Update: watch our interview with Alberto Caballero, the project leader: The #SETI Project with Alberto Caballero (Interview)
Part of our mission is to engage society, to inspire and empower current and future generations and thus affect positive change through astronomy and science education.
Astronomy For Change is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to affect positive change through astronomy and science education, by inspiring and empowering current and future generations to become engaged and interested in Astronomy and Science.
…. to promote global awareness of how astronomy and science benefits society and humankind.
Contained in that mission statement is the notion, the recognition of all those who, through innate curiosity, “look up” at night towards the celestial canopy above, those who perceive the greatness of that canopy and their connection to it, their oneness with the universe and wish to contribute to the collective body of knowledge about it. The SETI project is looking for those individuals, individuals from every walk of life, those who wish to become part of the greatest quest ever begun, the “Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence“.
There could be no better benefit to society, no better reflection of our mission, to lift society up as the great physicist Steven Weinberg once suggested, than to seek out our own reflection amongst the stars.
The effort to understand the universe is one of the very few things that lifts human life a little above the level of farce, and gives it some of the grace of tragedy.
……….from his famous bestseller, “The First Three Minutes“
The SETI Project Home Page: https://exoplanetschannel.wixsite.com/home
The SETI_Project would be a coordinated effort by several amateur radio observatories with the objective to find a potential signal of extraterrestrial origin. The initial campaign is intended to last one month. During this time, 4 stars would be scanned, once per week. The project would be extended if a candidate signal is found. The selected stars should be relatively close to Earth, older than the Sun (if possible), and not previously scanned in detail by other observatories.
The principle goal of the project is to enlist the help of additional observing nodes, through “Citizen Science“, also known as “crowd sourcing”, to increase the probability of making that one critical discovery that will forever change our place in the universe with the knowledge that we are not alone.
A range of disciplines can benefit from crowdsourcing, including astronomy, ecology, history, medicine and political science.
Through a rapid review of the available literature and interviews with four experts, researchers compiled a practical overview of crowdsourcing in citizen science. The report highlights the benefits of crowdsourcing, best tools to use, and best practices.
Crowdsourcing is a beneficial research method that allows members of the public to contribute ideas and time to projects despite not being formally trained experts. A range of research projects have already successfully employed this method in their work.
Even if you don’t have access to a radio telescope, as an amateur (or professional), you can still get involved by promoting and supporting the project through social media, by word of mouth, to use your computer’s idle time by installing and running such applications as “SETI@Home” or to get involved in “Breakthrough Starshot“, a real, viable proposal to launch myriad “nanocraft” at 20% the speed of light towards the Alpha Centauri Star system, our closest neighboring star system and the subject of a recent article. Please visit the project home page and explore the many ways you can get involved. When you do get involved, know that your contribution, your time, your effort, will not have been for naught and will be for the greater good of all of us!
Featured image: a view of the Very Large Array at twilight.
Related Stories
#Arecibo Radio Telescope to be Decommissioned
Iconic #Arecibo Radio Telescope Collapses!
Imagination is more important than knowledge
An index of all articles can be found here.
If you enjoyed this article, please consider supporting us with a modest donation
or through a subscription on our Patreon Page
Membership at Astronomy for Change is Free!
