{"id":19267,"date":"2016-08-30T19:17:17","date_gmt":"2016-08-30T11:17:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/still-no-aliens-in-the-seti-quest-lessons-learned-from-that-strange-radio-signal\/"},"modified":"2016-08-30T19:17:17","modified_gmt":"2016-08-30T11:17:17","slug":"still-no-aliens-in-the-seti-quest-lessons-learned-from-that-strange-radio-signal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/still-no-aliens-in-the-seti-quest-lessons-learned-from-that-strange-radio-signal\/","title":{"rendered":"Still no aliens in the SETI quest: Lessons learned from that strange radio signal"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_270969\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-270969\" style=\"width: 630px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full-width wp-image-270969\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/160830-green-bank-seti-630x512.jpg\" alt=\"Green Bank Telescope\" width=\"630\" height=\"512\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/160830-green-bank-seti-630x512.jpg 630w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/160830-green-bank-seti.jpg 657w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 630px) 100vw, 630px\"><figcaption data-nosnippet=\"\" id=\"caption-attachment-270969\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Green Bank Telescope in West Virginia is tracking a faraway sunlike star known as HD 164595 for the Breakthrough Listen Initiative. No alien blips have been received so far. (Credit: NRAO)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Fifteen months after an intriguing radio signal was picked up from a sunlike star in the constellation Hercules, follow-up observations over the past couple of days&nbsp;have so far yielded nothing notable.<\/p>\n<p>That shouldn\u2019t be too surprising. It\u2019s the way things have always turned out so far in the 56-year history of the radio search for extraterrestrial intelligence, known as SETI.<\/p>\n<p>Nevertheless, the focus on a star called HD 164595 has served as a teachable moment for those interested in the search.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur follow-up observations of HD 164595 remind us of the importance of developing the organizational infrastructure that will let SETI research groups around the world communicate easily with one another, so interesting signals can get a fast follow-up observation from an independent site,\u201d Doug Vakoch, president of METI International, told GeekWire in an email.<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"Beyond the singularity: The search for extraterrestrial technologies | Andrew Siemion | TEDxBerkeley\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/jJMBwqhD9DE?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\" data-ratio=\"0.5625\" data-width=\"800\" data-height=\"450\" style=\"display: block; margin: 0px; width: 800px; height: 450px;\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Back in May 2015, Russian researchers using the RATAN-600 radio telescope picked up a strong spike at the 11 GHz radio frequency, bearing the signature of a point-like transmission source. They traced the source to the vicinity of HD 164595, 94 light-years away.<\/p>\n<p>It wasn\u2019t until a few weeks ago&nbsp;that word about the detection filtered out to SETI researchers, in preparation for next month\u2019s&nbsp;International Astronautical Congress in Mexico. And it wasn\u2019t until last weekend that the report came into the public eye.<\/p>\n<p>Since then, the SETI Institute has been checking up on HD 164595 using the Allen Telescope Array in California, while the Breakthrough Listen Initiative&nbsp;is employing the Green Bank Telescope in West Virginia. Both groups say they\u2019ve detected no signals worthy of note.<\/p>\n<p><iframe id=\"twitter-widget-0\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" allowtransparency=\"true\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" class=\"\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden; width: 0px; height: 0px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;\" title=\"X Post\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?creatorScreenName=b0yle&amp;dnt=true&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-0&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=770598870766059520&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.geekwire.com%2F2016%2Fstill-no-aliens-lessons-learned-strange-radio-signal-seti-quest%2F&amp;sessionId=eb2216c928d86c30eb2dbe7b25d58eaa506f2e22&amp;siteScreenName=geekwire&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=6a3ad42b224df%3A1778106238597&amp;width=550px\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\" data-twitter-extracted-i1782804219190926097=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">A signal from star HD 164595 95 light years away? #B_Listen @UCBerkeley checked it out: https:\/\/t.co\/SpdK4vG3Jo pic.twitter.com\/1PsKupN1kZ<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Breakthrough (@brkthroughprize) August 30, 2016<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>In a preliminary&nbsp;report, the Breakthrough Listen team says last year\u2019s transient radio flash was so bright that it\u2019s unlikely to have been caused by a natural astrophysical phenomenon. \u201cThe question in our mind is, why aren\u2019t we seeing things like this all over the sky?