Want to Help Find Aliens? Now, You Can
02-13-2010, 03:52 AM
hink of it as crowd sourcing for aliens. The SETI Institute, an organization dedicated to finding life outside planet Earth, is inviting the world to help in its quest.
Now that seti-Quest is up and running, coders, tech junkies and mere observers of the night sky can share data from across the world on potential signs of alien life.The project, SETI said, "is an effort to tap into the global brain trust, harness the power of citizen scientists and educate the next generation of Earthlings to improve current searches for extraterrestrial intelligence and better understand our place in the cosmos."
The new Web site was announced at the TED Conference, an annual meeting of some of the nation's most innovative -- and nerdy -- minds. Last year, SETI Director Jill Tarter took home TED's top prize and made a wish: that TED would help "empower Earthlings everywhere to become active participants in the ultimate search for cosmic company."
Now that Tarter's wish has been fulfilled, the search for extraterrestrial life is about to get a whole lot more interesting.
In a talk at the TED Conference last year, Tarter, a NASA-trained astronomer who holds a doctorate in astrophysics from the University of California, Berkeley, explained the logic behind her life's work. "SETI doesn't presume the existence of extraterrestrial intelligence. It merely notes the possibility, if not the probability, in this vast universe," she said.
No UFO sightings have been reported on the site so far, but already it looks as if Tarter might be on to something. On Twitter, for example, excitement around the project is building. "I just offered to help SETI find aliens(!)" one man tweeted.
At the TED Conference, Tarter had a question for skeptics. "Is it really just us?" she asked. "Are we alone in this vast universe of energy and matter and chemistry and physics? Well, if we are, it's an awful waste of space. But what if we're not?"
Now that seti-Quest is up and running, coders, tech junkies and mere observers of the night sky can share data from across the world on potential signs of alien life.The project, SETI said, "is an effort to tap into the global brain trust, harness the power of citizen scientists and educate the next generation of Earthlings to improve current searches for extraterrestrial intelligence and better understand our place in the cosmos."
The new Web site was announced at the TED Conference, an annual meeting of some of the nation's most innovative -- and nerdy -- minds. Last year, SETI Director Jill Tarter took home TED's top prize and made a wish: that TED would help "empower Earthlings everywhere to become active participants in the ultimate search for cosmic company."
Now that Tarter's wish has been fulfilled, the search for extraterrestrial life is about to get a whole lot more interesting.
In a talk at the TED Conference last year, Tarter, a NASA-trained astronomer who holds a doctorate in astrophysics from the University of California, Berkeley, explained the logic behind her life's work. "SETI doesn't presume the existence of extraterrestrial intelligence. It merely notes the possibility, if not the probability, in this vast universe," she said.
No UFO sightings have been reported on the site so far, but already it looks as if Tarter might be on to something. On Twitter, for example, excitement around the project is building. "I just offered to help SETI find aliens(!)" one man tweeted.
At the TED Conference, Tarter had a question for skeptics. "Is it really just us?" she asked. "Are we alone in this vast universe of energy and matter and chemistry and physics? Well, if we are, it's an awful waste of space. But what if we're not?"
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