Aliens Proves We Still Think We’re Special - Why we downplay Fermi’s paradox - Aug. 2, 2018
by Milan Ćirković, senior research associate atr the Astronomical Observatory of Belgrade
& assistant professor in the Department of Physics at the University of Novi Sad
http://nautil.us/issue/63/horizons/our-attitude-toward-aliens-proves-we-still-think-were-special

Many of us choose to ignore Fermi’s paradox, or even fight it, because it requires too complete an acceptance of our cosmic mediocrity. We would rather secretly believe we are special than confront the real consequences of the paradox—consequences like, for example, intelligence being a maladaptive trait, or our universe being a simulation, or us living in a cosmic zoo. Some of us even go so far as to argue that we have become a navel-gazing, self-absorbed civilization, without much chance of developing a sustained cosmic presence and industrial bases all over the solar system. Destroying what Olaf Stapledon and R. Buckminster Fuller have dubbed the cosmic vision of humanity’s future lets us duck out of the Fermi’s paradox conversation. If we can’t do it, our extraterrestrial peers can’t do it either and we shouldn’t waste time and money searching for them. This subtle form of anthropocentrism leads us to a very dangerous path, since it impedes the best—and ultimately only—prospect for humanity to achieve its cosmic potential.

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Message 1953007 - Posted: 31 Aug 2018, 6:21:21 UTC

SETI on the Side: Seeking Dyson Spheres with Gaia
by Kerry Hensley, 27 August 2018
https://aasnova.org/2018/08/27/seti-on-the-side-seeking-dyson-spheres-with-gaia/

Signs of extraterrestrial intelligence don’t appear in the astrophysical literature very often. One of the most well-known signposts of advanced spacefaring civilizations, a Dyson sphere, named after physicist Freeman Dyson, is a theorized structure surrounding a star, through which a highly technologically advanced civilization could harness the full energy output of its star.

Most Dyson sphere searches to date have looked for excess infrared radiation. Since a large portion of the star is covered, the amount of visible light emitted drops sharply. However, the emission from the Dyson sphere itself, which has an estimated temperature between 50 and 1,000 K, peaks in the infrared. So far, searches for infrared excesses have come up empty.

Zackrisson and coauthors looked for Dyson spheres with little or no infrared excess, just the sort that would have been overlooked by past searches. Specifically, they considered the case of a Dyson sphere made of a gray absorber — a material that dims the star’s light equally at all wavelengths. An observer will see the same overall shape of the star’s spectrum, but the flux will be lower everywhere.

This means that if you try to measure the distance to the star spectrophotometrically — by comparing the star’s observed flux and spectrum to stellar emission models — your measurements will tell you that the star is farther away than it actually is. However, the dimming of the star by the Dyson sphere won’t fool the parallax method, which uses the apparent movement of the target star against the background of more distant stars seen as Earth orbits the Sun. The greater the difference in distances from these two methods, the larger the fraction of the star’s surface is covered by the Dyson sphere.
Related:
Boyajian's Star KIC 8462852
GAIA, TYC 7169-153-1 and TYC 6111-1162-1


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Message 1957912 - Posted: 30 Sep 2018, 14:31:44 UTC

Here's Why Aliens Will Probably Come in Peace
By S.C. Stuart September 30, 2018
https://www.pcmag.com/news/363726/heres-why-aliens-will-probably-come-in-peace

Ahead of World Space Week (October 4-10), we talk to SETI Institute chief Bill Diamond about the search for extraterrestrial life and why the idea of aliens coming to Earth to destroy us is 'absurd.'

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Message 1957925 - Posted: 30 Sep 2018, 16:14:59 UTC
Last modified: 30 Sep 2018, 16:22:21 UTC

Speaking of the SETI Institute's Allen Telescope Array: It's webpage, SETIQuest Info, which normally displays the real-time observations of the ATA, and archives past observations in graphical form, has been essentially 'frozen' since July.

No current observations are displayed, and the archives are blank for that period. A far as I am aware, no explanation has been offered for this. It's not really clear if observations are continuing, or not. If this were merely a problem with the website, it seems odd that this couldn't have been set right, some time ago.

Please find a link to the SETIQuest website, below:

http://setiquest.info
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Message 1957945 - Posted: 30 Sep 2018, 21:23:31 UTC - in response to Message 1957925.  
Last modified: 30 Sep 2018, 21:25:24 UTC

Interesting site maintained by Jon Richards... The 42-headed beast seems to be quite alive and active ("Observing progress"). Perhaps it was partially down when you visited it ?



