A telescope now under construction in Massachusetts will scan the sky not for planets or galaxies but to look for evidence of intelligent life beyond Earth, researchers say. Until now, the search for extraterrestrial intelligence, or SETI, has focused mainly on deciphering the radio and microwave signals that stream from every corner of the universe.
Computers try to detect patterns from what is otherwise random noise.
With the new telescope under construction about 40 miles west of Boston, scientists will systematically look for pulses of light that might be generated by a distant civilization, said Paul Horowitz, the project's leader at Harvard University. Once operational in early 2002, the telescope will search for brief pulses of light in the area of stars and will cover the entire northern sky once every 200 clear nights. Special sensors will be able to detect flashes of light as short as a billionth of a second. Using current technology, Earth-based scientists could generate a laser pulse that would appear 5,000 times brighter than our sun, as seen by extraterrestrial astronomers who happen to live in the path of the beam. The Harvard instrument, measuring 72 inches in diameter, will be the largest telescope east of the Rockies, said Louis Friedman, executive director of the Planetary Society, which is funding the project.