Jon,
I agree that the argument can cut both ways. I am sceptical that ETL or ET
exists and would not advocate that we spend much effort on looking for
something (I wonder how we would recognize it if we came across it).
ETI and ETL raise all sorts of interesting theological questions, some of
which have been aired in this forum. But, without evidence of ETI and ETL,
it all seems to me awfully speculative.
Chuck
-----Original Message-----
From: Jonathan Clarke [mailto:jdac@alphalink.com.au]
Sent: Thursday January 18, 2001 2:42 PM
To: vandergraaft@aecl.ca
Cc: asa@calvin.edu
Subject: Re: Is this a signal from aliens?
Hi Chuck
I think we need to be careful of the argument that some people are
supporters of
ETI because of a deep fear that humanity. It cuts both ways. One could
equally
argue that people argue against ETI because of a deep fear that we might not
be
alone.
As to the probability, we don't have the foggiest idea. We are only
beginning
to get an outline of the simplest component of the Drake equation, the
number of
extra-solar planetary systems. There was also an article in Scientific
American
in the last year or so that showed the distances which out to which
particular
types of technological civilizations had been excluded. But that is all.
I have noticed a tendency in some Christian circles to poo-poo the idea of
ET
life in general and ETI in particular. This would be a risky course of
action.
It could create the impression that Christianity and ETL or ETI are
incompatible, thereby creating a problem for ourselves should they ever be
encountered. I think we should avoid creating this rod for our backs, even
if
some of us belief the probability is low.
Respectfully
Jon
"Vandergraaf, Chuck" wrote:
> Moorad,
>
> Considering the low probability of detecting anything remotely intelligent
> from outer space, one wonders why society spends the time and effort on
> this. Could it be that, deep down, some are afraid that mankind is "home
> alone"?
>
> Chuck Vandergraaf
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Moorad Alexanian [mailto:alexanian@uncwil.edu]
> Sent: Thursday January 18, 2001 7:51 AM
> To: asa@calvin.edu
> Subject: Is this a signal from aliens?
>
> Wednesday, 17 January, 2001, 16:51 GMT
>
> http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_1122000/1122413.stm
>
> Still no sense in signal
>
> Is this a signal from aliens?
>
> By BBC News Online science editor Dr David Whitehouse
>
> A detailed look at the point in space from where an intelligent signal
might
> have come has revealed nothing unusual.
>
> The Ohio Big Ear detected the Wow signal
>
> The observations, using the multiple radio dishes of the Very Large Array
> (VLA) in New Mexico, US, add to the mystery of what has been called the
> "Wow" event.
>
> In August 1977, radio astronomers detected what could have been a signal
> from intelligent life in space. But it happened only once.
>
> Now, two researchers, Robert Grey and Kevin Marvel, have used the VLA to
> look at the source location with unprecedented sensitivity. They saw
nothing
> strange or anything that could explain the signal.
>
> Narrow band
>
> The Wow signal as it has become known is often described as our best
> candidate for a signal from an alien intelligence in space.
>
> On 15 August, 1977, a burst of radio waves was detected by the now
> dismantled Big Ear radio telescope of Ohio State University. The person
who
> spotted it, astronomer Jerry Ehman, was so surprised that he scribbled
"Wow"
> on the print-out.
>
> The event had all the properties that astronomers expected in a signal
from
> an alien intelligence. It was confined to a narrow band of frequencies and
> it was very close to the "hydrogen line", a natural signpost in the
> spectrum.
>
> Because the Ohio telescope cannot move, it was only possible to see the
> signal as it passed across the telescope's field of view. From the way the
> signal was detected, astronomers were certain it was coming from a point
on
> the sky.
>
> Mystery remains
>
> It only lasted 72 seconds and although researchers later looked at that
same
> patch of sky over a hundred times, they saw nothing. The signal, if it was
a
> signal, was a one-off event.
>
> The VLA was used for a more sensitive search
>
> Some researchers have said it was man-made interference but others pointed
> to the signal's characteristics and said it definitely came from the sky.
>
> Since 1977, other radio astronomers have looked at that spot on the sky in
> the hope of a repeat performance, but to no avail.
>
> The latest series of observations, described in the current issue of the
> Astrophysical Journal, are more than a 100 times more sensitive than the
> original Ohio observations.
>
> Grey and Marvel see two faint radio sources at the position that Wow came
> from but both are nothing unusual.
>
> So, the mystery of the Wow signal remains.
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