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| Personal background |
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| Welcome to my profile page! I'm a retired Mechanical Engineer and an amateur astronomer from Rhode Island. I'm also an active member of Skyscrapers, Inc. (the Amateur Astronomical Society of RI, www.theskyscrapers.org) and of the American Association of Variable Star Observers (www.aavso.org). |
| Thoughts about SETI and SETI@home |
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As of December 16, 2016, 3,549 extrasolar planets had been found in the solar neighborhood. Our Galaxy has 200 billion stars, and there are about a trillion galaxies. When our best estimates for the "factors" are plugged into the Drake Equation, extraterrestrial intelligent life existing somewhere would seem to be a near certainty.
Nevertheless, despite Star Trek, there is an upper limit to the speed that objects can travel, so interstellar travel would seem to require: (1) an extremely long-lived species, and/or multigenerational spaceships; and (2) extreme motivation, like the death of a parent star. Therefore, as much as I may wish it were otherwise, it seems unlikely that humans will ever encounter an extraterrestrial intelligent species "face-to-face".
This is why a search for an extraterrestrial beacon is our best shot for determining the existence of intelligent extraterrestrial life. If we find it, it will be one of the biggest discoveries in the history of Mankind.
I see no danger in searching and no danger in transmitting our own beacon.
It's a long shot, but it's worth trying! That's why I participate in SETI@home. |
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