Of course the SETI people do not really know in what form a "communication" would come. Search the "Wow Signal"
Erik
To: Utah Astronomy Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] Radio Astronomy Question I wouldn't be too harsh on the creators of "Contact". They did after all hire Carl Sagan to help them >get the science at least close to right, though I doubt Carl had final review on screenplay.
Let's not forget that Carl Sagan wrote the novel from which the movie was created. As much as I like the movie, the novel is far superior, as usual. While we're on it, all em astronomy outside of the visible region depends upon false color images. With low frequency radio waves, there's no reason that we shouldn't use another one of our sensory organs (i.e., our ears)and make "false pitch" sound waves. The hum one hears near an electric power station really starts as 60 Hz em waves, doesn't it? It seems to me that in the last few years I've read of "sound" propagating through the interstellar medium due to supernovae. If we can turn the infra-audible talking of whales or elephants, or even the cables of the Golden Gate Bridge, into something we can hear, why not do the same with stars? John R. Peterson
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