Speaking of the SETI Institute's Allen Telescope Array: It's webpage, SETIQuest Info, which normally displays the real-time observations of the ATA, and archives past observations in graphical form, has been essentially 'frozen' since July.

No current observations are displayed, and the archives are blank for that period. A far as I am aware, no explanation has been offered for this. It's not really clear if observations are continuing, or not. If this were merely a problem with the website, it seems odd that this couldn't have been set right, some time ago.

Please find a link to the SETIQuest website, below:

http://setiquest.info

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Message 1957958 - Posted: 30 Sep 2018, 23:49:34 UTC - in response to Message 1957945.  
Last modified: 30 Sep 2018, 23:55:41 UTC

The display you selected was for all targets ever observed. Naturally the many targets from before July, 2018 make an impressive picture.

Try selecting the other options: last month, last week, last day. All are blank. I look in at the SETIQuest Info site frequently. I've seen no indications of current observations for months. The observer's notes on the page indicate nothing beyond July, and even those appear to be system testing, rather than actual SETI observations.

The last scheduled SETI observing was set to start on June 20th, but apparently never occurred, as the page reports that it is still waiting to be scheduled.
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Message 1958010 - Posted: 1 Oct 2018, 10:44:33 UTC - in response to Message 1957958.  

You're right =:/ I fired=-up a tweet about this to @jrseti - hopefully SETIQuest hasn't been defunded and they are only doing technical/software repairs/upgrades... A quick search about ATA related news didn't pull anything that could shed lights about this lack of activity (again feel welcome to prove me wrong!)

The display you selected was for all targets ever observed. Naturally the many targets from before July, 2018 make an impressive picture. Try selecting the other options: last month, last week, last day. All are blank. I look in at the SETIQuest Info site frequently. I've seen no indications of current observations for months. The observer's notes on the page indicate nothing beyond July, and even those appear to be system testing, rather than actual SETI observations. The last scheduled SETI observing was set to start on June 20th, but apparently never occurred, as the page reports that it is still waiting to be scheduled.
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Message 1958012 - Posted: 1 Oct 2018, 10:53:20 UTC

We Are Scientists Looking for Technosignatures (signs of intelligent life)! Ask Us Anything!
https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/9jebu2/we_are_scientists_looking_for_technosignatures/
Submitted on 27 Sep 2018 * by nasa

Thanks for joining us for today's Reddit AMA on technosignatures! We're signing off, but you can learn more about our search at https://go.nasa.gov/2Dzgz2J

Is there life out there, beyond the edge of our solar system? Are we alone? People from all walks of life have pondered those questions. For decades, NASA has lead the charge in finding out. Astrobiologists—scientists who study how life could live on other planets—search for clues in acidic lakes, deep under ice, or at searing hot hydrothermal vents in the ocean. They also think about what signs of life could look like on other worlds, including planets in our own solar system and exoplanets, which are planets orbiting stars outside our solar system. These signs are called “biosignatures,” and include things like certain types of molecules or traces left in a rock.

At the same time, other scientists have pioneered a different kind of search for life. These scientists look for signs of intelligent life who might be trying to reach out to others in the galaxy with radio or laser transmissions. These signs are called “technosignatures.” Other types of technosignatures include evidence of pollutants in an exoplanet atmosphere or signs of an extraterrestrial structure around an exoplanet or star.

We’re a group of scientists who study astrobiology, exoplanets (including potentially habitable ones!) and potential technosignatures, and we’re here to answer your questions about this exciting field! We’ll be online starting at 1:00 p.m. EDT and we will sign our answers with our names or initials. Ask Us Anything!

- Natalie Batalha, astrophysicist at NASA’s Ames Research Center, project scientist for the Kepler Mission
- David Kipping, Columbia University’s Department of Astronomy
- Andrew Siemion, Director of Berkeley SETI Research Center
- Jason Wright, Associate Professor in Penn State’s Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics
- David Grinspoon, Senior Scientist at the Planetary Science Institute
- Shelley Wright, Professor at University California, San Diego

Proof: https://twitter.com/NASA/status/1044780351384473600

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Message 1958806 - Posted: 6 Oct 2018, 11:24:36 UTC
Last modified: 6 Oct 2018, 11:41:39 UTC

The search for extraterrestrial intelligence is getting a signal boost
Jason Davis • October 2, 2018
http://www.planetary.org/blogs/jason-davis/nasa-technosignatures-breakthrough.html

The search for extraterrestrial intelligence is set to get a big signal boost, thanks to renewed interest from NASA and a private effort to scan the skies using an array of 64 radio telescopes.

