General Information
Optical SETI was born in 1961, when Charles Townes and Robert Schwartz first proposed the use of lasers for interstellar communication. Since then, over a dozen theoretical studies, and a handful of actual searches, have been conducted. Though long overshadowed by microwave searches, OSETI is emerging as a valid search strategy in its own right, owing to recent advances in photonics equipment and devices. The table below, though probably not complete, summarizes actual Optical SETI observing programs, past and current. It is based upon Lemarchand, Optical SETI Since 1960, Bioastronomy News 11(1):2, First Quarter 1999 (used by the gracious permission of the Planetary Society).
| Year * | Researcher | Signals | Wavelength (nm) | Telescope (m) | Targets | Observatory |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1973 | Wischnia | CW | 280 | 1 | 3 stars | Copernicus (Poland) |
| 1973 | Shvartsman | Pulsed | 550 | 0.6 | 21 objects | SAO (Russia) |
| 1978 | Shvartsman | Pulsed | 550 | 6 | 93 objects | SAO (Russia) |
| 1986 | Betz | CW | 10,000 | 1.7 | nearby stars | UC Berkeley (CA) |
| 1990 | Kingsley | Pulsed | 550 | 0.254 | nearby stars | COSETI (OH) |
| 1995 | Beskin | Pulsed | 550 | 6 | several objects | SAO (Russia) |
| 1996 | Blair/Zadnik | Pulsed | 550 | 0.64 | nearby stars | Perth (Australia) |
| 1996 | Sold'n | Pulsed | 550 | 0.3 | nearby stars | (Czech Republic) |
| 1999 | Werthimer | Pulsed | 550-700 | 0.76 | nearby stars | Leuschner (CA) |
| 1999 | Marcy | CW | 550 | 4 and 10 | nearby stars | Lick (CA) and Keck (HI) |
| 1999 | Horowitz | Pulsed | 550-700 | 1.55 | nearby stars | Harvard/Smithsonian (MA) |
| 1999 | Bhathal | Pulsed | 550 | 0.4 and 1.85 | nearby stars | Sydney (Australia) |
| 1999 | Stone et.al. | Pulsed | 550-700 | 1 | nearby stars | Lick, UC Berkeley (CA) |
| 2000 | Wilkinson | Pulsed | 550 | 0.91 | nearby stars | Princeton (NJ) |
| 2001 | Lodder | Pulsed | 800-3000 | 1 | SN guided | Argus EM77to (KY) |
* Current and ongoing searches indicated in Bold
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