A brief history of the search for extraterrestrial intelligence and an appraisal of the future of this endeavor

Stuart Bowyer

doi:10.1117/12.898962

23 September 2011 A brief history of the search for extraterrestrial intelligence and an appraisal of the future of this endeavor

Stuart Bowyer

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 8152, Instruments, Methods, and Missions for Astrobiology XIV; 81520W (2011) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.898962
Event: SPIE Optical Engineering + Applications, 2011, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

The idea that credible searches for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence (ETI) could be carried out were laid out in detail in the (now classic) paper by Morrison and Cocconi (1959).1 They suggested using the radio band for these searches. Since then radio searches have been carried out by over sixty different groups. No signals from ETIs have been identified. Most searches did not have high sensitivity and it is not surprising that ETI signals were not detected. It is important to note, however, that these efforts were instrumental in developing new technical capabilities and they helped generate wide interest in this field. In this paper I will briefly discuss the more sensitive searches that have been carried out and some of the other searches that are arguably quite innovative or have been influential in some other manner.

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Stuart Bowyer "A brief history of the search for extraterrestrial intelligence and an appraisal of the future of this endeavor", Proc. SPIE 8152, Instruments, Methods, and Missions for Astrobiology XIV, 81520W (23 September 2011); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.898962

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