Profile: richie42

Personal background
Hi!

I'm from sunny England (big joke!). Because of this I'm a very frustrated amateur astronomer. I can safely say that EVERY major astronomical event ("visible" from the UK) within the last year has been obscured by cloud - that's EVERYTHING - the lunar eclipse, the meteor showers, the planetary alignments, mars at its closest approach . . .

So I thought I'd download SETI@home and see if I could make a contribution to astronomy in at least some respect.

I've never made any really significant astronomical discoveries, but I know someone who did: many years ago I knew a guy called John Hosty. We had a small astronomical society. John's speciality was searching for novas. Well, he actually found one - in Sagitta, and now, of course, it's named for him. At the time of the discovery, Patrick Moore (on The Sky at Night) said he did not believe anyone could find a nova - not from the garden of a back terrace house in Huddersfield using an old pair of binoculars, anyway. The next show, he had to eat his words.

I don't see John any more, I don't even know where he lives now, but I do remember the privilege of being able to see his photographic negatives of the constellation and the amazing site of the sudden appearance of a new star.
Thoughts about SETI and SETI@home
Does extraterrestrial life exist?

- How can it not exist in a universe so vast?

When and how will humans discover it?

- Not for a long time yet, and hopefully through the SETI project so those who are a part of it can thumb our noses at all those blinkered politicians who withdrew government funding.

What are the possible benefits and dangers of such a discovery?

- Nice, easy question, this one. Er . . . well, if I get going I won't be able to stop, but I think Hollywood has got it very wrong (except perhaps for "Contact").

Should humans transmit a beacon for others to find?

- Yes - but not until we're ready for devastation (just in case Hollywood has got it right!)

Why do you run SETI@home?

- Because we need to know we are not alone - then we may become less arrogant as a species and see the wider picture.

What are your views about the project?

- I think the project is great - we may actually find someone out there! But, at the same time, I can't forget the "map room" in Arthur C. Clarke and Gentry Lee's final instalment in the "Rama Saga" - where the 3-D map of the galaxy shows the lifespans of various species and how far those species ventured into space (lines radiating outwards from various star systems) and how those lines hardly ever meet up because space is simply so vast . . .

Any suggestions?

- Only regarding the software - I just wish it would open maximized . . .
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