The SETI Institute received $200 million to search for evidence of alien life. The new funding will allow the SETI Institute to consolidate and expand the search for extraterrestrial intelligence.
For decades, the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) Institute has scoured the stars for signs of a technologically advanced civilization lurking among them. And although no such signs have yet been discovered, it is worth considering that the researchers observed only a small point in space – and then for a very short period of time.
Thus, a new $200 million philanthropic gift to the SETI Institute will ensure the continuation of the SETI Institute’s efforts over the long term, giving astronomers the best chance to answer one of our species’ most intriguing scientific and philosophical questions—whether we are alone in the Universe.
The large sum was donated by the estate of late technology entrepreneur and Qualcomm co-founder Franklin Antonnio. Antonnio worked at SETI for 12 years before passing away on May 13, 2022.
In particular, new areas of radio frequencies are being explored in search of intelligent aliens.
The European Low Frequency Radio Telescope Array is conducting the first-ever search at megahertz radio frequencies as part of the Breakthrough Listen project.
A new European search for extraterrestrial radio signals at low, uncharted frequencies is already underway, with more than 1.6 million star systems analyzed.
SETI, in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence, has traditionally focused on radio frequencies above the gigahertz, such as the 1.42 GHz hydrogen line frequency. SETI astronomers tend to avoid lower frequencies because the Earth’s atmosphere makes observations noisy with its natural frequencies.
However, the European Low Frequency Array, or LOFAR for short, is specifically designed to conduct radio astronomy research at these frequencies.