SETI 2020: A Roadmap for the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence [Paperback]

Ronald D. Ekers (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 2002

If you are interested in how researchers plan to search the heavens for signs of intelligent life, you should have this book. SETI 2020 is a new, and remarkably comprehensive study of how scientists busy with the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) should direct their efforts between now and the year 2020. Distilling the work of dozens of top SETI experts, astronomers, and technology mavens, this book gives an overview of the problem of finding evidence for extraterrestrial technologies, and how to best address it. New radio telescopes consisting of large arrays of relatively small antennas are proposed and detailed. So are new types of antennas that can survey the entire sky at once. Of particular interest is the extensive treatment of optical SETI -- the search for signals beamed our way using high-powered, pulsed lasers or their equivalent. A book that's interesting for both the layman and the technically sophisticated, SETI 2020 is the definitive publication in this fascinating field.

Editorial Reviews

From Scientific American

The point of view of the SETI project, of course, differs from Webb's. For more than 50 years, SETI researchers have been inspired by the following reasoning: "In a cosmos filled with billions of galaxies containing trillions of stars, is it possible that Earth, a world of inconsequential size and ordinary position, is alone in housing life that can discern the natural order? It is deeply incongruous to suppose that our enormous Universe is only sparsely occupied. To do so requires the belief that humans are exceedingly special. In view of astronomy's history, such a view is clearly suspect." This book reviews the history of the search and lays out a plan for SETI's next 18 years. The book presents sober science that holds out an awesome prospect should the search succeed: "We would come to view ourselves and our place in the Universe in a very different light. The changes would be as profound as those resulting from the revolutionary discoveries of Galileo and Darwin, which changed our understanding of our place in the solar system and of our biological evolutionary heritage."

Editors of Scientific American

Product Details

• Paperback: 602 pages
• Publisher: SETI Press (February 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0966633539
• ISBN-13: 978-0966633535
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 7.6 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #956,409 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Technically impressive, but not stirring, September 28, 2003

By 

M. A Michaud "michael_michaud" (Dulles, VA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: SETI 2020: A Roadmap for the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (Paperback)

This book reports the recommendations of a scientific and technical working group that met periodically from 1997 to 1999 to chart the future of research and technology development for SETI, the scientific search for extraterrestrial intelligence. That group was assembled and funded by the SETI Institute, the leading institution in the field. The report focuses first on strategic objectives, then on search strategies and options for new telescope and computer designs.

This document was intended to be a landmark comparable to the visionary Project Cyclops report published in 1972. Technological advances since then -- particularly in computer technology -- clearly justified a fresh review. SETI 2020 recommends broadening the frequency range of searches to include optical and infrared wavelengths, looking for both continuous wave and pulsed signals, and using multiple beams per telescope in microwave searches. The report recommends that the SETI Institute undertake the development and construction of a One Hectare Radio Telescope, and an omnidirectional SETI system that could allow continuous, all-sky coverage for the low end of the microwave window. The Working Group also endorsed some existing strategies: using systems for both targeted searches and sky surveys, and focusing on beacons.

Nearly half of this book consists of technical appendices. The most intriguing of them is Jill Tarter's review of the Project Cyclops report from the perspective of 25 years later. Not only has technological advance improved our capabilities and widened our options; we also know more about the science involved.

Those readers with a serious interest in the technical means astronomers use to search for evidence of intelligence beyond the Earth will find this book very informative. It will tell most readers all they want to know about the technology issues, though less about the science. While the language is clear and straightforward, it lacks the stirring, visionary quality of the Cyclops report. Perhaps that is a sign that SETI has matured. Or it could be the result of drafting by committee. Those readers who are looking for an introduction to SETI or a general overview of that field should look elsewhere, particularly in view of the outrageous price.

5.0 out of 5 stars Reality and SETI, February 27, 2006

By 

John Kay (Grass Valley, California, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: SETI 2020: A Roadmap for the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (Paperback)

SETI 2020 is essential reading for everyone with a serious interest in the search for extra-terrestrial intelligence or, indeed, radio astronomy in general. More than fifty of the World's leading experts contributed to this work which has been finely crafted into one coherent volume
Originally intended to encourage financial contributions-at which it has succeeded admirably-this book describes the historical development of the Institute's work and looks forward to methods which depend on currently developing technology. Reality is already catching up with its predictions, which shows how realistic the expectations of the Institute are.
Much of the book describes the science and technologies specific to the search, but there are also discussions about topics of wider interest such as the origins of the "Fermi Paradox", high-powered lasers, various ways of measuring time, and many others.