Couldn't be worse than what's on now could it?

And it really isn't the dumbest idea I've heard.

Be great if we found out the aliens favorite thing to watch was us.

Tonight On Big Brother Earth...will the humans kill each other?

Tune in tonight right after Pleadian Idol.

Spiderj

The project will be able to detect Earth-like radio signals within a distance of 30 light years, which encompasses about 1,000 stars.

So they'll be looking for Earth like signals, who says ET's use signals like Earths???

I think the most they'll find is Earth like signals from Earth...
Big Waste of money considering they've been seaching for signals for years and found nothing...

[edit on 12-1-2007 by chris01621]

You guys miss the point completely. You apply for a government grant, say 10 million dollars or so, or to put it in perspective, about what David Beckham will be making over a long weekend.

Then, hire some hot secretaries, fire up the blender for some frozen daquiris and start researchin'.

After 6 or 7 years of looking for alien tv signals (ohh DAMN that's too funny) apply for an extension on the grant. And then...POPOZAO - set for life.

You know that we will contact aliens 7 times before the world ends

I think many underestimate the difficulty of searching for signals from ET, and assume that since we haven't found any, they don't exist.

First off, we've only searched (due to capability and manhours) a very small portion of the night sky.

Second, it's a matter of timing. Let's use us for example. We'll probably use radio waves and tv waves for about another 500 years (to be very generous). So, that means we'll be broadcasting these signals for about a total of 600 years, before we go to a different means.

Well, as we all know, it takes a lot of time for such signals to reach us. Let's say that alien civilization A is 10,000 years away (as the signal flies). They used tv and radio for 1000 years, and their last broadcast was 8,000 years ago. That signal is STILL on it's WAY!!!! We won't detect it for another 2000 years, and that's IF we are looking for such crude signals then. That's just one example, but it's like finding a particular needle, in a stack of needles in a field of stacks of needles.

It's a cool idea, and should make for a groovy grant, but statistics are way against anything coming from it.

Gazrok,

Very well put.

I also am concerned that these "SETI" projects are often just a smokescreen or diversion from serious UFOlogical study.

(although I do believe most people involved in SETI projects are usually ignorant well-meaning pawns in this process)

While SETI should be supported - it should just be a branch of a greater UFOlogy undertaking.