List of interstellar radio messages

This is a list of interstellar radio messages (IRMs) transmitted from Earth.

Classification of interstellar radio messages[edit]

There are twelve realized IRM projects:

The 1986 Poetica Vaginal signal, briefly transmitted from the MIT Millstone Radar, was an techno-art project created by Joe Davis who was concerned about government censorship of messages such as the removal of genatilia on the voyager probe record. His response was to utilize a sensitive instrument to record the contractions of a woman's vaginal canal, convert it into analog signal and digitally map the input into a phoenetic audible representation (or voice).[2] The project was able to send out a few "test signals" consisting of this data to the intended targets; however, the US Air Force shutdown the project before it sent out the bulk of the message.[2]

"Across the Universe", "Hello From Earth" and "A Simple Response to an Elemental Message" are not always considered serious. The first two of them were sent to Polaris, which is 431 light years distant from us and whose planetary system, even if it exists, may not be suited for life, because it is a supergiant star, spectral type F7Ib which is only 70 million years old.[7] In addition, both transmission rates were very high, about 128 kbit/s, for such moderate transmitter power (about 18 kW). The main defect of the "Hello From Earth" is an insufficient scientific and technical justification, since no famous SETI scientist made statements with validation of HFE's design. As it follows from [1]: "After the final message was collected on Monday 24 August 2009, messages were exported as a text file and sent to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, where they were encoded into binary, packaged and tested before transmission", but nobody explained why he hopes that such encoded and packaged text will be understood and conceived by possible extraterrestrials.

Some use the term Active SETI Project, but Alexander Zaitsev, who was a scientific head of composing and transmissions of Cosmic Call 1999 & 2003, and Teen Age Message 2001, and a scientific consultant of A Message From Earth, emphasized that he considers above IRMs as the METI (Messaging to Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence Projects).

These seven messages have targeted stars between 20 and 69 light-years from the Earth. The exception is the Arecibo message, which targeted globular cluster M13, approximately 24,000 light-years away. The first message to reach its destination will be A Message From Earth, which should reach the Gliese 581 planetary system in Libra in 2029.

On 13 February 2015, scientists (including Geoffrey Marcy, Seth Shostak, Frank Drake, David Grinspoon and David Brin) at a convention of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, discussed Active SETI and whether transmitting a message to possible intelligent extraterrestrials in the Cosmos was a good idea;[8][9] one result was a statement, (which was not signed by Seth Shostak or Frank Drake), that a "worldwide scientific, political and humanitarian discussion must occur before any message is sent".[10]

Current transmissions en route[edit]

Stars to which messages were sent include:

Star Designation Constellation Distance (ly) Sent Arrival Expected Reply Message
Messier 13 NGC 6205 Hercules 25,000 1974-11-16 25,974-11-16 approx. 52,274-11-16 approx. Arecibo message
Epsilon Eridani HD 22049 Eridanus 10.5 1986 1997 approx. 2008 approx. Poetica Vaginal
Tau Ceti HD 10700 Cetus 11.9 1986 1998 approx. 2010 approx.
16 Cyg A HD 186408 Cygnus 69 1999-05-24 2068-11 2138-05 Cosmic Call 1
15 Sge HD 190406 Sagitta 57 1999-06-30 2056-02 2113-08
? HD 178428 Sagitta 67 1999-06-30 2066-10 2135-06
Gl 777 HD 190360 Cygnus 52 1999-07-01 2051-04 2102-07
? HD 197076 Delphinus 68 2001-08-29 2069-02 2137-08 Teen Age Message
47 UMa HD 95128 Ursa Major 46 2001-09-03 2047-07 2093-11
37 Gem HD 50692 Gemini 56 2001-09-03 2057-12 2114-05
? HD 126053 Virgo 57 2001-09-03 2058-01 2115-05
? HD 76151 Hydra 51 2001-09-04 2052-05 2104-10
? HD 193664 Draco 57 2001-09-04 2058-01 2115-05
? HIP 4872 Cassiopeia 33 2003-07-06 2036-04 2068-10 Cosmic Call 2
? HD 245409 Orion 37 2003-07-06 2040-08 2078-10
55 Cnc HD 75732 Cancer 41 2003-07-06 2044-05 2084-07
? HD 10307 Andromeda 41 2003-07-06 2044-09 2085-01
47 UMa HD 95128 Ursa Major 46 2003-07-06 2049-05 2094-03
Polaris HIP 11767 Ursa Minor 433 2008-02-04 2439 4870 Across the Universe
Gliese 581 HIP 74995 Libra 20.3 2008-10-09 2029 2050 A Message From Earth
Gliese 581 HIP 74995 Libra 20.3 2009-08-28 2030 2051 Hello From Earth
Polaris HIP 11767 Ursa Minor 433 2016-10-10 2450 4884 A Simple Response to an Elemental Message
Luyten's Star HIP 36208 Canis Minor 12.36 2017-10-16; 2018-05-14 2030-03 2042-11 Sónar Calling GJ273b

