Recently, a group called METI International made waves by pointing a radio telescope based in Norway toward Luyten’s Star, a quiet, humdrum star 12.36 light years away with two Earth-mass-ish planets right in the “habitable zone” where water, under the right conditions, would stay liquid—and could potentially support life.
The man behind the message (for a planet that could possibly, maybe have life, transmitted as music along with a few math equations), was Douglas Vakoch, a psychologist and SETI researcher. Vakoch chose one of Luyten’s Star’s planets (called GJ 273b) chiefly based on its proximity. The message—which combines music and math—works like a clock, setting a rhythm for the music, then broadcasting it through two different tones to create a binary message, he told Wired.
We already have made first (second, third...) contact. Stop the charade. To read more, click here.