\u201d team member Steve Croft, an astronomer at the University of California at Berkeley, told GeekWire.<\/p>\n<p>That&nbsp;suggests&nbsp;that the Russian researchers were \u201ceither extremely lucky to detect this source in their observations, or that the transient is due to local interference or other calibration issues,\u201d the team said. Interference could have come from an earthly source (even a microwave oven) or a satellite passing overhead.<\/p>\n<p>The SETI Institute and Breakthrough Listen have added HD 164595 to the list of thousands of stars that they monitor for anomalous signals, including nearby prospects as well as stars known to have potentially habitable planets.<\/p>\n<p>It wouldn\u2019t be surprising if last year\u2019s blast was a one-off occurrence, similar to the \u201cWow Signal\u201d that apparently emanated from somewhere in the constellation Sagittarius in 1977. If that\u2019s what happens to HD 164595, Vakoch advises that we should let it fade away:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>\u201cAssuming we don\u2019t find any evidence of a transmitting civilization as we conduct follow-up observations,&nbsp;the worst outcome would be to turn HD 164595 into another Wow signal \u2013 seen once, never&nbsp;confirmed, but lurking in the imagination as perhaps really a message from another world. Unless we&nbsp;can observe another similar signal from the vicinity of this star, we need to dismiss the May 2015 signal&nbsp;as a spurious result, and not wishfully hope it was really from ET.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>But that doesn\u2019t mean SETI researchers should just go back to square one. Vakoch\u2019s organization, for instance, is trying to set up a network of modest-sized telescopes capable of spotting anomalous flashes of light in optical wavelengths.<\/p>\n<p>One such telescope, the Boquete Optical SETI Observatory, has been primed in Panama to observe HD 164595, but so far the weather hasn\u2019t been cooperating.<\/p>\n<p>SETI groups are also looking into ways to work more closely together on follow-up observations. And by October, Breakthrough Listen&nbsp;expects to bring the Parkes Telescope in Australia online for SETI observations. Croft said that will eventually boost the team\u2019s target list from thousands of stars to a million.<\/p>\n<p><iframe id=\"twitter-widget-1\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" allowtransparency=\"true\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" class=\"\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden; width: 0px; height: 0px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;\" title=\"X Post\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?creatorScreenName=b0yle&amp;dnt=true&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-1&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=770669164776288256&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.geekwire.com%2F2016%2Fstill-no-aliens-lessons-learned-strange-radio-signal-seti-quest%2F&amp;sessionId=eb2216c928d86c30eb2dbe7b25d58eaa506f2e22&amp;siteScreenName=geekwire&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=6a3ad42b224df%3A1778106238597&amp;width=550px\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\" data-twitter-extracted-i1782804219190926097=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Let\u2019s be careful about this \u201cSETI\u201d signal | @AllPlanets&#8217;s Blog https:\/\/t.co\/JIOXDoCDhP pic.twitter.com\/LgLuWnXgfV<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 The SETI Institute (@SETIInstitute) August 30, 2016<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Croft said he and his colleagues are also talking about setting up a rating scale for SETI cases, based on the existing Rio Scale. \u201cWe\u2019re thinking about ways in which we might be able to quantify the significance of claims like this,\u201d he said, referring to the claims made for HD 164595.<\/p>\n<p>Such a scale would serve the same purpose that the Torino and Palermo scales serve for potential asteroid threats. The Torino Scale&nbsp;for asteroid risk assessment goes from 1 to 10, and so far, no case has ever risen above Level 4.<\/p>\n<p>The Rio Scale also goes from 1 to 10, and by my reckoning, HD 164595 rates a 3.<\/p>\n<p>Will anything ever crank the dial up to 11? Probably not \u2013&nbsp;but whether it\u2019s aliens or asteroids, it\u2019s still a good idea to keep watching the skies.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Green Bank Telescope in West Virginia is tracking a faraway sunlike star known as HD 164595 for the Breakthrough Listen Initiative. No alien blips have been received so far. (Credit: NRAO) Fifteen months after an intriguing radio signal was picked up from a sunlike star in the constellation Hercules, follow-up observations over the past [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[5169,5516,2001,3754],"class_list":["post-19267","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-breakthrough-listen","tag-hd-164595","tag-radio-astronomy","tag-seti"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19267"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19267"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19267\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19267"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19267"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19267"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}