SearchLites - Vol 26 No 1

Magazine Overview

Title: SearchLites
Issue: Vol. 26 No. 1
Date: Winter 2020
Publisher: The SETI League, Inc.
Country: USA
Language: English
ISSN: 1096-5599

This issue of SearchLites, the quarterly newsletter of The SETI League, Inc., covers significant developments in astronomy and SETI research. It features articles on exoplanet discoveries, the mystery of Fast Radio Bursts, and the philosophical considerations of searching for extraterrestrial intelligence.

Articles

Finally, a Nobel for Exoplanets!

This article by H. Paul Shuch, Executive Director Emeritus, discusses the 2019 Nobel Prize in Physics awarded to Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz for their 1995 discovery of 51 Pegasi b, the first exoplanet detected orbiting a main-sequence star. Shuch highlights how this discovery significantly boosted SETI research by confirming the existence of exoplanets, a crucial factor in the Drake Equation. He also mentions the shared Nobel Prize with James Peebles for his work in theoretical cosmology, which laid the groundwork for the discovery of the cosmic microwave background radiation. Shuch shares a personal anecdote about meeting Mayor and Queloz and even mentions a song he wrote about the discovery.

Aether Or

Authored by Dan Duda, this guest editorial explores the concept of 'nothingness' and its implications in physics and cosmology. Duda references the historical problem of how light propagates through empty space and brings up Samuel Tolver Preston's 19th-century hypothesis of an 'aether' composed of particles moving at the speed of light, which led to the E=MC² formula. The article then discusses the Michelson-Morley experiment, which failed to detect the aether, and presents a re-evaluation by colleague Bill Kalin suggesting that Einstein's theory of relativity could explain the null result by accounting for length contraction at high speeds. Duda concludes by reflecting on Einstein's own thoughts about the insufficiency of human understanding of the universe.

Fast Radio Bursts

Written by Seth Shostak, Senior Astronomer at the SETI Institute, this article introduces Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs) as a new and exciting area of astronomical research. Shostak explains that FRBs are incredibly energetic, releasing enough power in milliseconds to sustain the world for centuries. He details the discovery of repeating FRBs, particularly those detected by the CHIME telescope in British Columbia, and the significance of pinpointing their locations, such as the FRB originating from a galaxy 3 billion light-years away. Shostak discusses the implications of FRB duration for the size of their sources, suggesting they might be compact stellar remnants or black holes. He also touches upon speculative explanations, including alien signals, but ultimately emphasizes the scientific process of data collection and theoretical analysis to solve such cosmic mysteries.

Hello Out There!

Another guest editorial by Dan Duda, this piece contemplates the question of whether humanity is alone in the universe. Duda uses a humorous caveman analogy to illustrate the difficulty of imagining technologies far beyond one's own understanding. He connects this to SETI's central question about intelligent life beyond Earth and Enrico Fermi's paradox about the lack of contact. Duda argues that advanced civilizations might possess communication technologies so sophisticated that we would be unable to detect them, much like an ant cannot comprehend human existence. He poses several questions about our ability to intercept and understand alien messages and suggests that while radio telescopes are currently our best tool, our current understanding might be too limited.

Event Horizon

This section lists upcoming conferences and meetings relevant to SETI research, including Boskone 2020, Farpoint Convention, SPACOMM 2020, and various SETI League annual meetings and scientific congresses, spanning from February 2020 to October 2021.

Recurring Themes and Editorial Stance

The SETI League, through its SearchLites newsletter, consistently promotes SETI research and the exploration of the universe. The editorial stance emphasizes scientific inquiry, the importance of exoplanet research for the search for life, and the ongoing quest to understand cosmic phenomena like FRBs. The publication encourages member participation and support for the organization's mission. There's a recurring theme of the vastness of the universe and the limitations of human understanding when contemplating advanced civilizations and technologies.