SETI: SAT Spread Spectrum indistinguishable from normal star? (was Re: Movie ;contact)

Michael M. Butler (mbutler@comp*lib.org)
Sun, 26 Oct 1997 23:37:24 -0800


Umm... I'm not absolutely sure this is true. Would it not show some
statistical evidence of the multiplexing? I admit it might be subtle, and I
agree that Arecibo would be of limited utility. I think the idea of the Frank
Drake crowd is to assume that "they" *want* to talk to "us", and would go for
something like a tin can on a string near a watering hole. If "we" want to
look for "their" "Ophiuchi Hotline[s]", that is a different matter. IMHO,
YMMV, etc.

MMB

Personal to Danny: You're almost there. I suggest actually using a search
engine once in a while. :) :)

> When I think of the benefits of using something like Direct Sequence
> Spread Spectrum modulation over visible light frequencies, with
> bandwidths in, say, the terahertz range,

<snip>

> such a signal would look just like white light, or starlight, or any type
> of source desired. It would not be decipherable or even detectably
> artificial unless the transmitting folk wanted it to be. For that
> matter, any number of "stars" we see could just as well be transmissions.--

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