SETI has observed a “strong” signal that may originate from a Sun-like star or it may be BS
Ars Technica is reporting that scientists at SETI have detected a strong signal in the direction of HD164595 a star of 0.99 solar masses about 95 light years from Earth, about the same age as our solar system. Although the the system is known to have at least one planet, which is similar in size to Neptune and orbits its star in 40 days. Other planets may exist in the system as well.
The observation was made with the RATAN-600 radio telescope in Zelenchukskaya, in southern Russia, Gilster reports. The evidence is very preliminary.
The signal is 11GHZ and was powerful enough that it would have had to come from a Type 1 or Type 2 civilization if it turns out to not be of terrestrial origin. They have added this system to the permanent watch list.
The discovery will be discussed at a SETI committee meeting during the 67th International Astronautical Congress in Guadalajara, Mexico, on Tuesday, September 27.
100% of all funds raised from this post will be used to get me there.
I have a really strong hunch about this one. Plus I could use the vacation :D
I will wear a Steem T-Shirt and try to interview the SETI scientists who have made this discovery. I'll do what I can about getting a steemit exclusive scoop.
This post only needs to hit $1K for me to be able to do that because the $500 SBD would buy airfare and I can pay my own hotel since I have contacts in Mexico.
Oh and if you're interested in the truth of what SETI scientists are saying about this signal just click here.
Nevertheless, I would still like to go to this conference and this is a great excuse. You can help me get there https://www.iac2016.org/
update: While my posting is more about the upcoming conference, it turns out that @neylp did a fantastic analysis on this phenomenon already yesterday beating me to the punch by 24hrs. It's well worth a read! https://steemit.com/aliens/@nelyp/i-have-just-read-this-they-re-not-saying-it-s-aliens-but-signal-traced-to-sunlike-star-sparks-seti-interest
Thank you,I´m looking forward to the update from Guadalajara,and wish you the best of luck! I´m taking sucess for granted here!
@kooshikoo Thanks! I really appreciate it!
Excellent idea - would be happy to help but, alas, my upvote costs very little (.
Thx! Interesting info on this forum: https://setiathome.berkeley.edu/forum_thread.php?id=80193
@adamgud
Thanks for your upvotes! And yes that's the same forum I have linked in the bottom of my post.
Looking at the comments it doesn't seem like there's a great deal of positivity about this one? Still I hope we do trace a signal one day. Aside from the obvious problem of the size of the 'sky' we are searching, I wonder whether our current lack of success is down to the fact that perhaps civilizations don't generally use radio waves for comms for very long, as maybe they are superseded by something better very quickly in the general course of events. Gravitational waves perhaps, or something else we don't know about yet?
By the way, lucky the post 'only' needs to hit $1000!
Very best of luck!
@matrioshka
I'm cautiously optimistic that we will one day find smell-o-vision broadcasts of "I can't believe it's not Kurg!".
Most likely all civilizations spend some amount of time messing around with radio waves. But it's the height of hubris for us to imagine that they would in any way be like us.
We can barely fathom the more intelligent species on our own planet such as Octopi.
We may have to redefine what we consider communication rather than that what we consider technology. Once we do that then I think we'll find we're actually swimming in a sea of creatures as intelligent or more intelligent than us. But since they have nothing in common with us we will have to find a common way to communicate. Such as math. But how do you communicate laws such as atomic structure to a creature that views the world through a primary sense we do not have.
It would be like asking what oranges sound like.
Found a documentary showing a sapient species that knows how to communicate by smell...
A better question is: What do we define as 'Intelligence'... A VERY GOOD read !!!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extraterrestrial_Civilizations
oh and BTW .. oranges sound like apples, just a little higher frequency ... lol (orange/Red) Roy G Biv ...
I'll dig that one out at some stage!
As per @jstreetman below, you're both right, we need to broaden the scope of what we consider to be intelligence, and then think long and hard about likely means to communicate.
A significant problem that we have as a species is that we tend to be very human-centric, and generally find it difficult to take wider perspectives. We tend to only identify intelligences that are similar to ours S having merit. For instance we believe certain cetaceans to be very intelligent, and they may well have very deep oceanic knowledge, but because they don't exhibit technological development it is easy to be dismissive. Consider also the intelligence needed to engineer an ant's or bee's nest, a termite mound, or a spider's web... Of course we would be tempted to dismiss and call it instinct. More to the point, what basis for common interest would we have with a spider?! And this is a creature with more than a passing interest in mathematics - geometry anyway if you watch one spinning a cobweb.
Mankind even finds it difficult to recognise intelligence and wisdom across its own different cultures...
I agree with this completely. I don't know if you're aware of this or not. However, there is an ancient tradition that human intelligence was the result of spiders. This tradition is all but universal outside of the Abrahamic traditions which chalk it all up to snakes (the Hopi also have a tradition of snake wisdom).
This spider intelligence is present in many native american cultures through a tradition of "grandmother spider". Yet almost globally you will find that there is some ethnocentric deity that gave our species the ability to find order in chaos. A weaver of fate and destiny.
