SearchLites - Vol 19 No 3

Magazine Overview

Title: SearchLites
Issue: Vol. 19 No. 3
Date: Summer 2013
Publisher: The SETI League, Inc.
Country: USA
ISSN: 1096-5599

SETI League Announces Annual Awards

On April 21, 2013, at its New Jersey headquarters, The SETI League announced its annual award recipients. Dr. Alexander L. Zaitsev of Russia received the Orville Greene Service Award for his exemplary volunteer service as the League's Regional Coordinator for Russia and his work with "Messaging to ETI" (METI) and transmissions from the Evpatoria planetary radar facility. Dr. Steven J. Dick of the United States, former Chief Historian of NASA and author of "The Biological Universe" and "Life on other Worlds," received the Giordano Bruno Memorial Award for technical excellence in SETI.

During the Annual Meeting, the Board of Trustees accepted the Executive Director's and Secretary/Treasurer's annual reports, adopted the 2013 budget, and re-elected officers for another one-year term. These officers include Richard Factor as President, A. Heather Wood as Secretary/Treasurer, and H. Paul Shuch as Executive Director Emeritus. The board also agreed to continue cost-sharing for Dr. Shuch's health insurance premiums.

The article notes that since NASA's SETI funding was terminated in 1993, The SETI League and other scientific groups have privatized the research. Interested individuals can contact the League via email, its website, or phone.

UFO Defined

This section, an excerpt from a March 2003 MENSA Bulletin article by Philip A. Stahl, addresses the argument that fewer UFO sightings are being reported because UFOs do not exist. Stahl refutes this by referencing the definition of a UFO provided by J. Allen Hynek, an astrophysicist who studied the phenomenon. Hynek defined a UFO as "the reported perception of an object or light - seen in the sky or upon the land, the appearance, trajectory, and general dynamic and luminous behavior of which do not suggest a logical, conventional explanation and which is not only mystifying to the original percipients but remains unidentified after close scrutiny of all available evidence by persons who are technically capable of making a common sense identification if one were possible."

Stahl argues that the logical explanation for fewer reported UFOs is that people are better educated to identify celestial objects like Venus or Jupiter, or artificial satellites, thus reducing misidentifications. He notes that a consistent core of 3 percent of sightings remains unidentified.

Event Horizon

This section lists upcoming conferences and meetings relevant to SETI-related information. These include Balticon 47 (May 24-27, 2013, Hunt Valley, MD), Central States VHF Conference (July 25-28, 2013, Elk Grove Village, IL), Lonestarcon 3 (August 29-September 2, 2013, San Antonio, TX), and the 64th International Astronautical Congress (September 23-27, 2013, Beijing, China). It also mentions the annual SETI League Ham Radio QSO Party in April 2014 and 2015, and the SETI League Annual Membership Meetings in Little Ferry, NJ, in April 2014 and 2015. Future International Astronautical Congresses are listed for London (August 2014), Toronto (September 2014), and Jerusalem (October 2015).

Does the Universe Have an Agenda?

This article, by Dan Duda, originally from Penn Central, explores philosophical questions about reality and the universe's nature. It references Immanuel Kant's idea that our knowledge is limited to appearances and that the "thing in itself" (reality) remains unknown. The article connects this to quantum wave mechanics, suggesting that particles exist as waves of probability until observed, behaving randomly as individuals but predictably in groups. Duda posits a "brainstorm" that this quantum tendency might extend to the macro world, suggesting the universe could have a design or agenda, leading to a predetermined outcome despite a perceived sense of free will. The article also touches upon Einstein's Theory of Relativity and Peter Higgs' work, noting that scientists are exploring the idea of a universe with a master plan, which would be more impactful than the discovery of extraterrestrial life.

Minutes of the Nineteenth Annual Membership Meeting

The minutes detail the 19th Annual Membership Meeting of The SETI League, held on April 21, 2013. Key points include:

• Call to Order: Meeting convened with a quorum present.
• Minutes of 2012 Meeting: Accepted as posted.
• Treasurer's Report: Presented by Dr. Shuch and Heather Wood, covering 2012. Revenues totaled $11,090, expenses were $15,024, resulting in a deficit of $3,934. The account balance at year-end was $2,917. The 2013 budget projected revenues of $11,002 and expenses of $13,000, with a projected deficit of $1,998.
• Executive Director's Report: Accepted as published.
• Committee Reports: The EME Committee reported the EME beacon is off the air due to relocation. The Awards Committee announced recipients of the Giordano Bruno Award and Orville N. Greene Award, with twelve websites receiving the SETI SuperStar award.
• Old Business: The "Very Small Array" project remains on hold due to lack of funding. A mid-year renewal appeal will be emailed to lapsed members. The 2012 Annual Report is available online.
• Web Server: New servers are online, but the email server is offline, with alternatives being investigated.
• New Business: Discussed the impact of the email server outage.
• Next Meeting: Scheduled for Sunday, April 22, 2014.
• Good and Welfare: Remembered longtime member Allen Tough.
• Adjournment: Meeting adjourned at 13:33 EDT.

Business Transacted by Board of Trustees:

• Quorum Call: Confirmed.
• Election of Officers: Officers retained for an additional year: Richard Factor (President), A. Heather Wood (Secretary/Treasurer), H. Paul Shuch (Executive Director Emeritus).
• Personnel Matters: Executive session included a review of the Secretary/Treasurer's performance and a vote to continue cost-sharing of the Executive Director Emeritus' health insurance premiums.
• Advisory Board: A letter of thanks will be drafted to Advisory Board members.
• Bank Fees: Investigation into lower-cost credit card processing alternatives like PayPal and Intuit.
• Registered Agent: Richard Factor reappointed for another year.
• Adjournment: Meeting adjourned at 13:51 EDT.

Guest Editorial: Humanity is Perfectly Visible to Extraterrestrials

Alexander Popoff, in an excerpt from his eBook "The Hidden Alpha," argues that humanity is highly visible to extraterrestrial civilizations. He references Frank Drake's observation that phasing out analog transmissions (TV, radio, radar) might make Earth electronically invisible. However, Popoff contends that the digital revolution, with its powerful digital signals (e.g., WHKY-TV at 600,000 watts, CBS 8 at one million watts, and military radars like HAARP at 3.6 million watts, potentially much higher), is actually making Earth's electromagnetic signature stronger and more detectable. He notes that even Russian radar systems transmit powerful pulses. Popoff dismisses concerns about deliberate transmissions attracting hostile aliens, stating that advanced civilizations likely already know of our existence through atmospheric analysis and waste heat (entropy) radiation. He concludes that mega-civilizations, having managed to leave dying universes, view us as insignificant, like a "Monopoly game on the table."

Recurring Themes and Editorial Stance

This issue of SearchLites focuses on the activities and concerns of The SETI League, Inc. Recurring themes include the organization's annual awards, membership meetings, financial reports, and ongoing projects like the "Very Small Array" and web server maintenance. The magazine also delves into broader scientific and philosophical topics related to SETI, such as the definition of UFOs, the nature of reality, and humanity's place in the cosmos. The guest editorial presents a strong stance that humanity is not only visible but potentially insignificant to advanced extraterrestrial civilizations. The opinions expressed in editorials are explicitly stated as belonging to the authors and not necessarily reflecting the position of The SETI League, Inc. itself.