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- Apparently you can't believe every thing you read. Kevin
Dalley of SETI Institute wrote to inform me that I had put out erroneous
information concerning a signal from space. This was somewhat of a shock
because, I read the story in the Home News Tribune (Central New Jersey's
Voice since 1879).or at least the copy of it provided to me in Pat Marcatillio's
UFO Meeting at the Hamilton Square Library on December 1, 1999. I even
heard rumors of some kind of contact.
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- The next day I put out the story, but several readers
asked for confirmation. I went to the Home New Tribune website at www.injersey.com/hnt
November 29, 1999, to find out if the story was true. The entire story
is carried on their website, but is quite a bit longer than the story carried
in the newspaper. They apparently cut the last part of the story to fit
it in the newspaper. It is the truth as far as it goes. Apparently, what
initially had been a strong signal faded. Unfortunately so does the story.
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- Here's the latest UPDATE ON THE FRONT PAGE STORY that
included a nice photo of ET from the movie. The news paper article cuts
off the full Gannett news release giving the impression that this is a
strong signal coming from a small star HD119850. Apparently, some contact
was made for a short while, but it hasn't continued and this is the key.
I guess I too got caught up in hoping there was real contact.
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- My newpaper article copy ends at the bottom of A-2 with:
"And in a universe of 50 billion galaxies, each made up of a half
trillion stars, the chances of striking ET gold are radically remote."
Apparently the editor cut the story here.
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- The entire Home News Tribune website article is carried
below and goes on to say what was thought to be a strong signal from space
faded away. Unfortunately the article ending on the bottom of Page A2,
in the newspaper infers that we are getting a strong signal.
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- --
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- Was It A Blip Or A Beacon From The Cosmos?
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- By Todd Halvorson Gannett News Service Published in the
Home News Tribune 11/29/99 Second of three parts 11-29-99
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- ARECIBO, Puerto Rico - Call it a close encounter with
what promises to be the most important scientific discovery of all time.
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- GANNETT NEWS SERVICE photo
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- With galaxies such as the Milky Way strewn with Earthlike
planets, the chances of hearing from someone like E.T. -- shown here in
a still from the 1982 film -- may not be too bad.
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- Midway through the midnight shift at the world's largest
radio telescope, astronomer Jill Tarter picked up what appeared to be a
signal coming from a small star named HD119850.
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- There was no mistake. The beacon came in loud and clear
at 1535-MHz on the telescope's radio dial.
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- Yet it matched nothing in the computer's database of
known terrestrial noise: cellular telephones, pagers, radars and satellites
that often masquerade as broadcasts from alien beings.
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- What's more, a backup telescope in England was hearing
the same beacon -- a clear sign the signal was not salsa music from a San
Juan radio station bouncing back off the atmosphere.
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- Tarter, the real-life inspiration for the character played
by actress Jodie Foster in the movie "Contact," took immediate
notice and a long drink from an oversized coffee mug.
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- Snapping to attention in her wheeled office chair, she
rolled over to a computer and tapped at its keyboard. Then her voice, almost
giddy, rose in pitch.
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- "You may be here for something important,"
she said.
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- As the 21st century approaches, pioneering researchers
are uncovering signs that suggest primitive life may be abundant in the
universe. But Tarter and her colleagues are after much bigger game: proof
that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the cosmos.
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- Tarter, 55, is chief scientist with the SETI Institute
of Mountain View, Calif., a nonprofit, privately financed group that carries
out a Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence.
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- Scientific vagabonds, the institute's two dozen astronomers
and computer engineers have no permanent home base other than some suburban
office suites near San Francisco. Their meager budget goes to buying telescope
time at Arecibo Observatory.
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- Located high atop a mountain, the heart of the observatory
is a massive aluminum dish that covers 20 acres. Radio signals bounce off
the dish and into a 900-ton instrument carrier suspended by steel cables
above it.
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- The equipment works like a giant ear, enabling SETI scientists
to listen for radio signals from faraway stars. The premise is that those
stars could harbor the planetary homes of intelligent civilizations.
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- The signal that got Tarter's attention came from a star
106 trillion miles away from the Arecibo control room, a bland computer
lab with off-white walls and worn linoleum floors.
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- All the "listening" is done by computers that
scan 28 million radio channels in search of unmistakable, repetitive artificial
signals from other solar systems.
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- The problem is distinguishing what could be an alien
call from the growing cacophony of terrestrial noise. An increasing gaggle
of satellites above Earth swamp the airwaves with signals for cell phone
conversations and TV programs. Radio stations broadcast constantly, and
military and civilian radars scan the skies for enemy intruders and commercial
airliners.
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- Here's how it's done: Should a promising signal pop up,
SETI computers first compare the beacon to a catalog of known local noise.
Any signal that matches is discarded automatically. But if the beacon is
unfamiliar, a second radio telescope at Jodrell Bank near Manchester, England,
swings into action.
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- If Manchester radio telescope doesn't detect the suspect
signal, then the beacon isn't coming from a distant star: It's local Puerto
Rican noise that hasn't been catalogued.
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- But if the signal is strong enough to be picked up thousands
of miles away in England, too, then the beacon is put to another test.
