Re: How do you say 'Hello' to an alien?

michael poxon scripsit:
> The daftest thing about the Arecibo message is that it was aimed at the
> Hercules globular cluster (Messier 13) a mere 30,000 light-years away.
> That's 30,000 years for the message to get there plus another 30,000 years
> to wait for the reply!
The Arecibo dish isn't steerable -- it's built into a hillside, so
you takes what you gets.  Additionally, sending the message had to be
fitted into what would otherwise have been downtime from the main job
of observation.

It was basically a symbolic gesture.  Not a serious attempt at communication,
like sending "I Love Lucy" to the known universe.

--
John Cowan  jcowan@reutershealth.com  http://www.ccil.org/~cowan
O beautiful for patriot's dream that sees beyond the years
Thine alabaster cities gleam undimmed by human tears!
America! America!  God mend thine every flaw,
Confirm thy soul in self-control, thy liberty in law!
        -- one of the verses not usually taught in U.S. schools