ET Phone Here
Space.com,
Jun 9, 2000, News: "Argus Expands the Search For Life"
Named after Greek mythology's 100-eyed giant, the Argus project will link many
small radio antennas to search the sky for signals from ET. The first milestone,
linking together an array of eight small antennas, will be achieved within
months. The goal is to link 64 antennas together to scan the whole sky
simultaneously with high precision. If all works out, the technology can speed
up the search for ET (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence or SETI) and
transform the field of radio astronomy.
Based at Ohio State University, and sponsored by the SETI Institute, the system is designed to scan the whole sky without sacrificing signals sensitivity. According to Kent Cullers, the chief of research for the SETI Institute, "It may be the way to do radio astronomy in the future." In theory as many antennas can be linked together as computing power allows to create the biggest radio telescope in the world.
A Looney Idea
SpaceRef.com,
June 15, 2000, News: "Radio Shack Joins the LunaCorp Rover Team"
The LunaCorp organization is planning a privately funded lunar rover. This
effort got a boost recently when RadioShack Corporation became a corporate
sponsor of the project. Slated for July 2001 testing in the Canadian
Arctic and Moon landing in late 2003, the rover is being designed at the
Robotics Institute of Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. The
mission will explore one of the Moon's poles where orbiting satellites
have indicated the presence of water ice. Funding comes from corporate
sponsors as well as a $1-million NASA grant.
One Year Ago Today (and Still Humorous)...
IAU
Information Bulletins, June 1999, Information Bulleting No. 84: “10.2
Deceased Members”
From International
Astronomical Union Information Bulletin:
"On the background of unfortunate mistakes in the past, the Secretariat is
applying rigorous procedures to confirm any reports received on the decease of
IAU members, if at all possible through their Adhering Organizations.
Nevertheless, three members whose death was reported in IB 83 (p. 28) or in IAU
Transactions XXXIIIB kindly inform us that this information is in fact
incorrect: Drs. G.C. Joshi, Sadaemon Kikuchi and Mayank Vahia. We are most
pleased to learn that all three are alive and healthy and look forward to a long
and fruitful continued cooperation with them, but do apologise most sincerely to
them all for this mistake and for any inconvenience it may have caused
them."
Tribute to the Space Age
Various
Sources
With the turn of the millennium (we won't debate if it arrives in 2000 or 2001),
various organizations have published lists of the top movies, books, etc., of
the 20th century. In the area of science and engineering the ascent into
space was marked on several "greatest achievement" lists.
The National
Academy of Engineering lists Spacecraft at #12 in its top-20
list. Sighting this achievement as "perhaps the most amazing
engineering feat of the 20th century," the academy credits the development
of spacecraft for "expanded our knowledge base, and improved our
capabilities" as well as generating "thousands of useful products and
services" that include the medical, weather and communications field.
In a category that includes space and astronomy, the #14 slot was given to Imaging.
According the the academy: "From tiny atoms to distant galaxies, 20th
century imaging technologies have expanded the reach of our vision."
The academy listed Electrification as the top achievement.
The
Tau Beta Pi National Engineering Honor Society (The Bent, Winter
2000) honors space development by bracketing all other 20th century achievements
between the Moon Landing at #1 and Communications Satellites at
#10 of their top-10 list.
The
American Society of Mechanical Engineers (Mechanical Engineering,
January 2000) places the Moon Landing as #2, just behind the Automobile
at #1.
Interestingly NASA
Tech Briefs (February 2000), a publication dedicated to the transfer of NASA
sponsored research technology to the private sector, does not list space or
astronomy in its top-5 list of 20th century innovations with the "greatest impact
on society". This reader's survey put the Transistor at #1.