For forty years a band of heroic astronomers have been sweeping the skies with
radio telescopes in the hope of stumbling across a message from an advanced alien
civilization. In spite of some intriguing incidents, nothing positive has yet
occurred. This project, known by its acronym of SETI, was championed by the late
Carl Sagan and made famous by movies such
Contact, starring Jodie Foster. SETI
is supported by NASA and other science agencies, but is mostly privately funded.
More information can be provided by the
SETI Institute.
What would happen if SETI succeeded? What would be the impact on human civilization
of the sudden knowledge that we are not alone in the universe? How would we react?
How should we react? To evaluate the issues, the
International Academy of Astronautics
convened the SETI Post-Detection Committee. It is headquartered
at BEYOND, but has international membership (below).
Among the many momentous issues the Committee considers are
- How do we verify the putative signal?
- How and when should the public be informed?
- Should governments be involved?
- Should we reply to any message?
- Who speaks for planet Earth? What should we say?
- How would this discovery affect our science, our religions, human society?
- What are the risks and opportunities afforded by SETI?
Membership of the SETI Post-Detection Committee:
Chair:
Paul Davies, Director of BEYOND
;
Deputy Chair:
Carol Oliver,
Australian Centre for Astrobiology;
Members:
Ivan Almar,
Konkoly Observatory, Hungary;
John Dreher,
SETI Institute, USA;
John Elliot,
Leeds University, UK;
Ben Finney,
University of Hawaii, USA;
Hirax Hirabayashi,
Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan;
Guillermo Lemarchand,
Instituto Argentino de Radioastronomia, Argentina;
Karl Menten,
Max Planck Institut für Radioastronomie, Germany;
Ian Morison,
Jodrell Bank Observatory, UK;
Ray Norris,
Australia Telescope National Facility;
Tom Pierson,
SETI Institute, USA
V. Radhakrishnan,
Raman Research Institute, India;
Martin Rees,
Institute of Astronomy, Cambridge, UK;
Seth Shostak;
SETI Institute, USA;
H. Paul Shuch,
SETI League, USA;
Govind Swarup, Tata Institute for Research, India;
Jill Tarter,
SETI Institute, USA;
Allen Tough,
University of Toronto, Canada;
Doug Vakoch,
SETI Institute, USA;
Lori Walton,
Tigerstar Geoscience, Canada;
Dan Werthimer,
University of California Berkeley, USA