This deity is generally depicted as a weaver with a loom and most commonly as a spider deity. Although the deity may have other aspects as well, the fact is, many deities have 6 or 8 appendages. In modern culture we explain those excess appendages as representing "aspects". But I've never found that completely satisfying.
Many of these traditions are conserved in oral traditions. I had always chalked them up to the overactive imaginations of primitive cultures.
That is until a few years ago when I read about retroviruses that were conserved in our DNA and the vital role those retro viruses actually play in our overall development.
After I read that article, I had a POV dream about being an ape like creature, lost, alone and confused with only the dimmest light of primal intellect. Hearing a voice coming from a tree and it beckoned saying "come here and rest, then you will find your path". Sitting beneath a tree only to be bitten by a spider moments later.
It was painful and made him very sick for days. But when he came out of it, this gave him an edge and suddenly he found he was so much more than he had been before.
Obviously it was only dream. Brought about by reading too much on too many diverse topics before bedtime.
Yet it raised something I've been mulling in my mind every since.
What if Stan Lee was right about the spiders?
What if Douglas Adams was right about the mice and the dolphins?
Heh, I didn't know about the spider deity stuff, but I do believe they are very intelligent (certain species anyway). Have spent some hours over the years watching spiders exhibit what appears to be very intelligent behaviour. Web-weaving, stalking prey, carrying egg-sacs, shepherding young. Personally I suspect that all hunting animals require a certain degree of intelligence over pure 'instinct', although in spider-world some species seem to act as 'beasts' with some adopting the role of 'man' - I'm thinking mainly Pholcus (Cellar spiders) here - these do a lot of fascinating stuff - including taking out big dumb house spiders (Eratigena), believe it or not. Another 'humanoid' spider is Portia (Jumping spider), which could even be smarter than Pholcus. Hope to post on this subject in a week or two when I've got more time, bit tied up for the next week or two.
Love the retro virus gene swap idea by the way! This is also something that fascinates me, any good sources?
As I know, a lot of people are skeptical about it, because so far they have all come back empty-handed, and radio telescopes have been known to pick up rogue signals – everything from flushing toilets to microwave oven.
Do you think the beacon was especially targeted at Earth?
@zaebars
I have a hunch we've detected something new. That's it just a hunch.
Right now there is so much evidence to the contrary, but I can't get over the feeling that this star needs a closer look with Kepler. That's one reason I'm raising funds to go to Mexico. I'd like to see the actual data and the analysis and I would like to talk to people that spend their whole lives doing this.
But you ever go to a casino and just get a"hunch"? You play the hunch and it pays off?
I have that sort of hunch and I'm normally a very rational person. I can't even guarantee my hunch is telling me aliens. Just my hunch is telling me this needs closer examination and if we examine it closer we're going to find something. I want to be a part of that.
I have the same hunch about Tabby's star too though.
Yeah, Tabby's star looks existing, but as I understand we need to wait for a James Webb telescope launch to get more information, and it's gonna be 2018👽
This is scary. I posted something about this yesterday: https://steemit.com/aliens/@nelyp/i-have-just-read-this-they-re-not-saying-it-s-aliens-but-signal-traced-to-sunlike-star-sparks-seti-interest
Up-voted and followed ;)
Oh wow! That is a great post! I upvoted and I'm following you now. Plus I'm going to update my post.
I never saw your post or I would have referenced it. This posting is more about raising funds to get to the conference in order to talk with these guys.
Oh thank you!!! No worries! No need to update your post, as you said this one is different and is a very good post :)
Good luck with the fund-raising and of course let us know how it went!
Thank you ever so much @williambanks!!!
@nelyp
Thank you for making great content!
That was a really great analysis :)
I can understand the excitement though, I feel the same way. Just can't let myself admit it until I see something more substantial.
You should check out my post on Tabby's star
@williambanks thank you so much, I really appreciate it. And thanks again for the reference :)
Will check that post straight away!
If any of you is attending the Mexico conference, do not hesitate to update us! :)
@lemouth
Thanks! Only $975 left to go to get me there and you can bet I'm excitedly watching each penny roll in! If this goes through, I'll be posting all the updates I possibly can on it.
Damn IT JIM ! +1 Hope you can make the trip to the 67th International Astronautical Congress in Guadalajara, Mexico
https://setiathome.berkeley.edu/forum_thread.php?id=80193
Doh !
I will share your post on FB as well William. I want to see you go to Mexico.
This sounds like a chance of a lifetime, if you can get down to Guadalajara!
dude check my profile ;) something wonderful has happened and it benefits us all!!! it is a good day for steemit ;) ;) also awesome post man :) I love science!!!! :P physics is more than anything!! Upvoted!
the one about blocktrades ;)
Done, very nice. Next time place a link to what specifically you want me to look at.
Anyways, see my reply!
Sorry buddy i did originally but before i clicked post i just felt rude in myself. So i removed it and reworded what i wrote! I didn't out of politeness but yeh i thought about it and politeness won D: i will next time buddy ! also replied ;)