Astronomers scanning the skies for an alien response to a message sent into space 40 years ago have not heard a reply. Yet.
Dr Shin-ya Narusawa, who led the team at the University of Hyogo, Japan, reported that while there were no immediate ‘incidents’ during the search last night, there were terabytes of data to be analysed before any definitive conclusion could be drawn. One terabyte is a trillion bytes.
It was 40 years ago that professors Masaki Morimoto and Hisashi Hirabayashi beamed a signal into the cosmos in hope of a response. The message contained 13 drawings depicting the history of life on Earth, the structure of DNA and our solar system.
Yesterday Dr Narusawa and his team scanned the skies for an hour hoping for a reply, around now having been determined the earliest time possible that a response could arrive back, should anyone near the star Altair have heard it.
Altair, a relatively close 16.7 light-years away, is found in the Aquila constellation and is the 12th brightest star in the night sky.
However, the signal did not stop there, so even if there was no response last night, that doesn’t mean one will never arrive.
And if it does – or if Dr Narusawa and his team unearth one in the data – there is strict protocol to adhere to, as defined by the International Academy of Astronautics (IAA).
Once such a signal is verified by rigorous scientific methods, if it is determined to be of an extraterrestrial origin, the discoverer must inform a wide range of international bodies and personnel – including the secretary general of the United Nations, a position currently held by António Guterres.
After that, the findings may be shared with the public. The protocol notes ‘the discoverer should have the privilege of making the first announcement’.
However, the discoverer is not permitted to fire off a quick hello back. The protocol states: ‘No response to a signal or other evidence of extraterrestrial intelligence should be sent until appropriate international consultations have taken place’.
Dr Narusawa said it will take a long time to analyse all the data, but after 40 years, should a message be found, taking an extra few days to decide on a reply won’t make much difference.
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