The SETI Observer

Dear SETI Enthusiast,

Nothing makes me happier than sharing good news with friends. Thanks to the generosity and vision of philanthropist and investor Paul G. Allen, the SETI Institute and its partner, the University of California, Berkeley, are ready to begin construction of the Allen Telescope Array (ATA) at the Hat Creek Observatory in Northern California. I don't need to elaborate upon this milestone, because you'll find the detailed story in the links that follow, but please know that this is an enormously important moment in the history of our organization and for the science of astronomy.

The SETI Institute is well known for conducting trail-blazing research in the field of astrobiology. In addition to the now accelerating work on the ATA for our SETI research, our scientists are, for example, developing sophisticated algorithms used in transit searches for earth-like planets, puzzling out the co-evolution of life and its environment on the early Earth, and analyzing the communication systems of non-human species to learn more about how intelligence and complexity evolved.

As I look ahead to the completion of the first 32-dish configuration of the ATA, I am keenly aware that this revolutionary new instrument has the potential to answer profound scientific questions. The work of SETI Institute astronomers, who will conduct their observations concurrently with their peers at the UCB Radio Astronomy Lab, is an integral part of the sweeping and complex exploration to understand the nature and prevalence of life in the universe. That research is being rigorously pursued by our astrobiologists, and others elsewhere.

We live in exciting times. I invite you now to share some of that excitement with me as you explore the links of the SETI Observer.

Thomas Pierson
CEO, SETI Institute

SETI Institute astronomer Dr. Peter Backus takes a look back at Project Phoenix, offering to readers, statistics, nostalgia, and a look ahead to the bright future with the Allen Telescope Array. Read the article

Perhaps nothing conveys the sense of what it was like to live and work at the observatory in Arecibo, Puerto Rico, than the sounds of the lush jungle surrounding the world's largest telescope dish. While our astronomers in the control room listened for whispers from the cosmos, outdoors, the sounds of countless living creatures filled the air. Thanks to TeamSETI member William Phelps for sharing this memory.

If you've missed an edition, or want to revisit previous issues, you can browse our archives at http://www.seti.org/publications/newsletters/observer/

The Allen Telescope Array

1. will be located in Chile.
2. is a joint project of the SETI Institute and the University of California, Santa Cruz.
3. begin construction of a 206-dish iteration of the full-up array this summer.
4. will begin conducting scientific research at a 32-dish configuration.

In last month's Challenge, we asked you to choose the phrase that best completed this sentence:

Project Phoenix

1. is the world's largest SETI experiment and uses home computers to process SETI data.
2. will be followed by a SETI search on the Allen Telescope Array, which currently has the largest collecting area of any radio telescope.
3. will conclude in March, 2004 after examining about 800 nearby stars over nearly a decade.
4. is a joint project of the SETI Institute and the University of California, Berkeley.

The correct answer was C.