| Personal background |
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I worked as a satellite engineer at the German Space Operations Centre (GSOC) not far from Munich in Germany. My first satellite was ROSAT and I also worked on BIRD, CHAMP the GRACE twins and TERRASAR-X as part of the Multi Mission team. As with most things in life, it sounds more interesting than it actually is ;) I now work for Apple.
My hobbies include photography and travel, two things that combine quiet nicely and also drinking the odd drop if wine.
I run SETI on an Intel MAC under OS X and first got involved back in 1998/9 after seeing a program about it on the BBC program Tomorrows World. Unfortunately because of e-mail change I was never able to recover my lost password to the classic account and the credits I obtained under my old account were never transfered to my new account. |
| Thoughts about SETI and SETI@home |
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Q. Do "little green men" exist?
A. Probably, but if they are little, green or men is open to question. Certainly there is life out there. The chances that this little bit of rock we call home is the only place where life developed is so remote that its laughable in my opinion. As we are finding out more and more on our own rock, life thrives everywhere. We are discovering life in all sorts of places where even 10 years ago we were told life was not possible as the "requirements for life were not met" We now find life in volcanoes, in the deepest parts of the ocean and even inside rocks. Isnt it time we dropped our own perception that life *must* have this that or the other to exist?
Q. Have aliens ever visited Earth?
A. I doubt it. The interstellar distances would not really justify making the trip. However, that is limiting the aliens to human technology and life spans. Of course this may not be fair on the aliens. Here on earth we have life forms that life from only a few hours to many centuries (red woods for example) so we have to admit we dont know how long an alien life form may live for on an individual basis. Whilst its unlikely an intelligent alien life form would live many millennia we can not rule it out. When a life form lives only a few years, then a trip of many months, for example to Mars and back) is long and is not to be taken lightly. If a life form lives thousands of years, then the same trip is just like going to the corner shops.
Q. What about Roswell?
A. I really dont know what to make of Roswell, but I think its important to take into account the general state of mind of the populous at the time. I suspect it was probably nothing more than a crash of a secret aircraft. I dont think it was a weather balloon as suggest at the time, I dont see how anyone would have made such a claim when you look at the photos of the crash. Still, I doubt we will ever really know.
Q. Will we make contact with aliens?
A. Who knows. I think we will certainly find evidence of their existence, either via SETI or via another project, for example a project doing research into exoplanets. As for 2 way conversations, I dont expect anything in the next few hundred years. If Im wrong you can dig me up and tell me :) The distances involved are to large for any meaningful communications, even if powerful lasers were used like the old ships morse lights. The delay calling Australia from the UK is bad enough, and thats only a second or two, cant imagine a 10 light year pause. |
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