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ZL2VAL > SETI 12.12.03 16:52l 93 Lines 4375 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
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Subj: Other life at Arecibo
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Sent: 031212/0815Z @:ZL2AB.#46.NZL.OC #:31100 [New Plymouth] FBB7.00g
From: ZL2VAL@ZL2AB.#46.NZL.OC
To : SETI@WW
Other Intelligent Life - at the Observatory
By Peter Backus
Observing Programs Manager
posted: 07:00 am ET
11 December 2003
The details of SETI observing are engrossing -- so much so that when we
launch a Phoenix observation run, it is all too easy to forget that the
enormous dish just beyond the control room is actually used by others as
well. While I shouldn't be surprised to see old friends on the
observatory grounds, seeing my friend Joel Weisberg and two of his
Carleton students at breakfast was an unexpected pleasure, and reminded
me that the human universe we observe at Arecibo is just as rich and
compelling as the one we scan for signals.
Joel was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Massachusetts while
I was a graduate student there. We both studied pulsars and even
collaborated on a paper or two. We've corresponded occasionally in the
years since UMass, but it has been a genuine and unexpected treat to see
him at Arecibo those few times Phoenix observing has overlapped with one
of his pulsar-observing runs. Each reunion gives us a chance to really
catch up, and I especially enjoy hearing the latest news about pulsars.
Joel isn't my only source for the inside scoop on pulsars. I often have
lunch with Paulo Freire, a research associate here at the observatory.
Paulo studies many aspects of pulsars, but his specialty is finding and
studying rapidly spinning pulsars in globular clusters. It is fun to
hear him discuss how he uses the pulsars to explore the clusters' physics.
Sometimes, it's not people but planets that provide a break from the
routine. For a few nights this week, our usual 5 PM to 8 AM schedule
will have a four-hour interruption while planetary astronomers bounce a
radar pulse off Saturn's moon Titan. The slow dance of the planets
brings the Earth and Saturn about as close as they ever get this week.
If observing time is precious, seizing a rare opportunity for research
is priceless, and the excitement is contagious!
Amazingly, a radar pulse from Arecibo can travel 748 million miles (1.2
billion km) to Titan, then retrace the journey back to Earth with power
enough to reveal information about the surface of that cold, distant
moon. The round trip journey of this pulse just fits within the
relatively small observing window defined by the telescope's limited
ability to move. Titan is about at the distance limit for Arecibo, which
can follow a star or planet across the sky for at most two hours and
forty-six minutes. It takes about two hours and fifteen minutes for a
radar pulse, traveling at the speed of light, to make the round trip to
Titan and back. So, the pulse is transmitted just after Titan rises into
view and the return pulse is received just before Titan sets. There is a
certain beauty in the neat match of needs and capabilities in this
project.
While the "Titan Interlude" in our observing was scheduled months ago,
other events take us by surprise. Weather, for example, cannot be
predicted far enough in advance to consider in our observing plans.
Tropical Storm Odette was a big surprise for everyone. Well past the
"season" for such storms, she suddenly appeared, heading straight for
Haiti and the Dominican Republic, our neighbors to the west. Bad news
for the inhabitants of those countries, but the storm presented a
terrific observing opportunity for atmospheric scientists here at
Arecibo. We willingly gave up precious hours for these time-critical
studies that could perhaps save lives in the future. It is raining here
as I write this. I can only imagine what it's like to the west.
Fortunately, the rain doesn't affect radio astronomy, at least at the
frequencies used at Arecibo, so Murray Lewis is studying Hydroxyl (OH)
masers now. Later there will be a pulsar experiment, and then more radar
observations of Odette. While the signal from "out there" remains
elusive, all around me is a wide variety of intelligent life right here
at the observatory. A pleasant thing to contemplate as we wait our turn
for the control room!
=========================
73 de Alan
AX25:ZL2VAL@ZL2AB.#46.NZL.OC
APRS:!3903.34S/17406.45E]
IP :zl2val@qsl.net
Message timed: 23:02 on 2003-Dec-12 (NZ local)
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Points to ponder
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Half the people you know are below average.
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