***Int’l Science Cooperation Adv.***
SETI even without results can be valuable for developing the research process and international cooperation
Chandler, science writer, 84
(David L., “Astronomy; Listening To The Stars Gets Respect,” Boston Globe, p. 1, June 25, NS)
The search for signals from intelligent beings in outer space may indeed be a roll of the dice but, after years of struggling to be taken seriously, it has become a respectable scientific endeavor. Its advocates now form an active worldwide network of scientists who have made some significant discoveries and developed techniques that could bear fruit in such diverse fields as telecommunications and theories of star formation. The idea of an organized scientific search for signals from beings on other worlds was first suggested by physicists Philip Morrison and Giuseppe Cocconi in a paper in Nature magazine. It was promptly denounced by many scientists as a science-fiction idea unworthy of serious consideration. Last week, 25 years after the exhortation, the first internationally recognized scientific organization dedicated to that search held its first formal gathering in Boston University's new science center. "This is now mainstream science," astronomer Carl Sagan said in an interview at the meeting, which was sponsored by the International Astronomical Union's commission on the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI). During this meeting, the commission adopted a new name for the field: bioastronomy. According to Cocconi - in a letter read at the meeting by Morrison - "The initial opposition was similar to that met by the pioneers of aviation: Why disturb the Angels?' " The opposition, Cocconi contends, was based on "skepticism, mixed with fear that success would jeopardize something in our lives." But such initial skepticism has slowly given way to the notion that real scientific analysis can be used on even such a speculative and wide-open question, and that the results of such efforts can have great value even if the premise turns out to be wrong. Even Sen. William Proxmire (D-Wis.), a longtime foe of expenditures for what he considers frivolous scientific research, has relented in his opposition to SETI. As recently as two years ago he was attacking the search for extraterrestrials. He even introduced an amendment to NASA's fiscal 1982 budget appropriation, which was passed by Congress, that prohibited the agency from spending any money on anything connected with such a project. Last year, however, after meeting with scientists who believe in the importance of SETI and after seeing a petition supporting the idea signed by 72 distinguished scientists from around the world (including seven Nobel laureates), Proxmire withdrew his opposition. As a result, NASA's SETI program is now funded at a rate of $2 million a year, and is expected to continue at that level for at least a decade. This search, using receivers capable of monitoring millions of channels at once, could begin its test phase as soon as this fall, and will be in full operation in two to three years. Within the scientific community itself, opinion seems to have swung around largely as a result of the careful methodology and useful research that have recently characterized SETI-related work. J. Mayo Greenberg of Huygens Laboratory in the Netherlands said last week that in the past, "I have been a cynic on this subject. I didn't think that SETI was a worthwhile project." But he is now convinced, he said, that even if it is not useful in any immediate sense it can in the long run be highly valuable to do such research. Greenberg's change of heart was partly the result of the formation of the IAU commission that sponsored the BU symposium. "This commission gives such research a viabilityit wouldn't otherwise have had," he said at the conclusion of the meeting. One area of investigation that has shown great progress in the past year, at least in part as a result of the interest of SETI researchers, is the detection of material around nearby stars. This material may be the first stage of the formation of planetary systems. The first such discovery was made last summer by the IRAS satellite, the first orbiting telescope able to search in detail for objects that emit infra- red light. But at last week's meeting, it was reported that analysis of IRAS data has shown that 80 nearby stars - about 25 percent of all those studied - may be surrounded by such clouds of particles. Other researchers reported similar discoveries of disk-shaped clouds, found by Earth-based telescopes. "It's a remarkable finding, a stunning finding," said Sagan, adding that it is likely to be of great significance to astronomers studying the origins of the solar system. Another value of the SETI endeavor was clear from last week's meeting: In the highly specialized world of scientific research it is rare to see such a diverse collection of disciplines represented, all interacting and bringing their differing perspectives to a single issue. As Sagan put it: "Where else would you find molecular biologists, paleontologists, anthropologists, radio astronomers, physicists and peoplefrom a variety of other disciplines meeting like this?" Until recently, SETI had been strongly dominated by the US and the USSR, and it has been the Russians, according to SETI pioneer Frank Drake of Cornell University, who have been responsible for some of the most original and creative ideas in the field. Several Russian scientists had been scheduled to attend this symposium, but cancelled at the last minute, apparently because of strained US-USSR relations. Other nations, however, were represented, including Japan, France, Australia, Canada, Belgium and Sweden. This increasingly international flavor of SETI efforts is another plus cited for such research.
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