Along with serious IRM projects, a number of pseudo-METI[11] projects also exist:

  • Poetica Vaginal (1986)[12]
  • Discovery Channel Message (2005)[citation needed]
  • Craigslist Messages (2005),[13] (2005)[14]
  • CNES Cosmic Connexion (2006)[15]
  • Doritos Advert (2008)[16]
  • RuBisCo Message (2009)[17]
  • Sent Forever,[18]
  • Penguin UK[19]

References[edit]

  1. ^ An Awkward History of Our Space Transmissions
  2. ^ a b c "BIOMEDIALE". 2009-02-13. Archived from the original on 2009-02-13. Retrieved 2024-03-09.
  3. ^ Reply To 'WOW! Signal' Gets Beamed Into Space
  4. ^ "A Simple Response". European Space Agency official website. 28 July 2016. Retrieved 6 October 2016.
  5. ^ "How to send a message to another planet". The Economist. 16 November 2017. Retrieved 19 November 2017.
  6. ^ "Sónar Calling GJ 273b". Sónar Calling. Sónar Music Festival. Retrieved 1 May 2021.
  7. ^ Wielen, R.; Jahreiß, H.; Dettbarn, C.; Lenhardt, H.; Schwan, H. (2000). "Polaris: Astrometric orbit, position, and proper motion". Astronomy and Astrophysics. 360: 399. arXiv:astro-ph/0002406. Bibcode:2000A&A...360..399W.
  8. ^ Borenstein, Seth (of AP News) (13 February 2015). "Should We Call the Cosmos Seeking ET? Or Is That Risky?". New York Times. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
  9. ^ Ghosh, Pallab (12 February 2015). "Scientist: 'Try to contact aliens'". BBC News. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
  10. ^ Various (13 February 2015). "Statement - Regarding Messaging To Extraterrestrial Intelligence (METI) / Active Searches For Extraterrestrial Intelligence (Active SETI)". University of California, Berkeley. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
  11. ^ Cooper, Keith (2010-05-03), SETI: Cosmic Call, Astronomy Now, archived from the original on 2015-05-26, retrieved 2010-05-05
  12. ^ Gibbs, W. Wayt (2001), "Art as a Form of Life", Scientific American, 284 (4): 40–41, Bibcode:2001SciAm.284d..40G, doi:10.1038/scientificamerican0401-40
  13. ^ Deep Space Network Frequently Asked Questions, Deep Space Communications Network, archived from the original on 2010-01-04
  14. ^ List in Space: Calling the Cosmos Gets Commercial, Space_com, 23 March 2005
  15. ^ Connecting with the Cosmos, CNES, 2006-01-26, archived from the original on 2010-05-13
  16. ^ Doritos Makes History With World's First ET Advert, Spacedaily.com, 2008-06-13
  17. ^ Chandler, David L. (2009-11-24), ET: Check your voicemail, MIT News
  18. ^ Harris, Mark (2009-09-16), Is Sent Forever the worst Apollo 11 tie-in?, TechRadar, archived from the original on 2010-03-02
  19. ^ Colvile, Robert (2010-02-09), Calling ET: Your chance to send a message to alien life, The Daily Telegraph, archived from the original on 2010-02-11

External links[edit]

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