SETI Undergoes Drastic Reduction. We’re Looking But No Longer Listening
Ryan Britt and Chris Lough

By now astronomers and space enthusiasts alike are bemoaning the recent crushing news that SETI has been forced to put the Allen Telescope Array into “hibernation” due to a drastic reduction in outside funding. And while there are other radio telescopes throughout the Earth, the Allen Telescope Array is one of the most essential. Just how bad is this news for those who hope to shake hands (tentacles?) with an extraterrestrial life? To quote from Ellie’s internal monologue in Carl Sagan’s Contact “…she was surprised that, in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence, what could be done was so far ahead of what had been done.”

Contrary to the pop culture image some might have of SETI; radio telescopes are not used exclusively for the search for extraterrestrial signals. Further, SETI does not have one specific home, or array, from which it operates. Like any other scientific or commercial entity, SETI has to book time on radio telescopes for their activities. The Allen Telescope Array was key to SETI’s endeavors, as the Array was created primarily with the intent of furthering SETI’s activities.

While the likelihood of actually receiving a long distance communication from space is exceedingly low, those odds drop to zero if we’re just not listening.

There is a particularly galling irony present when one considers the exoplanet data pouring in from the recently launched Kepler telescope. SETI Director Jill Tarter says it best, “There is a huge irony that a time when we discover so many planets to look at, we don’t have the operating funds to listen.”

This should be extremely frustrating not only for people interested in outer space, but really anyone who has any reverence for science that has taken a chance.

In another scene from the novel version of Contact, Valerian instills in Ellie exactly why SETI is so imperative:

“Nobody’s guaranteeing success. But can you imagine a more important question? Imagine them out there sending us signals, and nobody on Earth is listening. That would be a joke, a travesty. Wouldn’t you be ashamed of your civilization if we were able to listen and didn’t have the gumption to do it?”

The SETI Institute needs roughly 5 million to continue using the Allen Array. You can find more information and donate to SETI through their website.

Ryan Britt is a staff blogger for Tor.com.

Chris Lough is the production manager for Tor.com.