UK SETI

[breddell]

http://spaceref.com/nasa-hack-space/seti/uk-sets-up-network-for-search-for-extra-terrestrial-intelligence.html


Where is the giggle factor here? Seriously, glad to see some effort by mainstream scientists, although there could be better ways to go about this.

 

[kanakaris]

dead link

 

[breddell]

Sorry, try this one.

UK Sets up Network for Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence - SpaceRef

 

[Blabyboy]

I'm part heartened by this and part surprised.

Good to see that some eminent names in UK science are getting behind it, but surprised they're using this method. My initial thought was to suspect that they're doing this to help keep the scopes in the public eye and maintain funding knowing that there is next to no hope of finding anything the way they propose - they just want to keep the scopes to be able to do the useful stuff and a bit of alien hunting for PR.

Guess we'll have to wait and see...

Just reading that report, it seems as if Dr Forgan should have a nice chat with a Mr R Hoagland. He knows all about Iapetus being a hollow spaceship placed in orbit around Jupiter which is the same proprosal as Forgan's.


bb

 

[PCarr]

I'm part heartened by this and part surprised.



Just reading that report, it seems as if Dr Forgan should have a nice chat with a Mr R Hoagland. He knows all about Iapetus being a hollow spaceship placed in orbit around Jupiter which is the same proprosal as Forgan's.


bb

I hope that's a joke. Forgan is a real scientist and Hoagland is a lunatic and a charlatan.

 

[PCarr]

I recently interviewed Dr. Alan Penny of the UK SETI Research Network. Apparently, the funding situation in Europe is even worse than it is in the USA, but they're doing the best that they can.

 

[Blabyboy]

I hope that's a joke. Forgan is a real scientist and Hoagland is a lunatic and a charlatan.

Nope. From that article:

--snip--
"I looked at one type of megastructure, which is essentially a very large mirror. The mirror reflects the star's own radiation and produces thrust, much like a sail produces thrust from wind. This thrust could be used to move a civilization's host star from its "natural" orbit if it posed some harm to the civilization, for example a dangerous close approach to another star or dust cloud," said Forgan.

Forgan's study showed that a giant mirror of this type would leave a characteristic trace in exoplanet transit data, which could be detectable with the next generation of telescopes.

"While the odds of seeing megastructures are probably very low, we will soon have a huge archive of exoplanet data to search for these objects - at no extra cost to SETI scientists. We may detect the presence, or remains, of an alien civilization that felt the need to move their star!" said Forgan.

--snip--

I understand the concept of a solar sail.... and this chap is proposing that a massive mirror has been built to start to drag a Star out of its natural orbit to save the civilisation concerned. There is such fail logic in that idea... do you not see it?

For instance, how does the civilisation connect the mirror to the Star so that the solar wind effect can be effected on the Star and therefore 'pull' it from orbit? How do they overcome the gravitational pull of a Star if they can somehow get down to the surface? If they have overcome that, it is more highly likely that they would be capable of (inter)stellar travel and diaspora would be sent out to colonise another suitable planetary body.

Several years ago, Russia proposed building reflecting mirrors in space to provide more daylight (Znamya (satellite) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia and you can read the outcome, but that was for a relatively simple and small mirror.

Why not just go for a tether?... cheaper, quicker and can have a more immediate effect, plus it's easier to extend(bulk out) and repair in case of breakage.

Yes, I'm guessing that the chap is proposing something a little outlandish in order to generate publicity, but if you start hanging on this idea then as a basic scientific theory you MUST consider Hoagland's idea as having the same gravitas and merit.

Planet based starship/massive mirror solar-sail, not convinced.

Dr Austin Gerig's work on the other hand looks very interesting, not just for the possibility of alien life, but for us as a species.

 

[PCarr]

Nope. From that article:



I understand the concept of a solar sail.... and this chap is proposing that a massive mirror has been built to start to drag a Star out of its natural orbit to save the civilisation concerned. There is such fail logic in that idea... do you not see it?

For instance, how does the civilisation connect the mirror to the Star so that the solar wind effect can be effected on the Star and therefore 'pull' it from orbit? How do they overcome the gravitational pull of a Star if they can somehow get down to the surface? If they have overcome that, it is more highly likely that they would be capable of (inter)stellar travel and diaspora would be sent out to colonise another suitable planetary body.

Several years ago, Russia proposed building reflecting mirrors in space to provide more daylight (Znamya (satellite) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia and you can read the outcome, but that was for a relatively simple and small mirror.

Why not just go for a tether?... cheaper, quicker and can have a more immediate effect, plus it's easier to extend(bulk out) and repair in case of breakage.

Yes, I'm guessing that the chap is proposing something a little outlandish in order to generate publicity, but if you start hanging on this idea then as a basic scientific theory you MUST consider Hoagland's idea as having the same gravitas and merit.

Planet based starship/massive mirror solar-sail, not convinced.

Dr Austin Gerig's work on the other hand looks very interesting, not just for the possibility of alien life, but for us as a species.

It's not a logic fail, but valid physics. No one on Earth knows how to build such a mirror, but it works in principle. There is no need to "attach" it to the star.

Hoagland has negative gravitas and is justly derided.