The SETI League, Inc. Press Release No. 06-07

SETI League Press Release

SETI League Member To Launch mm-Wave Search
For more information contact: Dr. H. Paul Shuch, Executive Director Emeritus
(201) 641-1770, or email info_at_setileague_dot_org

Tucson, Arizona.., 7 October 2006 -- The latest in a series of SETI searches looking for intelligent civilizations emitting signals in the advanced millimeter wave radio band will take place on 1 - 2 November 2006 at the 12 meter Radio Observatory operated by the Steward Observatory of the University of Arizona. This advanced radio telescope is located on top of Kitt Peak, Sells, Arizona. The innovative SETI search is led by Peter Panayiotis Vekinis of the SETI League, Inc., a grass-roots, international non-profit educational and scientific organization, and is partly funded by the Steward Observatory of the University of Arizona's Radio Observatory, as well as by private funds.

Millimeter wave SETI is not new, but very few telescopes are available for SETI searches in this wave band on Earth. Following ideas in Vekinis' new book, GJ139 to be published early next year, his search will concentrate on two stars, GJ139 and GJ71 both Sun-like and relatively close to Earth. Millimeter waves are being used because it is hypothesized that advanced civilizations will use advanced frequencies, transmit on beacon frequencies already existing in the universe, and synchronize their signals emitted with natural timing sources such as pulsars.

The SETI search will be shown live (including whatever SETI signals are received) on the web using a Quicktime Streaming Server from the telescope site. More information on this search can be found at http://vekinis.com/seti. The web streaming address will be available at this server location as well.

The 12 meter telescope is available for use by others for SETI or Radio Astronomy research. Contact Lucy Ziurys at lziurys @ as.arizona.edu.

Largely using radio telescopes and optical telescopes, SETI scientists seek to determine whether humankind is alone in the universe. Since Congress terminated NASA's SETI funding in 1993, The SETI League and other scientific groups have privatized the research. Amateur and professional scientists interested in participating in the search for intelligent alien life, and citizens wishing to help support it, should email join_at_setileague_dot_org, check the SETI League Web site at http://www.setileague.org/, send a fax to +1 (201) 641-1771, or contact The SETI League, Inc. membership hotline at +1 (800) TAU-SETI. Be sure to provide us with a postal address to which we will mail further information. The SETI League, Inc. is a membership-supported, non-profit [501(c)(3)], educational and scientific corporation dedicated to the scientific Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence.

P.S. Tearsheets are always appreciated. Thank you.

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