Last week, NASA sponsored a workshop that overviewed current searches for technosignatures, signs of deliberate engineering beyond Earth that manifest as anything from radio transmissions to structures orbiting other stars. The workshop comes on the heels of a congressional proposal to give the agency $20 million over 2 years to help "private sector and philantrhopic organizations" search for technosignatures.

In an unrelated announcement Tuesday, the billionaire-backed group Breakthrough Listen announced they will use the the newly christened MeerKAT telescope array in South Africa to scan up to a million stars for radio signals over the next 5 years.

(...) "The fairly recent recognition that Earth-size habitable exoplanets are ubiquitous has sharpened the question of life in the universe in dramatic fashion," said Andrew Siemeon, the director of the University of California, Berkeley SETI Research Center, and the principal investigator for Breakthrough Listen. "I think the new look at technosignatures is driven by that."

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Message 1958846 - Posted: 6 Oct 2018, 15:44:21 UTC - in response to Message 1958806.  

A heartening development. Thank you for posting of it, sir.
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Message 1958895 - Posted: 6 Oct 2018, 20:31:25 UTC - in response to Message 1958806.  
Last modified: 6 Oct 2018, 20:32:44 UTC

The fairly recent recognition that Earth-size habitable exoplanets are ubiquitous has ....


Name one please. and define fully what you mean by "Habitable"
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Message 1958964 - Posted: 7 Oct 2018, 0:46:07 UTC

October 2, 2018 – Breakthrough Listen, the global initiative to seek signs of intelligent life in the universe – announced at the International Astronautical Congress the commencement of a major new program with the MeerKAT telescope in partnership with the South African Radio Astronomy Observatory (SARAO).
Breakthrough Listen Partnership with SARAO at the MeerKAT Telescope
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sl93Sq7QcQE


Breakthrough Listen at the MeerKAT Telescope: Pete Worden, Andrew Siemion, Logan Pearce, Griffin Foster
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSAGcL84ANk


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Message 1959040 - Posted: 7 Oct 2018, 8:34:55 UTC
Last modified: 7 Oct 2018, 8:36:28 UTC

It is difficult to understand the SETI World. In a recent paper on Fast Radio Bursts dr. Andrew Siemion was also described as an associate of the SETI Institute. I hope that the MeerKAT array will give us SETI peones some data to crunch.
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Message 1959049 - Posted: 7 Oct 2018, 10:20:27 UTC
Last modified: 7 Oct 2018, 10:21:00 UTC

The MeerKAT array will be a part of the Square Kilometer Array, including both South Africa and Australia. The data output will be huge and the management of the SKA has already sought an agreement with CERN in order to exploit its CERNGRID. Data processing is the main problem of Big Science.
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Message 1963134 - Posted: 3 Nov 2018, 14:09:17 UTC

Pierce Brosnan to Host 7th Annual “Breakthrough Prize” Ceremony on Sunday, November 4 Live on National Geographic https://breakthroughprize.org/News/46
Apr 3, 1999 - May 3, 2020
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Message 1965285 - Posted: 15 Nov 2018, 3:19:50 UTC

Two Reddit AMA sessions you might find interesting :

We’re researchers from NASA-FDL here with Google Cloud's Director of Applied AI and we want to answer some important questions: Are we alone in the universe? Does intelligent life exist on other planets? How can AI help move the boundaries of science? Ask Us Anything!
https://www.reddit.com/r/space/comments/9qrgbd/hey_reddit_were_researchers_from_nasafdl_here/

AskScience AMA Series: Hi! I am J.R. Skok. I am a planetary scientist with the SETI Institute and a Space entrepreneur. I am working with SETI and NASA to develop future missions to search for life on Mars, AMA!
https://www.reddit.com/r/askscience/comments/9r985j/askscience_ama_series_hi_i_am_jr_skok_i_am_a/
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Message 1967425 - Posted: 27 Nov 2018, 23:04:21 UTC

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