The
SETI@home
project

SETI stands for Search for ExtraTerrestrial Intelligence.

Since the beginning of the time man has always wondered whether she is lonely or not in the universe. The SETI@home project started to find signals from extraterrestrial intelligence to perhaps answer that question.
Everyone who have access to a computer (at work or at home) may participate in this project.

The program analyzing one block of data (the size is 341 kb or 351 kb) at the time and works as a screensaver and thereby works while you don't use the computer.
The program works with a number of different operating systems.

You should participate too! Every computer can help in analyzing the different blocks of data. Why turn off the computer during the night? Let it work in the name of science!

An example of a gaussian curve that the program found on the 10th September 2000.

For those who participate in the SETI@home project there is a poll with a number of questions. Below follows the results as it was at February 1 2002.

Answers from the participants.	My own answers and comments.
*Do you think there's life outside Earth?* (106515 responses) Yes______94.15% No________1.47% Not sure____4.39%	Sure there is life outside earth! We are one planet of billions in the whole universe. Besides, all the components are everywhere in the universe.
*Should Earth send a signal for aliens to hear?* (106285 responses) Yes_______78.25% No________10.36% Not sure____11.39%	I answered "yes" on this question. I think an extraterrestrial civilization who don't know the answer asks the same question as we do. If so, they are just as eager to know as we are, therefore we should let them know.
*Are aliens likely to be friendly or hostile towards us?* (106203 responses) Friendly______36.05% Hostile________5.52% Not sure______58.44%	At the time when I answered I probably said "friendly". Today I am not sure. After all, we don't know.
*What's your age range?* (106296 responses) 0-12 years______0.30% 13-19 years____12.63% 20-39 years____61.44% 40-59 years____23.47% 60+ years_______2.16%	I am born in 1968, so I belong to the group of "20-39 years".
*What's your gender?* (106072 responses) Male_____92.70% Female____7.30%	Male Where are all the females who also should participate?
*How many computers do you have running SETI@home?* (106305 responses) 1 computer_____58.64% 2-4 computers___33.74% 5-9 computers____5.59% 10-99 computers__1.90% 100+ computers___0.13%	One computer. I started with a Pentium 100 MHz, which took about 135-145 hours per block of data. Now I use a Pentium 233 MHz MMX, which takes about 60-65 hours per block of data. I still use the former to download new blocks of data from the Internet (the web site of SETI@home).
*Should the U.S. government fund SETI research?* (106013 responses) Yes______79.52% No_______11.60% Not sure____8.88%	No. This is something every country should help finance.
*What's your main reason for running SETI@home?* (103945 responses) Find ET for the good of humanity___________58.37% Find ET to become famous_________________3.05% Keep my computer productive_____________16.46% Get my name on a top 100 list on the web site___2.31% Other________________________________19.82%	We do wonder if there is extraterrestrial intelligence, right? That is the only reason why I participate. If it is possible, I want to know the answer. If my little contribution helps I'm happy.
*How many hours is your computer running on a typical day?* (106182 responses) Less than 24____________________37.53% 24, because of SETI@home________33.96% 24, but not because of SETI@home__28.50%	24 hours, because of SETI@home. I do have the other (this one) computer for other things.
*When do you think humans will detect the first ET signal?* (105018 responses) Within the next 2 years___________8.27% Within the next 10 years_________38.53% Within the next 100 years________42.07% More than 100 years from now_____7.52% Never________________________3.61%	Never. I believe that we will never detect signals from extraterrestrial civilizations. The distances are too big and the time too short.

You are welcome to join Team Ufohagen.

If you want to know more about SETI@home, please visit their web site below.