al wrote:

"catshark" <catshark101@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1132092937.672415.30210@g14g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...

Added newsgroup, sci.astro.seti, alt.sci.seti

<snip>

After all, as SETI shows, scientists would love evidence of extraterrestrial
life.

Aha SETI. What are they looking for exactly?

SETI is the Search for ExtraTerrestrial Intelligence.  SETI researchers
are currently looking for electromagnetic signals not produced by known
natural sources.

They are assuming that someone is out there tirelessly sending signals that
will reach us after they are dead and maybe after their civilisation is dead

Yes, some SETI researchers assume civilizations are sending out beacons,
to make their detection easy ... but there is the possibility of leakage
signals being detected, too.

In any event, SETI researchers are *assuming* that intelligent
civilizations *may* produce signals which can be discerned as
non-natural (military radar, for example).

 > and they are using a form of communication that is useless for
interstellar
 > distances.

Are you referring to the speed-of-light limitation on radio, optical,
and gravity waves?

A good start.

Until we can detect faster-than-light communication, we are stuck
with radio, optical, and gravity waves.

I think that the last thing SETI want is to contact ET.

The *first* thing SETI researchers want is to *detect* an
extraterrestrial civilization.  "Contact" will likely be
taken over by politicians once detection occurs.

Maybe you can enlighten me?

If we do not search, we will not find.  Plus, if "ET" is found,
SETI will not stop:  there may be millions of detectable civilizations
in the Milky Way, so SETI will continue after the first "ET" is found.

SETI researchers do not have *faith* that ET civilizations exist, for
if that were the case, why bother searching?  Instead, SETI researchers
*hypothesize* that ET civilizations may exist, and are looking for facts
to back that up.

<snip>

Russ Childers
Ohio Argus Chief Observer
http://argus.naapo.org/