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- An alien signal truly coming from a distant star would
arrive in the United Kingdom at a slightly different frequency than it
would in Puerto Rico. It also would drift just a bit on the radio dial.
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- That's because Earth is rotating, and the telescopes
in Puerto Rico and England are widely separated.
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- Those subtle differences are predictable enough to be
calculated with great precision, providing a mathematical way to make certain
that Earthly jabber isn't mistaken for a message from afar.
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- The suspicious beacon that startled Tarter passed the
first two alien signal tests. On cue, the huge Arecibo telescope automatically
began to swing a few degrees, pointing not at HD119850 but at blank sky,
in yet another test.
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- A true signal from ET would disappear, a result of the
telescope being aimed away from the target star. But if it persisted, then
it couldn't be coming from the far-off star because the telescope no longer
was pointed at it. It would have to be local interference.
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- This time, it vanished.
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- And when the British telescope nodded away from the target,
the beacon disappeared there, too. Maybe, just maybe, Tarter was on to
a most astounding discovery.
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- But as the telescope ground its gears, the pragmatic
Tarter immediately started to discount the possibility of making contact.
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- After all, the star is only one of 1,000 being scrutinized
by SETI scientists. And in a universe of 50 billion galaxies, each made
up of a half-trillion stars, the chances of striking ET gold are radically
remote.
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- NEWSPAPER ARTICLE ENDS HERE ON-LINE CONTINUES
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- In fact, the prospects for success are so slim that people
often wonder why serious astronomers would devote entire careers to such
a pursuit.
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- "Some people would say it's nutty to toil your whole
life and never see the results, and that's a distinct possibility here,"
admitted SETI scientist Seth Shostak, 56. But "think of the enormous
payoff. I mean, this is the purest longshot horse in science today. But
if we succeed, it's really big. So you accept the low odds."
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- Tarter, too, knows the needle-in-the-haystack nature
of the search, and as the Arecibo telescope locked back on to HD119850,
she stared intensely at the 19-inch computer screen before her.
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- But SETI computers decided the signal had not been the
real thing. That was it. The show was over.
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- Outside, the grinding of telescope gears meant the computers
were moving on to the next star on a preprogrammed target list.
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- Tarter slumped back in her chair, a bit deflated.
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- What initially had been a strong signal, she said, had
faded. If aliens were phoning, the volume on the telephone here on Earth
wasn't high enough to hear the second ring.
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- "Maybe that was E.T. shouting once and never again,"
she said.
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- © copyright 1999 Gannett News Service
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- November 29, 1999
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- Go Back
-
- Copyright ©1997-1999 IN Jersey. Use of this site
signifies your agreement to the Terms of Service (updated 2/25/98). Site
design by IN Jersey.
-
- --
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- The SETI Institute's sent this message to correct the
information.
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- Subj: NEW INTELLIGENT SIGNALS FROM SPACE Date: 12/5/99
8:23:33 PM Eastern Standard Time From: kevin@seti.org (Kevin Dalley) Reply-to:
kevin@seti.org (Kevin Dalley) To: Majorstar@aol.com
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- Unfortunately, you have incorrect information on your
web site (http://ufoinfo.com/filer/1999/ff_9948.html) about the discovery
of an extraterrestrial signal.
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- The SETI Institute did not find an intelligent signal.
We did look at HD119850 during this observing run. Other than that, many
parts of this report are accurate.
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- The SETI Institute did observe HD119850 from Arecibo,
on March 20, 21, 22, 23, 26, and April 4. There were a 4 times where we
looked for a signal away from the target star, followed by an on target
observation. The signals were not confirmed in the on target followups.
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- At Arecibo and Jodrell Bank, there is a significant amount
of interference and it is common to have off source and on source confirmations.
While a real signal would go through the same process, these off source
and on source confirmations are not really unusual enough to be considered
exciting.
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- We also observed HD119850 from Green Bank's 140 foot
antenna, with Woodbury as a backup. These observations were made during
June, 1997, and January and March, 1998. Nothing was observed during these
observations either.
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- Jill Tarter's title is actually Director, SETI Research.
I believe that her age is incorrect as well.
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- HD119805 is an M class star, so the fake article is correct
that it is a small star.
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- Note that the purported news story does not state the
report as fact, but claims that Gannett News Service reported the signal.
I have been unable to locate an initial report from Gannett. I doubt that
there is such a report.
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- By the way, if the SETI Institute had discovered a signal,
our bottle of champagne would be consumed. The unopened bottle is further
evidence that the report of the signal is a hoax.
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- When we find a signal, it will be announced as soon as
we have confirmed it. Judging from past experience with false alarms, the
press will probably know about the signal within 24 hours of our discovery,
whether or not we have confirmed the signal. Secrecy is impossible in this
business.
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- Kevin Dalley SETI Institute kevin@seti.org
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- --
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- I guess you can't believe everything you read. I apologize
if there was any inconvenience caused by my article. Next time I'm checking
with SETI before I run this type of article. Thanks Kevin Dalley at the
SETI Institute for correcting my article.
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- Regards,
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- George Filer
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