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List of interstellar radio messages

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This is a list of interstellar radio messages (IRMs) transmitted from Earth.

Known Transmissions

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Stars to which messages were sent include:

Target Distance (ly) Sent Expected Arrival Message
Messier 13 25,000 16 November 1974 25974 Arecibo message
Epsilon Eridani 10.5 1986 1997 Poetica Vaginal
Tau Ceti 11.9 1986 1998
16 Cyg A 69 24 May 1999 2068 Cosmic Call 1
15 Sge 57 30 June 1999 2056
? 67 30 June 1999 2066
Gl 777 52 1 July 1999 2051
? 68 29 August 2001 2069 Teen Age Message
47 UMa 46 3 September 2001 2047
37 Gem 56 3 September 2001 2057
? 57 3 September 2001 2058
? 51 4 September 2001 2052
? 57 4 September 2001 2058
? 33 6 July 2003 2036 Cosmic Call 2
? 37 6 July 2003 2040
55 Cnc 41 6 July 2003 2044
? 41 6 July 2003 2044
47 UMa 46 6 July 2003 2049
Polaris 433 4 February 2008 2439 Across the Universe
Gliese 581 20.3 9 October 2008 2029 A Message From Earth
Gliese 581 20.3 28 August 2009 2030 Hello From Earth
TZ Arietis 14.6 2009-11-09 2024 RuBisCo Stars (RuBisCO genetic sequence)
Teegarden's Star 12.5 2009-11-09 2021
Kappa¹ Ceti 29.8 2009-11-10 2039
Polaris 433 10 October 2016 2450 A Simple Response to an Elemental Message
Luyten b 12.36 16 October 2017 2030 Sónar Calling GJ273b
2018-05-14 2031

Classification of interstellar radio messages

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The 1986 Poetica Vaginal signal, briefly transmitted from the MIT Millstone Radar, was an techno-art project created by Joe Davis who was concerned about government censorship of messages such as the removal of genatilia on the voyager probe record. His response was to use a sensitive instrument to record the contractions of a woman's vaginal canal, convert it into analog signal and digitally map the input into a phoenetic audible representation (or voice).[1] The project was able to send out a few "test signals" consisting of this data to the intended targets; however, the US Air Force shutdown the project before it sent out the bulk of the message.[1]

"Across the Universe", "Hello From Earth" and "A Simple Response to an Elemental Message" are not always considered serious. The first two of them were sent to Polaris, which is 431 light years distant from us and whose planetary system, even if it exists, may not be suited for life, because it is a supergiant star, spectral type F7Ib which is only 70 million years old.[2] In addition, both transmission rates were very high, about 128 kbit/s, for such moderate transmitter power (about 18 kW). The main defect of the "Hello From Earth" is an insufficient scientific and technical justification, since no famous SETI scientist made statements with validation of HFE's design. As it follows from [1]: "After the final message was collected on Monday 24 August 2009, messages were exported as a text file and sent to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, where they were encoded into binary, packaged and tested before transmission", but nobody explained why he hopes that such encoded and packaged text will be understood and conceived by possible extraterrestrials.

Some use the term Active SETI Project, but Alexander Zaitsev, who was a scientific head of composing and transmissions of Cosmic Call 1999 & 2003, and Teen Age Message 2001, and a scientific consultant of A Message From Earth, emphasized that he considers above IRMs as the METI (Messaging to Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence Projects).

These seven messages have targeted stars between 20 and 69 light-years from the Earth. The exception is the Arecibo message, which targeted globular cluster M13, approximately 24,000 light-years away. The first message to reach its destination will be A Message From Earth, which should reach the Gliese 581 planetary system in Libra in 2029.

On 13 February 2015, scientists (including Geoffrey Marcy, Seth Shostak, Frank Drake, David Grinspoon and David Brin) at a convention of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, discussed Active SETI and whether transmitting a message to possible intelligent extraterrestrials in the Cosmos was a good idea;[3][4] one result was a statement, (which was not signed by Seth Shostak or Frank Drake), that a "worldwide scientific, political and humanitarian discussion must occur before any message is sent".[5]

IRM Projects

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There are twelve realized IRM projects:

Along with serious IRM projects, a number of pseudo-METI[11] projects also exist:

  • Poetica Vaginal (1986)[12]
  • Discovery Channel Message (2005)[citation needed]
  • Craigslist Messages (2005),[13] (2005)[14]
  • CNES Cosmic Connexion (2006)[15]
  • Doritos Advert (2008)[16]
  • RuBisCo Message (2009)[17]
  • Sent Forever,[18]
  • Penguin UK[19]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "BIOMEDIALE". 13 February 2009. Archived from the original on 13 February 2009. Retrieved 9 March 2024.
  2. ^ Wielen, R.; Jahreiß, H.; Dettbarn, C.; Lenhardt, H.; Schwan, H. (2000). "Polaris: Astrometric orbit, position, and proper motion". Astronomy and Astrophysics. 360: 399. arXiv:astro-ph/0002406. Bibcode:2000A&A...360..399W.
  3. ^ Borenstein, Seth (of AP News) (13 February 2015). "Should We Call the Cosmos Seeking ET? Or Is That Risky?". New York Times. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
  4. ^ Ghosh, Pallab (12 February 2015). "Scientist: 'Try to contact aliens'". BBC News. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
  5. ^ Various (13 February 2015). "Statement – Regarding Messaging To Extraterrestrial Intelligence (METI) / Active Searches For Extraterrestrial Intelligence (Active SETI)". University of California, Berkeley. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
  6. ^ An Awkward History of Our Space Transmissions
  7. ^ Reply To 'WOW! Signal' Gets Beamed Into Space
  8. ^ "A Simple Response". European Space Agency official website. 28 July 2016. Retrieved 6 October 2016.
  9. ^ "How to send a message to another planet". The Economist. 16 November 2017. Retrieved 19 November 2017.
  10. ^ "Sónar Calling GJ 273b". Sónar Calling. Sónar Music Festival. Retrieved 1 May 2021.
  11. ^ Cooper, Keith (3 May 2010), SETI: Cosmic Call, Astronomy Now, archived from the original on 26 May 2015, retrieved 5 May 2010
  12. ^ Gibbs, W. Wayt (2001), "Art as a Form of Life", Scientific American, 284 (4): 40–41, Bibcode:2001SciAm.284d..40G, doi:10.1038/scientificamerican0401-40
  13. ^ Deep Space Network Frequently Asked Questions, Deep Space Communications Network, archived from the original on 4 January 2010
  14. ^ List in Space: Calling the Cosmos Gets Commercial, Space_com, 23 March 2005
  15. ^ Connecting with the Cosmos, CNES, 26 January 2006, archived from the original on 13 May 2010
  16. ^ Doritos Makes History With World's First ET Advert, Spacedaily.com, 13 June 2008
  17. ^ Chandler, David L. (24 November 2009), ET: Check your voicemail, MIT News
  18. ^ Harris, Mark (16 September 2009), Is Sent Forever the worst Apollo 11 tie-in?, TechRadar, archived from the original on 2 March 2010
  19. ^ Colvile, Robert (9 February 2010), Calling ET: Your chance to send a message to alien life, The Daily Telegraph, archived from the original on 11 February 2010
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