SETI public: FW: ASTRON: LOFAR telescope used in search for extraterrestrial life?

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>From: "AAS Press Officer Dr. Steve Maran" <steve.maran_at_aas.org>
>To: "Steve Maran" <steve.maran_at_aas.org>
>Subject: ASTRON: LOFAR telescope used in search for extraterrestrial life?
>Date: Tue, 10 Jun 2008 08:18:02 -0500
>

THE FOLLOWING RELEASE WAS RECEIVED FROM ASTRON, THE NETHERLANDS
INSTITUTE FOR RADIO ASTRONOMY, IN DWINGELOO AND IS FORWARDED FOR YOUR
INFORMATION. (FORWARDING DOES NOT IMPLY ENDORSEMENT BY THE AMERICAN
ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY.) Steve Maran, American Astronomical Society
steve.maran_at_aas.org 1-202-328-2010 x116

**Contact data are included below.**

Dwingeloo, 9 June 2008

LOFAR telescope used in search for extraterrestrial life?

ASTRON is researching the potential role of the LOFAR telescope in the
Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence (SETI). This initiative has
been taken by Professor Michael Garrett, General Director of ASTRON and
professor of radio techniques in astronomy at Leiden University in the
Netherlands. Researchers from all over the world will contribute to this
effort to find ways in which LOFAR can be used in the search for
extraterrestrial life.

There are about 100 thousand million stars in the galaxy and most of
these are expected to harbour planetary systems; some of these planets
might actually be suitable for life. Many scientists believe that life
is probably wide-spread across the galaxy, although technically advanced
civilisations might be relatively rare or at least widely separated from
each other.

LOFAR (the Low Frequency Array), a new telescope that is currently
being built by ASTRON, consists of about 25,000 small antennas that will
receive signals from space. Despite the huge distances between stars,
the next generation of radio telescopes, such as LOFAR, begin to offer
the possibility of detecting radio signals beamed towards the Earth by
other intelligent beings. For the nearest stars, LOFAR might even be
able to detect the leakage radiation associated with extraterrestrial
radio and TV transmitters.

According to Professor Garrett, LOFAR is well suited to SETI research.
'LOFAR can extend the search for extra-terrestrial intelligence to an
entirely unexplored part of the low-frequency radio spectrum, an area
that is heavily used for civil and military communications here on
Earth. In addition, LOFAR can survey large areas of the sky
simultaneously - an important advantage if SETI signals are rare or
transient in nature.'

Professor Dan Werthimer, the SETI_at_home project Scientist at the
University of Berkeley in the United States, says: 'SETI searches are
still only scratching the surface, we need to use as many different
telescopes, techniques and strategies as possible, in order to maximize
our chances of success.'

Professor Garrett thinks it is high time European scientists began to
support their colleagues from the United States in this exciting area of
research. 'I cannot think of a more important question humanity can
ask and perhaps now answer. Are we truly alone in the Universe or are
there other civilisations out there waiting to be discovered? Either
way, the implications are tremendous.'

ASTRON is part of the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research
(NWO).

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note to the editor:

For more information you can contact:

Prof. Mike Garrett, General Director ASTRON, Oude Hoogeveensedijk 4,
7991 PD Dwingeloo; Tel: 0521-595 100; E-mail: garrett_at_astron.nl

Femke Boekhorst, PR and Communication ASTRON, Oude Hoogeveensedijk 4,
7991 PD Dwingeloo; Tel: 0521-595 100; E-mail: boekhorst_at_astron.nl

The following image is available on request to Femke Boekhorst-
Caption to image: A typical galaxy like the Milky Way contains as many
stars as there are grains of sand on all the worlds beaches. Most of
these stars have planetary systems and many will have the right
conditions for life to flourish. LOFAR can potentially search for
artificial radio signals from intelligent civilisations in nearby
stellar systems.

More information about LOFAR:
The LOFAR telescope is a distributed radio telescope with about fifty
stations located throughout the Netherlands and in neighbouring
countries, including Germany, Sweden, France and the UK. The project is
being developed by a consortium led by ASTRON.
See also:
www.lofar.org
www.lofar.n

More information about ASTRON:
www.astron.nl

More information about SETI:
www.seti.org

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1-202-328-2010 X116

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