ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

Million Dollar Contest For SETI Message

Updated on November 23, 2016

Introduction

On July 20, 2015, the 46th anniversary of the landing on the moon, Yuri Milner and Stephen Hawkins announced a new $100 Million initiative to search for intelligent alien life. As part of this new SETI initiative, they are offering an 1 million dollars award for the best message to send. What would the ideal message be? That is the question.

-August 2015

Arecibo Observatory

Background

It has been over 30 years since the start of SETI by the famous astronomer Carl Sagan. So far, there has been no signal or reply. The task is not easy since it involves searching for electromagnetic radiations from all directions and with a large number of frequencies. It is much worst than searching for a needle in a haystack. The question is why is it so hard? The Fermi paradox comes to mind. If the probability of life is so large as estimated by the Drake equation, where is everybody?

What Would A Message Look Like?

I don't know what the final message would look like but here are some attributes to consider.

  • Based on the universal language - mathematics.
  • Based on some relations to Hydrogen - the basic element of the universe.
  • Information includes our location in the Milky way.
  • Information should be timeless.
  • It should be simple but not found in nature.
  • It should be a message of peace.

These are some of my thoughts. What additional features do you suggest? Please append to the comments at the bottom.

Plaque on Pioneer Probe

How to Submit Entry to Contest?

Update (Feb. 8, 2016)

As of today, I have not been able to find any information on this contest and how to submit entry. I tried contacting the SETI Institure with no success. Very strange...

If anyone have any detail on this contest, please share with us by way of comments below.

Summary

I have no problem with people believing in ET's. It is interesting to me that they will accept the possibilities of all theories except the one that that is the most simple explanation and the one stated in the Bible. It is a supernatural event and a miracle that we are here by the grace of God.

Reading the book by Eric Metaxas below, you will realize from a scientific point of view, how unlikely it is for life to exist anywhere. What was interesting for me is that it is not just the distance from the sun that determines if a planet is hospitable to life. The goldilocks theory of planets is just the beginning. The composition of the planets and elements and compounds and water are all integral to the formation of life. The importance of our moon cannot be understated. The Drake equation does not take those into account.

working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)