Researchers based in 6 continents, 13 countries and 19 research institutes are coordinating a series of observations of several nearby stars – on the listen and lookout mode for signs of extraterrestrial intelligence.
The quest is dubbed Project Dorothy, named after the book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Astronomer Shin-ya Narusawa of Nishi-Harima Astronomical Observatory in Japan launched Project Dorothy – meant to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the search for extraterrestrial intelligence, or SETI for short.
Started on November 5, astronomers in Australia, Japan, and Korea have begun observations for radio and laser signals from civilizations circling select stars, followed over the next day by SETI searches in Italy, the Netherlands, France, Argentina, and the United States.
Additional observations will take place in late November 2010.
According to Gerry Harp, an astrophysicist at the SETI Institute in Mountain View, California:
“This will be the largest multinational SETI campaign ever attempted. Another unique quality is that these observations will be made across the electromagnetic spectrum from radio to optical frequencies, correlating near-simultaneous signals from the same stars. This is a new approach and lights the way for future SETI searches that cover all frequencies and all the sky, all the time.”
Long, painstaking, and comprehensive searches
Project Dorothy is saluting the first SETI experiment, Project Ozma, conducted in April 1960 by astronomer Frank Drake, now at the SETI Institute.
“It is thrilling for me to witness the beginnings of Project Dorothy, the continuation of my search of fifty years ago,” Drake noted in a statement. “To have so many talented people using so many telescopes in this new search, with the electronics and computer equipment of today, is a joyful thing to me.”
Drake said that the equipment of today is far better than what radio astronomers had available decades ago.
“Over the past fifty years our searches have not yet produced the discovery we all hope for. This is understandable – in our vast and awesome universe it will take long, painstaking, and comprehensive searches before we will have a good chance of success,” Drake pointed out.
“This is the major lesson learned from previous searches,” Drake added. “Project Dorothy is a major step in meeting the challenge created by this lesson. Best wishes to the scientists of Project Dorothy for success!”
For its part, the SETI Institute will observe five target stars using the Allen Telescope Array (ATA), located in northern California. The ATA will examine each star for approximately 30 minutes between 1:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time, November 6, 2010.
Want to keep your own ear and eye on what results come from this powerful, international SETI initiative.
Go to the Project Dorothy website at:
http://www.nhao.jp/~narusawa/oseti/project-dorothy.html
By Leonard David