SETI public: Messages to be sent to Gliese 581c on August 4

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Bebo tries to contact Earth-like planet

Jemima Kiss guardian.co.uk

Tuesday July 29 2008

An image of the galaxy comprising red dwarf Gliese 581 and the earth-like
planet Bebo is trying to contact. Photograph: AFP

Bebo and the TV company behind Wife Swap have teamed up with one of the
world’s experts in interstellar radio communication, Dr Alexander Zaitsev,
to beam 500 messages from users into space in a digital time capsule.

Dr Zaitsev will use a Ukrainian radio telescope, normally used to identify
and track asteroids that pose a threat to Earth, to beam the messages to a
planet orbiting the star Gliese 581c - 20 light years from Earth - because
it is believed to be capable of supporting life.

The Message From Earth project, which launches on August 4, will invite Bebo
users, celebrities and politicians to submit messages and pictures that
“consider the planet from a fresh perspective” and raise awareness of
environmental pressures on our planet.

Whether there is intelligent life elsewhere in the universe remains “one of
the greatest unanswered questions”, said Dr Zaitsev.

But he added that it would be exciting to see how young people chose to
represent humanity and the planet.

“I understand that in the majority of cases these messages may be naïve, but
I also hope that we will receive a creative and fresh look at the subject,”
Dr Zaitsev said.

Full article here:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/jul/29/bebo.digitalmedia

• Previous message: Ronald C. Blue: "SETI public: Big Brains Arose Twice In Higher Primates"

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