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Explore the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) and their plans for the future. Learn about SETI's funding, what they look for, how you can help with SETI@Home, and the possibilities of finding intelligent life in our universe.
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Goal: To understand intelligent life in our universe. Objectives: To examine The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) To learn about what SETI plans on doing in the future
Intelligent life • There is an agency that is searching for intelligent life: • SETI (Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence).
How much $$ does SETI get from the US government each year? • A) about $100 billion • B) about $10 billion • C) about $1 billion • D) about $100 million • E) < $10 million
SETI funding • Government contribution: • $0 • Nil • Notta • Private/Corporate donations • The Rest
Funds Used: • To buy more radio telescopes • To buy telescope time • To hire astronomers and astrobiologists • Some outreach (student research) • Contributions to projects such as the Kepler mission
What does SETI look for? • SETI scours the radio section of the electromagnetic spectrum. • SETI tries to find signals that could not occur naturally. • Some examples include beamed transmission, repeated patterns, very narrow band emission, or anything else that can only be created intentionally by an alien civilization.
Optical SETI • Looking for laser beams. • Only work if they are targeting us • Why do we think that might be, well we have targeted others
You can help • SETI@Home allows you to use your computer during down time to help SETI process their data
Weekly talks • They eventually post online (seti.org)
Suppose we find life, then what? • If it is unintelligent life – we can do NOTHING! • Lets suppose we sent a craft to the alpha Centauri system at a speed of 0.1 c. • It would take 43 years to get there… • The large distances make interplanetary travel unlikely for a long time – and even then very impractical.
How far away will life be? • Do figure this one out we will use what is called the Drake Equation. • The Drake Equation is just a giant unit conversion basically… • There are a few forms to it. • We will be examining an offshoot here…
How many stars are in the Milky Way galaxy? • A) 4 billion • B) 40 billion • C) 400 billion • D) 4 trillion
What fraction of those are like our sun? • A) 100% • B) 10% • C) 1% • D) 0.1% • E) 0.01%
What fraction of those have planets? • A) 100% • B) 10% • C) 1% • D) 0.1% • E) 0.01%
# of planets in habitable zone • For our solar system that number is 3
What fraction of those have actually develop life? • A) 100% • B) 10% • C) 1% • D) 0.1% • E) 0.01%
What fraction of those have develop intelligent life? • A) 100% • B) 10% • C) 1% • D) 0.1% • E) 0.01%
What fraction of those develop and utilize (intentionally or unintentionally)? • A) 100% • B) 10% • C) 1% • D) 0.1% • E) 0.01%
Fraction of planet time they communicate • How long do they communicate before • A) they go extinct, or reverse tech • B) they decide to not transmit anymore • C) advance tech so that we can no longer get/understand their transmissions Fraction is that time / 5 billion
So, we have a number of expected civilizations! • But how far are they from us? • Lets take the volume of the galaxy ~16 trillion cubic light years and divide by the number of civilizations • Now we take the cube root of that for the average distance. • Now, if we travel at 10% the speed of light when do we get there?
Conclusion • We have explored the SETI group which is currently searching for life in our universe • We have seen where SETI is going