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Is there life beyond Earth? It’s a question that has plagued the human race for centuries. And as technology develops, we discover more about the universe, simultaneously understanding less.
Yet, years ago, we took a leap forward, attempting to make contact with beings in the far reaches of the galaxy.
On November 16, 1974, scientists sent a message to the ether from the Arecibo radio telescope. Today, Google celebrates the 44th anniversary with an animated Google Doodle.
The Arecibo radio signal was the first message that the human race intentionally sent to another solar system.
“It was strictly a symbolic event, to show that we could do it,” said Donald Campbell, a research badociate at the Arecibo Observatory.
The message was 168 seconds of noise directed to the cluster of stars 25,000 light years away better known as M13.
Containing information about DNA, Earth’s location in our Solar System and a breakdown of the numbers one through to 10, the Arecibo message was created in a celebration of the radio telescope remodel by scientists Frank Drake and Carl Sagan.
Essentially, if there is life outside of Earth, these beings will have Earth’s universal address, an understanding of human biology and can rank their top 10 favourite things. But that’s just something humanity will have to wait at least 25,000 years to find out.
Happy 44th anniversary to the Arecibo Message!
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