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Choosing Target Stars

Added: January 19, 2007

Hmmmmm...

Picking targets was tricky. Fun, but tricky.

The myriad variables and gigantic equations connected with calculating the probability of life occuring anywhere out there are so staggering that applying "reason" to the problem seems extremely odd (struggling for a better word here...perhaps "mega-odd"?.

What's the difference if we add a few orders of magnitude to a probability that is already incomprehensibly small? Does the scale of miracle required for the signal to be heard at 100 light years instead of 10 actually change? Can one miracle be "bigger" than another? The whole theory of a miracle is that it transcends the scope of the human intellect. Does it matter if it transcends the scope of the human intellect by a factor of 1000 instead of a factor of 100? Do miracles have "factors"?.

Thinking along these lines quickly got ridiculous, so we had to stop. The only way to wrap our head around cosmic variables like this was to go with a purely arbitrary decision making process and get on with it before becoming hopelessly bogged down. The result was the creation of three basic lists, each one putting emphasis on a different variable and focusing on the relative advantages of each possible target, rather than the absolute probability.

Proximity
The proximity list contains the 11 closest stars to our own that are visible from the Northern Hemisphere. In an extremely unlikely universe, these targets have the highest relative possibility of success: They are close, They have likely planetary systems, and they are generally accepted as "possible" locations for sentient life as we know it. At least, there is nothing obviously wrong with these systems that would make life as we know it completely impossible (too hot, too much radiation, too much freaky gravity, no planets etc.) For those who desire to tame the magnificent galactic symphony through cold hard reason, this is the list for you. View this list

Planets
Smart people with tons of money and fancy equipment have developed some devilishly clever methods of detecting planets in orbit around other stars. At the moment, over 200 planets have been verified and more are discovered every year. The trick is that detecting a gas giant at 100 light years is easier than detecting a rocky earth-like planet at 10 light years, so many of the proven planets are out there are gas giants (not big candidates for life as we know it) and are at some pretty scary distances. It is hard to pass up the chance to shoot our message to places where we know there is something orbiting around the star, so we are going to give them a shot. View this list

Non-Linear Reasoning List
My own personal favorite group. These are targets that are extremely unlikely in all measurable ways but have some type of powerful trans-rational attaction. Some require a bounce off the moon to hit the southern hemisphere, others are 2.5 million light years away, still others don't even have planets. You get the picture. This category pushes the "fun" slider to 11, and the "practicality" slider to negative one billion. View this list

Next: Target Stars: Targets of Reason

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