|
| Personal background |
|---|
I live in Pontefract ("whrere the cakes come from") Lat: 53.688N Long: 1.311W
(We actually have liquorice plants growing 70 yards from our door!)
My work has covered electronics, teaching (Religious Studies and IT), and I am now serving as a Methodist Minister in the Pontefract & Normanton Circuit.
My average time per unit in the SETI project is somewhat large because my previous computer used to take 500 hours to do one unit: the new machine is completing in about 10 hrs on average.
Best result for me so far (I think) is 8 Guassians in one unit - from a region near Coma Berenices.
I am a member of the West Yorks Astronomical Society - visit our site at
www.wyas.fsnet.co.uk and if you are desperate for something to read you can visit my site at www.members.aol.com/djdownham
|
| Thoughts about SETI and SETI@home |
|---|
I am a firm believer in life elsewhere in the universe (See my article in the August 2002 Newsletter)although I think it will be only careful, painstaking and patient searching that will enable us to find it -- always assuming that such life is at an evolutionary stage equal to or in excess of our own.
Fears about making contact seem, to me, unfounded. The distances involved are so great that 'aliens' (a rather unfortunate word with bad connotations in our popular usage)would have a long journey to reach us, with attendant costs and difficult logistics, etc. For us even to attempt a conversation looks likely to be in excess of eight years.
As regards a beacon, I think the best thing we could do, would be to transmit a digital code representing our counting system, that is, one to ten, continuously, at a whole range of frequencies. This would provide a repetitive signal which could not be confused with a pulsar, and would indicate that we have ten digits with which to count. On receiving a reply, we should send at the reply-frequency, a picture in digital code with sides of equal length and with a prime number of digits per side. Intelligent life would be able to interpret this within a short time and so gain some indication of what 'man' looked like.
Be patient. Keep looking. This project has already worked wonders and has spin-off benefits which will soon help in medical research.
With my theological hat on, may I remind everyone that a Creator remains one of the possible origins of everything - to me, that seems reasonable! |
| Your feedback on this profile |
|---|
| Recommend this profile for User of the Day: |
I like this profile |
| Alert administrators to an offensive profile: |
I do not like this profile |
|
|
