Project Phoenix (SETI)
Encyclopedia
Project Phoenix is a SETI
project: a search for extraterrestrial intelligence by analyzing patterns in radio signals. It is run by the independently funded SETI Institute
of Mountain View, California, USA
.
Project Phoenix started work in February 1995 with the Parkes radio telescope located in New South Wales
, Australia
, the largest telescope in the southern hemisphere
.
Between September 1996 and April 1998, the Project used the National Radio Astronomy Observatory
in Green Bank
, West Virginia
, USA.
Rather than attempting to scan the whole sky for messages, the Project concentrates on nearby systems that are similar to our own (i.e., those most likely to have planets capable of supporting life). This means the Project concentrates on about 800 stars with a 200 light-year
range.
The Project searches for radio signals as narrow as 1 Hz between 1,000 and 3,000 MHz: a broad bandwidth compared with most SETI searches.
In March 2004 the Project announced that after checking the 800 stars on its list, it had failed to find any evidence of extraterrestrial signals. Project leader Peter Backus remarked that they had been forced to conclude that "we live in a quiet neighborhood."
SETI
The search for extraterrestrial intelligence is the collective name for a number of activities people undertake to search for intelligent extraterrestrial life. Some of the most well known projects are run by the SETI Institute. SETI projects use scientific methods to search for intelligent life...
project: a search for extraterrestrial intelligence by analyzing patterns in radio signals. It is run by the independently funded SETI Institute
SETI Institute
The SETI Institute is a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to “explore, understand and explain the origin, nature and prevalence of life in the universe”. SETI stands for the "search for extraterrestrial intelligence". One program is the use of both radio and optical telescopes to search...
of Mountain View, California, USA
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Project Phoenix started work in February 1995 with the Parkes radio telescope located in New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, the largest telescope in the southern hemisphere
Southern Hemisphere
The Southern Hemisphere is the part of Earth that lies south of the equator. The word hemisphere literally means 'half ball' or "half sphere"...
.
Between September 1996 and April 1998, the Project used the National Radio Astronomy Observatory
National Radio Astronomy Observatory
The National Radio Astronomy Observatory is a Federally Funded Research and Development Center of the United States National Science Foundation operated under cooperative agreement by Associated Universities, Inc for the purpose of radio astronomy...
in Green Bank
Green Bank, West Virginia
Green Bank is a census-designated place in Pocahontas County in West Virginia's Potomac Highlands inside the Allegheny Mountain Range. Green Bank is located along WV 28. Green Bank is also close to the Snowshoe Mountain ski resort...
, West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
, USA.
Rather than attempting to scan the whole sky for messages, the Project concentrates on nearby systems that are similar to our own (i.e., those most likely to have planets capable of supporting life). This means the Project concentrates on about 800 stars with a 200 light-year
Light-year
A light-year, also light year or lightyear is a unit of length, equal to just under 10 trillion kilometres...
range.
The Project searches for radio signals as narrow as 1 Hz between 1,000 and 3,000 MHz: a broad bandwidth compared with most SETI searches.
In March 2004 the Project announced that after checking the 800 stars on its list, it had failed to find any evidence of extraterrestrial signals. Project leader Peter Backus remarked that they had been forced to conclude that "we live in a quiet neighborhood."
External links
- Project Phoenix
- BBC report on the end of the 800-star scan
- Project Phoenix project at Jodrell BankJodrell BankThe Jodrell Bank Observatory is a British observatory that hosts a number of radio telescopes, and is part of the Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics at the University of Manchester...