{"id":792878,"date":"2025-01-22T03:25:06","date_gmt":"2025-01-22T08:25:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/?p=792878"},"modified":"2025-01-22T03:25:06","modified_gmt":"2025-01-22T08:25:06","slug":"why-a-new-telescope-may-help-the-search-for-alien-life-in-space-short-wave-npr","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/?p=792878","title":{"rendered":"Why a new telescope may help the search for alien life in space : Short Wave : NPR"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Bettymaya Foott\/National Radio Astronomy Observatory<\/p>\n

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Bettymaya Foott\/National Radio Astronomy Observatory<\/p>\n

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At the turn of the century, 3.8 million people banded together in a real-time search for aliens \u2014 with screensavers. The project was called SETI@home. The hope was that with the power of millions of computers, researchers could comb through radio signals hitting Earth from outer space to find a hint of something unusual. <\/p>\n

“I hijacked my parent’s little Gateway 2000, and I absolutely cooked it trying to contribute to what seemed like the thing … the one opportunity, living in the middle of nowhere … I can be part of this journey that humankind is on,” recalls University of Washington astronomer James Davenport. “It was amazing.”<\/p>\n