After being offline for a few weeks, the SETI (Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence) Institute has raised sufficient funds to get its radio-telescopes back online following a hiatus of 4 months due to a funding shortage.
“We are grateful to our donors,” said Tom Pierson, who co-founded the SETI Institute with Jill Tarter (the inspiration for Jodie Foster’s character in “Contact”). “We believe we will be back on the air in September.”
The Allen Telescope Array (ATA), a series of 42 linked radio-telescopes funded by a $30 million gift by Microsoft’s Paul Allen, will be aimed at Washington, DC. The telescopes have monitored the universe constantly since 2008.
The hope is that the powerful array can detect signs of intelligent life - particularly from the bi-partisan 12-member debt committee tasked with working out the $1.5 trillion deficit reduction agreement.
As to whether valuable time was lost in the four months that the ATA was offline, Pierson said it's hard to say. "You never know when or if a signal is going to be detected, so if you miss a few months, how important is that? It's impossible to know," he said. "We view this mission as one of profound importance, answering man's most fundamental questions -- are we alone?"
If you've been feeling other-worldly as of late, be assured that you are not alone.
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