Tek-Bull

SETI’s Telescope Array needs us to Fund its Comeback!

A while back, we had a story about SETI Institute, the 42 telescope array in charge of listening for alien life, being shut down due to “Non Sufficient Funds”. But, YOU and I can bring it back to life for less than 1/10 of a Cent a year.

The SETI Institute is a private nonprofit organization dedicated to scientific research, education, and public outreach. The array is located in the Hat Creek Radio Observatory belonging to the University of California Berkeley (UCB). Earlier this year, however, the university ran out of funding from California to keep SETI alive. SETI began to look for different alternatives like getting funding from the Air Force, who also turn them down due to their own lack of Government Funding.

SETI needs about .0006 pennies from each of us each year to continue running, or about $200,000 dollars, and for some reason or another, no one seems to be able to fund the project.  20 years from now when E.T.s come knocking on our door like they did on Independence day, everyone will be pointing fingers at each other over whose fault it is.

That is, unless YOU and I can stop it!

SETI’s Allen Telescope Array, or ATA, has opened up a donation site, out of the $200,000 dollars needed for the funding; they have already collected $27,000 from 530 donors.

So far, SETI hasn’t done anything to special for us, however, Jill Tarter, the institute’s director, said is not what it has done for us, but more what it WILL DO for us. Jill said “Thanks to NASA’s Kepler Mission, for the first time in human history we can now direct the telescope’s scans towards planet candidates in the habitable zone around their parent star. It is exactly the wrong time for the telescope to go dark. But given the outpouring of support already, I’m invigorated by the idea that we will be able to continue the work.”

Let’s Hope that they can get enough funding for this project. It would be a tragedy if something like this dies off, especially now that we found a possible habitable planet, and come on, Bill Gates, Google, Steve Jobs, anyone of those people can give less than 1% to keep SETI alive for 10 years straight… I’m just saying…

SETI, via PCWorld