SETI@Home Adds New Search Method

Posted by Soulskill on Sunday July 27, 2008 @05:19AM from the look-for-interstellar-torrents dept.

Adam Korbitz writes to point out that SETI@Home has added a new algorithm for use in evaluating signals from outer space. It's called "Astropulse," and they've made the scientific details available. Quoting: "The original SETI@home is narrowband, meaning that it is listening for a particular radio frequency. That's like listening to an orchestra playing, and trying to hear when anyone plays the note "A sharp." Astropulse listens for short-time pulses. In the orchestra analogy, it's like listening for a quick drum beat, or a series of drumbeats. Since no one knows what extraterrestrial communications will 'sound like,' it seems like a good idea to search for several types of signals. In scientific terms, Astropulse is a sky survey that searches for microsecond transient radio pulses."

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Priorities by PerroBestial · 2008-07-27 06:09 · Score: 1, Redundant

Guys and Dolls, aliens are certainly interesting, but I want to remind everybody that there actually exist projects you may donate machine time to, projects whose results might be more immediately useful, such as folding@home (folding.stanford.edu). Cheers, PB