LISTENING FOR SIGNS OF LIFE IN SPACE : RADIO ASTRONOMER WILL SPEAK IN SIMI.Byline: Alicia Doyle Daily News Staff Writer Paul Shuch was 11 when the Soviet Union launched the first artificial satellite - Sputnik Sputnik: see satellite, artificial; space exploration. Sputnik Any of a series of Earth-orbiting spacecraft whose launching by the Soviet Union inaugurated the space age. - into orbit Oct. 4, 1957. ``That's when I thought anything was possible, even traveling to the stars,'' Shuch said. Several decades of scientific research have convinced Shuch that humans will never touch the sky's fiery pinpricks of light, but he has found another way to learn about the galaxy's wonders - through radio wavelengths. Now 50, Shuch considers himself a radio astronomer - one who uses radio waves Radio waves Electromagnetic energy of the frequency range corresponding to that used in radio communications, usually 10,000 cycles per second to 300 billion cycles per second. to study the stars and the space between them. ``Even if I can't visit the stars, I can certainly study them out of radio wavelengths,'' said Shuch, an electronics professor at Pennsylvania College of Technology Pennsylvania College of Technology, or Penn College, is a small university located in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Affiliated with The Pennsylvania State University, the school offers more than 100 certificate, associate and baccalaureate degree programs in fields like . Over the years, Shuch has perfected his skill, listening via short-wave radio for out-of-the-ordinary signals that might originate from distant planets. He has since hooked up with other enthusiasts who make up the SETI SETI (sĕt`ē) [Search for ExtraTerrestrial Intelligence], name given to a series of independent programs to detect radio signals from civilizations beyond the solar system. League - Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence. Originally founded by NASA NASA: see National Aeronautics and Space Administration. NASA in full National Aeronautics and Space Administration Independent U.S. in the 1960s, the SETI project captured the imaginations of those who wondered about life on other planets. When NASA's SETI funding was cut in 1993, the SETI League was formed as a nonprofit corporation nonprofit corporation n. an organization incorporated under state laws and approved by both the state's Secretary of State and its taxing authority as operating for educational, charitable, social, religious, civic or humanitarian purposes. to help continue the project's research. Headquartered in New Jersey, the league has 400 members worldwide and is supported by membership dues, said Shuch, the league's executive director. He is scheduled to discuss the league's deep-space listening program in Simi Valley Simi Valley (sē`mē, sĭm`ē), city (1990 pop. 100,217), Ventura co., SW Calif. in an oil, fruit, and farm region; laid out 1887, inc. 1969. on Wednesday night. Invited to speak by the Simi Settlers Amateur Radio Club, Shuch will explain how radio astronomers look for the ``proverbial needle in the haystack'' out of the millions of signals and noises in the radio spectrum. One challenge is separating out the range of signals - natural and man-made - emitted right here on Earth. Sophisticated antenna systems, listening devices and advanced computer programs are only a small part of the clutter. Any extraterrestrial signal likely would be a voice from the past, having traveled across space for maybe millions of years before reaching Earth, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. Shuch. During NASA's research through SETI, a number of signals were detected, Shuch said. Though there was not enough information to draw a conclusion, there were hints of unexplained phenomena. ``The possibility boggles the imagination,'' Shuch said. Still, SETI has its critics. Religious fundamentalists find it hard to believe that life might exist on other planets, Shuch said. Others believe that aliens already walk the Earth and that radio astronomers are wasting airwaves. Shuch admits that what he seeks might not exist. But then again, maybe it does. ``We seek to answer a fundamental question that has haunted mankind - are we alone?'' Shuch said. ``What we seek is existence proof - not contact - simply to know if they are there. Because the knowledge of existence of any other civilization will profoundly change our view of our place in the cosmos.'' THE FACTS WHAT: ``The Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence,'' a presentation by Paul Shuch. WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Wednesday. WHERE: Farmers Insurance Group, regional office, 3041 Cochran St. COST: $3 donation. All proceeds will be split between the SETI League and the scholarship fund of the American Radio Relay League A relay league is a chain of message forwarding stations in a system of optical telegraphs, radio telegraph stations, or riding couriers. An interesting description of these early 19th century methods and its evolution into the electrical telegraph networks of the mid and . INFORMATION: WWW WWW or W3: see World Wide Web. (World Wide Web) The common host name for a Web server. The "www-dot" prefix on Web addresses is widely used to provide a recognizable way of identifying a Web site. .SETILEAGUE.ORG; e-mail - N6TXSETILEAGUE.ORG; or call 1 (800) TAUSETI. |
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