What are the goals and overall plan for the University of Kentucky SETI project?
Our research group operates one of many radiotelescopes (EM77to) located
worldwide for Project
Argus, an all-sky survey sponsored by the SETI
League. Our goals
and overall plan
are the same as those of the SETI League and other Project Argus stations.
Other SETI projects often share
the same goals, but sometimes do not.
Our radiotelescope is also used to collect some data for students in instrumental
analysis courses at the university. The students study signal processing
by analyzing the data with the various software packages they have at their
disposal. SETIEasy
was written by students at the university to eliminate the need for student
labor in routine screening of data and to enable detection of signals too
weak for human eye- or ear-based pattern recognition. Given the relatively
small size of the typical Project Argus radiotelescope, weak signals "buried"
in the noise can be reasonably expected.
Do you plan on doing anything remotely in the scope of SETI@Home?
We run SETI@Home on computers in the labs, and we do not want to "compete" with it. Any undertaking on the scope of SETI@Home would be a SETI League project. We are only one radiotelescope site in their project, and do not speak for the SETI League or Project Argus. To the best of our knowledge, the only officially sanctioned Internet software project of the SETI League of a similar nature is the Radio Astronomy Observatory Operating System (RAOOS), which will only be run at radiotelescope sites.
Occasionally, at certain points in the spectra of the data, every 60Hz you can see faint lines. While I know they are not signals, do you know what is causing them ?
Intermittent small 60 Hz power supply harmonics continue to appear in at least some of the signal files. Some birdies have been suppressed, but a few persist. The harmonics are usually only visible on integrations of several seconds or more in CoolEdit. There appears to be a correlation between outside temperature and the intensity of the 60 Hz signals. Fortunately, these small signals have no Doppler shift and tend to persist beyond the 15 minute window in which our antenna points at a particular portion of the sky in vertical drift-scan mode. Because of this, we do not have to worry about them being real, interesting signals.
How does the ASRG data collection software track interference signals like "birdies?"
Most of the internally generated noises in the system are too small to
be detected in files in the 8-bit data format. In 16-bit data files, however,
small CW signals are common. In addition to checking suspect signals against
the Known Interferences Log, each time a data acquisition run begins the
antenna is turned off for at least two minutes while "data" are
recorded. These data are used to identify internal system noises that may
arise at particular combinations of time, frequency, and drift. In this
way, interferences can be easily and quickly distinguished from more interesting
signals. While programs like SETIEasy can calibrate on test data segments
and ignore most interference automatically, with other programs ignoring
locally generated interferences is not quite as simple. CW signals in ASRG
data posted online are checked before being copied onto the data servers,
so any such signals appearing in the posted files were already noted in
the test data segments and/or Known Interferences Log. Students should
examine the posted data files for more unusual signals in mind, particularly
modulated ones that might not be easily detected by computer programs.
In the unlikely event that I do see something in a data file that I download, how should I acknowledge your contribution?
This is a very good question. We are one of many Project Argus radiotelescopes, which means we have signed on to the Project Argus protocols at http://seti1.setileague.org/general/detect.htm and http://seti1.setileague.org/general/protocol.htm. We would like you to follow them where applicable when you are using the data. This will prevent problems for you and for us.
When we see "something" (and we see a lot of somethings that
turn out to be nothings), we start through the following checklist:
-----------------------------------
Level Zero Tests for Possible SETI Signal Interference
First, check the suspect signal against the Known Interferences Log for a match in frequency, duration, and modulation. Also check any location or direction associated with a Known Interference. If the signal does not match a known interference, get answers to the following questions:
1. Does the signal intensity profile follow the antenna reception pattern (about 18 minutes is the 3 db beam width). The signal should be down 3 db nine minutes on either side of the center of the signal due to rotation of the antenna by the earth.
a. The signal is probably terrestrial interference if an identical signal is picked up at dramatically different celestial coordinates (Right Ascension and Declination).
b. If an interference signal is generated locally (i.e., not on the data tape), it will disappear from its location in time if the same tape is examined again.
2. Does the signal Doppler shift with at least sidereal motion (about 6 hz/min for our typical antenna orientation, a 90 degree elevation).
a. The signal is probably terrestrial interference if it has a Doppler shift less than the sidereal motion or no Doppler shift at all.
b. The Doppler shift will probably appear linear on a deep space object over the 18 minute time window. If the shift is nonlinear the signal is probably from a satellite or airplane.
3. Is the signal narrow in bandwidth?
a. Only artificial processes produce signals with line widths of 2 hz or less.
4. Does the signal have any detectable modulation?
a. An ET signal will probably be either continuous or repeating to increase S/N.
If the signal passes all of these tests, it should be recorded
in the Anomalies Log (sheets available on the SETI League web site) and
reported to the SETI League Signal Verification Listserver by Dr. Lodder
for confirmation at a remote radiotelescope as soon as possible.
-----------------------------------------
The SETI League will use at least one of its radiotelescopes as far away
as possible (e.g., on the other side of the planet) to check the same RA
and Dec for the signal (note items 10, 11, and 12 in the Project Argus Detection
Protocols). This will rule out any nearby source of interference. Only then
does the finding become official. The announcement will be made from SETI
League HQ, which will refer the reporters to you.
A satellite tracking web site for identifying possible sources of interference is at http://liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov/RealTime/JTrack/Spacecraft.html
Why aren't the work unit sizes smaller?
We have experimented with lossy compression to reduce file size, and the majority of the current volunteer data analysts are willing to accept the large downloads in exchange for a more sensitive data format.
Will you have a more automated client with automated downloads?
An automated client with automated downloads is on the list of things that we would like to create and offer to the SETI League. The source code of SETIEasy is available online for volunteers who would like to further the project in this area. We will post updated source code with additional useful features from anyone willing to donate to our SETI effort.
Why don't you have a pretty, user-friendly, easy-to-use client to draw more of a crowd to the project?
We are hoping that the majority of volunteers concerned with processing large numbers of SETI data files are willing to sacrifice graphics for the speed advantage.
And finally, this question of a non-scientific nature is included
only because it or something similar is frequently asked:
Do you believe in your heart that Jesus is the son of God? If aliens came
to earth and made world-wide contact, would they confess Jesus as Lord?
From a scientific perspective, it is difficult to form a hypothesis about
how an intelligent extraterrestrial life form would respond to any question
(assuming that it even could) when we do not even know with any certainty
whether there is any such life. The standard
of proof is high and has not yet been met. The standard could be met
tomorrow, but it might just as easily take a long time.
From the other perspective, it can be only noted that:
1. The New Testament says that says all are children of God (e.g., Romans
8:17 and Acts 17:29).
2. The New Testament says the children of God are justified by faith in
God, not by their works or their words. As the apostle Paul points out in
the book of Romans, Abraham was saved by his faith before there was a law
written from God, and certainly before the arrival of Jesus. "Again,
if an uncircumcised man keeps the precepts of the law, will he not be considered
circumcised? Indeed, those who are physically uncircumcised but carry out
the law will pass judgment on you, with your written law and circumcision,
who break the law." (Romans 2:26-28)
Additional commentary
along the same lines is available from the SETI League.
(N.B. Opinions expressed are those of one person with a degree in chemistry,
not theology, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the University
of Kentucky or anyone else.)
Return to the ASRG SETI Page.