The Search for Extraterrestrials: Intercepting Alien Signals / Edition 1

by Monte Ross

Overview

In The Search for Extraterrestrials, Monte Ross explores in detail the key problems in starting a search, the programs that have failed and those that continue. He includes the fundamental considerations and the physics of the necessary laser, UV, IR and RF technologies, as well as coding and information theory considerations.

The author explores future possibilities providing the reader with a comprehensive view of the many ways signals from aliens could be sent and explains why the search using RF leaves more than 99% of the electromagnetic spectrum unexamined. He also demonstrates the many parts of the electromagnetic spectrum, considering the next likely steps in this unique enterprise. Given man’s intrinsic nature to explore, the search will continue in one form or many, until success is achieved, which may be tomorrow or a millennium away.

In summary, Monte Ross proposes to get around the failure of a fruitless search at radio frequencies by developing, in a precise way, the argument for searching for transmissions in the optical region of the electromagnetic spectrum.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780387734538
Publisher:	Springer New York
Publication date:	09/29/2009
Series:	Springer Praxis Books
Edition description:	2010
Pages:	176
Product dimensions:	6.60(w) x 9.40(h) x 0.40(d)

Table of Contents

The likelihood of extraterrestrial intelligence.- Vast distances and long travel times.- Stars, their evolution and types.- Planets and our Sun.- The many constraints on life.- Why would anyone transmit to us?.- The Drake Equation and habitable planets.- The basics of space communication.- Where to look in the electromagnetic spectrum?.- Receiver basics and how big is big?.- Noise and limitations on sensitivity.- Programs in SETI.- A brief history of SETI.- Radio-frequency and microwave SETI, including the Allen Telescope Array.- Early optical SETI and the all-sky Harvard system.- Possibilities in SETI.- The PhotonStar project.- Key issues for SETI.- Other parts of the spectrum, decoding the data and forming pictures.- Future systems for intercepting alien lasers.

Editorial Reviews

From the reviews: “Ross begins by reviewing the vast distances involved in a search, such as the density of stars in space and how long it takes light to travel to Earth. … Copious illustrations are very helpful in facilitating an understanding of many of the technical details. Ross has produced a well-organized … book that covers the basics of SETI very well. Summing Up: Recommended. Lower- and upper-division undergraduates and general readers.” (M.-K. Hemenway, Choice, Vol. 47 (10), June, 2010)

From the Publisher