Switched has a new home! Huffpost Tech.

Click here to visit the new home of Switched!

Hot on HuffPost Tech:

See More Stories
AOL Tech

New Alien-Hunting Telescope Goes Online

by Tim Stevens on October 12, 2007 at 02:40 PM

New Alien-Hunting Telescope Goes OnlineYou may have heard of the SETI Institute, the Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence Institute, thanks to its SETI@home program. For those who don't know, SETI is a "distributed" software program that people can run on their home computers to help analyze signals from distant galaxies in the hopes of identifying intelligent alien life-forms. In this way, millions of individuals can help. Yesterday the institute got a rather more sizable boost from a single individual: a new batch of telescopes made possible by a donation from Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen.

The telescopes, which right now number 42, but at completion should number 350, will combine to form the world's largest radio telescope array. With radio telescopes, a number of smaller dishes can be spread out over the earth and, if moved in unison, act as one very, very large telescope that will put even the monstrous Arecibo Observatory (the one Bond fought Trevelyan over in 'Goldeneye') to shame.

The "Allen Telescope Array" will probe galaxies far away looking for unusual radio signals that might be a sign of intelligent life. Paul Allen has fronted the initial $25 million to get the project off the ground, but another $25 million is still needed to buy the rest of the dishes and get them pointed in the right direction. So, if you've got a little extra pocket change, maybe you can get in on the alien hunting action.

From BBC News

Related Links:

Tags: Aliens, Microsoft, SETI

Comments

1

Add your comments

Please keep your comments relevant to this blog entry. Email addresses are never displayed, but they are required to confirm your comments.

When you enter your name and email address, you'll be sent a link to confirm your comment, and a password. To leave another comment, just use that password.

To create a live link, simply type the URL (including http://) or email address and we will make it a live link for you. You can put up to 3 URLs in your comments. Line breaks and paragraphs are automatically converted — no need to use <p> or <br /> tags.

HuffPost AOL Social News Most Popular