I graduated from the University of California at Berkeley 4 years ago with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. I received two job offers, one from SETI to work on high performance signal processing and the other from industry.
One does not simply walk away from SETI, so I had the pleasure of joining the Berkeley SETI Research Center (BSRC) team this past June. I received a warm welcome and was promptly sent to West Virginia to help install a new SETI system at the Green Bank Telescope.
There was a steep learning curve, but I was fascinated by BSRC’s work and couldn’t wait to actually understand what was going on.
As it turns out, our group is looking to expand its computing power, providing the ability to look at more star systems with habitable planets, expand the involvement of volunteers and acquire larger volumes of data; in short, broaden the search and increase our chances of intercepting a signal. Now I’m working on setting up new servers, network hardware, and signal-processing systems at Green Bank. We’re hoping to get data flowing and recording soon, and make it available for the interested public.
From the 19th-century idea of drawing a giant Pythagorean triangle in the Siberian tundra to signal extraterrestrials, to our current collection of servers storing and analyzing data, it is not hard to see how much progress has already been made.
Funding from the Breakthrough Initiatives is spawning new projects that would not have been otherwise possible. SETI@home is planning to work with Breakthrough Listen to collect and distribute data from the Green Bank and Parkes telescopes. However, in order to sustain the whole SETI@home effort we could still use support from our devoted SETI@home contributors.
Recently, I spent a day at the Bay Area Science Festival talking to kids and their adults. I was fascinated by just how stoked kids are about SETI. Some came with prepared questions and showed incredible curiosity and intelligence. The BSRC team is hoping to inspire kids to pursue science careers and I think searching for life beyond Earth is a great way to get them interested and involved. I hope you continue your support for this fascinating endeavor, and keep your eyes on the stars. For the Berkeley SETI Research Center team, Zuhra Abdurashidova.
Supplemental- via nemesis maturity YouTube channel
Wow Signal – Scientists say that if the signal came from extraterrestrials, they are likely to be an extremely advanced civilization, as the signal would have required a 2.2-gigawatt transmitter, vastly more powerful than any on Earth.
The signal bore the expected hallmarks of non-terrestrial and non-Solar System origin.
One summer night in 1977, Jerry Ehman, a volunteer for SETI, or the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence, may have become the first man ever to receive an intentional message from an alien world. Ehman was scanning radio waves from deep space, hoping to randomly come across a signal that bore the hallmarks of one that might be sent by intelligent aliens, when he saw his measurements spike.
The signal lasted for 72 seconds, the longest period of time it could possibly be measured by the array that Ehman was using. It was loud and appeared to have been transmitted from a place no human has gone before: in the constellation Sagittarius near a star called Tau Sagittarii, 122 light-years away.
All attempts to locate the signal again have failed, leading to much controversy and mystery about its origins and its meaning.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wow!_signal
