Beyond Contact: A Guide to SETI and Communicating with Alien Civilizations
Language: English
Published by Sebastopol, CA, O'Reilly Media, 2001
- First Edition
- Hardcover
- New
Seller: Blind-Horse-Books (ABAA), DeLand, FL, U.S.A.Blind-Horse-Books (ABAA)
AbeBooks seller since September 1, 2011
Condition: New
£ 26.46
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Add to basketItem description from seller
WHEN THE SEARCH ENDS, THE CONVERSATION BEGINS. Beyond Contact examines both the scientific search for intelligent life beyond Earth and the challenges that would accompany a successful detection. Rather than treating SETI as solely an astronomical pursuit, Brian McConnell presents it as an interdisciplinary field drawing upon physics, biology, linguistics, computer science, information theory, and communications. The book explains how scientists search for signals from distant civilizations, the technologies employed in that search, and the methods by which humanity might interpret and respond to an extraterrestrial message. Particular attention is given to the SETI@home project, an early and influential distributed-computing initiative that enabled millions of volunteers to contribute processing power to the analysis of astronomical data. Accessible and thoughtfully organized, the work provides a clear introduction to one of science's most enduring questions: Are we alone? PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: Octavo. Publisher's blue cloth-covered boards with silver spine lettering. Mylar-protected dust jacket. 9.25 inches tall; 417 pages with appendices and index. Illustrated throughout with charts, diagrams, drawings, and explanatory figures. CONDITION: A Fine Hardcover in a Fine Dust Jacket protected in archival Mylar. Appears unread. No ownership markings noted. A bright, fresh, gift-quality copy. HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE - Issued during a period of renewed public engagement with SETI research, the book captures the optimism surrounding early large-scale distributed computing projects and the growing sophistication of scientific approaches to extraterrestrial communication. It reflects the state of SETI research at the beginning of the twenty-first century and provides insight into how scientists, engineers, and theorists approached the possibility of first contact. CONTENT HIGHLIGHTS +++ Accessible introduction to the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence +++ Explains the science and technology behind SETI research +++ Examines the pioneering SETI@home distributed computing project +++ Explores the challenges of interpreting and responding to alien signals +++ Integrates astronomy, linguistics, biology, and information theory +++ Illustrated throughout with diagrams and charts SUBJECTS: SETI; Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence; Alien Communication; Radio Astronomy; Astrobiology; SETI@home; Space Science; Information Theory; Extraterrestrial Life; Astronomy, Science; Astronomy; Popular Science; Space Exploration.…
Seller Inventory # 22061
- Title
- Beyond Contact: A Guide to SETI and Communicating with Alien Civilizations
- Author
- McConnell, Brian S.
- Publisher
- Sebastopol, CA, O'Reilly Media
- Publication year
- 2001
- Condition
- New
- Dust jacket
- New
- Binding
- Hardcover
- Language
- English
- ISBN 10
- 0596000375
- ISBN 13
- 9780596000370
- Edition
- First Edition.
- Item weight
- 2 pounds
- Seller catalogs
- SCIENCE, MATHEMATICS, TECHNOLOGY
"What do we need to know about to discover life in space?" --Frank Drake, 1961In the early 1960s, Frank Drake, a young astronomer with the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) in Green Bank, West Virginia, developed what is now known as the "Drake Equation" in an effort to determine how many intelligent, communicative civilizations our galaxy could harbor. For forty years, the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) has combed the skies in search of signals from star systems within the galaxy. In Beyond Contact: A Guide to SETI and Communicating with Alien Civilizations, author Brian McConnell goes behind the scenes and examines what goes into the search for intelligent life.SETI is a four-step process. First we have to know where to look; then we must be able to send and receive signals to that star system. Once signals arrive, scientists then need to be able to interpret those signals into something that can be understood. And although we haven't yet received any signals (except for our own Earth-based transmissions), we'll eventually have to figure out a protocol for responding.Beyond Contact introduces you to:
- The history of SETI research, including the early searches of Project Ozma, traditional radio astronomy, the search for intelligence in optical wavelengths (known as Optical SETI, or OSETI), and the SETI@home project.
- An overview of the Drake Equation and the Rare Earth Hypothesis, which scientists use to estimate the number of planets in our galaxy that could harbor intelligent, communicative life forms.
- How signals are sent and received over interstellar distances. The author explains the principles of signal and image processing, and how SETI researchers identify and process analog signals using Fourier transforms to see how the power in a signal is distributed across different frequencies.
- How to build a general-purpose symbolic language for sending signals, and even computer programs, with present-day SETI equipment. The ability to transmit computer programs enables us to let another civilization know about our knowledge and technological capabilities.
"Synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
About the Author
Brian McConnell is the author of Beyond Contact: A Guide to SETI and Communicating with Alien Civilizations, and a contributor to Between Worlds, an upcoming SETI book from the SETI Institute and MIT Press. McConnell also publishes TelephonyDesign.Com, an online resource about telecommunications products and technology.
"About the title" may belong to another edition of this title.
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Blind Horse Books is a member of the Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association of America (ABAA) and adheres to its Code of Ethics. We specialize in travel, exploration, fine press, and documentary material, with particular emphasis on printed ephemera, maps, photographic archives, and institutional publications from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Our inventory regularly includes material appropriate for academic, library, and museum collections. We work carefully with provenance, condition, and bibliographic accuracy, and stand fully behind all descriptions and attributions. Items are selected with long-term research and collecting value in mind. Blind Horse Books is operated by Richard and Dottie Oates and based in DeLand, Florida. We have been active in the antiquarian book trade since 1999 and are members of the ABAA, FABA, IOBA, and the Ephemera Society of America. Building Your Great Collection, One Fine Book at a Time. …
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