Stephen Hawking to Unveil New Space Exploration Project Tuesday

There's a new scientific endeavour in town and it's called Project Starshot. There isn't much known about it right now and there won't be much known until there is a press conference held about it; a press conference which will be held on Tuesday at 12 p.m. during an event at One World Observatory in New York. There's excitement about this mysterious project because some high-profile names are attached to it; namely billionaire investor- Yuri Milner, and Stephen Hawking.

Stephen Hawking will announce a mysterious new space exploration initiative Tuesday, and there's plenty of reason to think it will be a pretty big deal. There's the famed astrophysicist's involvement, for starters, as well as the project's name — "Starshot." Furthermore, Hawking will make the announcement with billionaire entrepreneur and investor Yuri Milner, who is also bankrolling a 10-year, $100 million search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) initiative called Breakthrough Listen.

Sounds pretty exciting. I wonder if it has anything to do with the new Square Kilometer Array-the most powerful telescope ever built which is being constructed in S. Africa and Australia.....? What says ATS?

www.space.com...

Sounds like a giant waste of 100 million dollars. Sounds like something else i would usually get all amped up over, only to be let down again. if your gonna spend that kinda money, explore this planet first. i bet theres a better chance of us speaking to another species of intelligent life on this planet. search the oceans, search the inside... then search the moon. i wish i had 100 million to blow looking for ET.

originally posted by: nobunaga
Sounds like a giant waste of 100 million dollars. Sounds like something else i would usually get all amped up over, only to be let down again. if your gonna spend that kinda money, explore this planet first. i bet theres a better chance of us speaking to another species of intelligent life on this planet. search the oceans, search the inside... then search the moon. i wish i had 100 million to blow looking for ET.

No , we would have to make contact elsewhere in the Universe. There is no intelligent life here.

I love when people do these things! Go space program!

Sincere regards, Mannegishi

a reply to: Gothmog

And that's precisely why birds, dolphins and mices constantly mock us poor humans!


Time for a drink. Starshots anyone?

Hawking will make the announcement with billionaire entrepreneur and investor Yuri Milner, who is also bankrolling a 10-year, $100 million search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) initiative called Breakthrough Listen.

Geeez. All that money couldn't buy a slightly more pathetic name?
Whatever. I'm definitely hooked, sounds like an order and who am I not to obey?

a reply to: lostbook

well i,ll say the james webb telescope due to launch in 2 years is going to be most powerfull telescope we are going to have for a long time so i wouldn,t get too excited.

been in planning since 1996 and will launch in 2018,as far as i know another one hasn,t even been thought about so i would doubt anything more powerfull will be launched for another 20 odd years or even longer.

a reply to: lostbook

I sincerely hope I'm wrong but this reminds me of the COUNTLESS other times an "announcement" was going to be made by the ________ agency that was going to rock my world.... only to find out it is much ado about nothing.


Again, I hope I'm wrong but if I were a betting man......

originally posted by: sparky31
a reply to: lostbook

well i,ll say the james webb telescope due to launch in 2 years is going to be most powerfull telescope we are going to have for a long time so i wouldn,t get too excited.

been in planning since 1996 and will launch in 2018,as far as i know another one hasn,t even been thought about so i would doubt anything more powerfull will be launched for another 20 odd years or even longer.

There's the Square Kilometer Array as I mentioned in the op. It will be so powerful that they say it will be able to pick up a radio signal from an airport tens of light years away. Now that's powerful.

I think phase 1 is supposed to be complete around 2020 and phase 2 around 2029.

About the seti thing...
I don't like the idea of listening for signals from distant stars. When I think about the age of the universe I think if there is other life it's either way less evolved or way beyond us. If we were to get signals from another star wouldn't that mean a mega ancient civilization would've had to construct an indestructible transmitter with a perpetual energy system and left it broadcasting in all directions for millions to billions of years?

I'd think we have a better chance of being visited than picking up signals from far away.

they'd probably be better off creating an array of receivers all over the world to listen in every way Incase we get visitors sending us signals from orbit.

a reply to: lostbook
yeah radio,to me when i say telescope i,m talking about seeing,not listening,

originally posted by: nobunaga
Sounds like a giant waste of 100 million dollars. Sounds like something else i would usually get all amped up over, only to be let down again. if your gonna spend that kinda money, explore this planet first. i bet theres a better chance of us speaking to another species of intelligent life on this planet. search the oceans, search the inside... then search the moon. i wish i had 100 million to blow looking for ET.

Thinking like that we would still be one celled organism living in pond scum.

a reply to: lostbook

Which Steven Hawking would that be? The one with the big bottom teeth or the one with the short bottom teeth?

originally posted by: nobunaga
Sounds like a giant waste of 100 million dollars. Sounds like something else i would usually get all amped up over, only to be let down again. if your gonna spend that kinda money, explore this planet first. i bet theres a better chance of us speaking to another species of intelligent life on this planet. search the oceans, search the inside... then search the moon. i wish i had 100 million to blow looking for ET.

$100 million spent for research to improve and better mankind, as opposed to several TRILLION dollars spent blowing people up?

I think you've got your priorities mixed up.

a reply to: sparky31

How do you think that telescope compares to the extremely large telescope or TMT?

originally posted by: PublicOpinion
a reply to: Gothmog

And that's precisely why birds, dolphins and mices constantly mock us poor humans!

Time for a drink. Starshots anyone?

Hawking will make the announcement with billionaire entrepreneur and investor Yuri Milner, who is also bankrolling a 10-year, $100 million search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) initiative called Breakthrough Listen.

Geeez. All that money couldn't buy a slightly more pathetic name?
Whatever. I'm definitely hooked, sounds like an order and who am I not to obey?

For some reason I did not get notification of your reply. Star for you. Precisely why the animals make raucous noises every now and then. That is them laughing at our pitiful excuse for intellect.

And why are we listening for extraterrestrial contact ? The proof is in the pudding. The best evidence there truly is alien life in the universe is that they HAVE NOT contacted us yet.
Peace

I'm usually very skeptical of all things that have to do with space and I just realized how big of a deal this actually could be.....if it were to happen. Amazingly interesting stuff right here.

the project's name — "Starshot." Furthermore, Hawking will make the announcement with billionaire entrepreneur and investor Yuri Milner, who is also bankrolling a 10-year, $100 million search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) initiative called Breakthrough Listen.

So more funding for SETI…

Catchy names and all aside, if they haven't found one single broadcast to date, maybe we should wise up. How long does anyone listen to the sound coming from Conch Shells before they realize maybe theres something we're missing?

Either that or this stupidness is cover for they really are in contact but don't tell us squat.

arstechnica.com...

I too have been burned by hype announcements but not this time. This is a real live honest to God mission to send a space probe to the Alpha Centauri system in a human life time. The Nanocraft will travel at 20% the speed of light and is also being contributed to by Mark Zuckerberg. This onextends is the real deal.

Meh............Another disappointment....
radio listening wont cut the mustard....
its been done to death...
Now research into what would work as a common communication venue for type two civilizations...that would be interesting...

originally posted by: bandersnatch
Meh............Another disappointment....
radio listening wont cut the mustard....
its been done to death...
Now research into what would work as a common communication venue for type two civilizations...that would be interesting...

You're disappointed about interstellar space probes? What, exactly, would have excited you?