SETI League Press Release
LITTLE FERRY, NJ.., August 30, 1995 -- The SETI League, Inc. has chosen "Project Argus" as the name for its upcoming radio Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence. The project, which will eventually involve five thousand radio amateurs worldwide scanning the entire sky for signs of other technological cultures, is expected to kick off on Earth Day, April 21, 1996. The necessary equipment is currently under development at The SETI League's Little Ferry, NJ, laboratories.
"In 1971," comments SETI League Executive Director Dr. H. Paul Shuch, "the finest minds in radioastronomy met at Stanford University to design the ultimate SETI receiver. The result, originally dubbed Argus, grew into the Cyclops system. Unfortunately, its construction was never funded. In naming our search Project Argus, we are paying tribute to the finest radiotelescope never built."
"The name Argus," explains SETI League technical advisor Dr. Robert Dixon, "originated from the mythological guard-being that had 100 eyes and could look in all directions at once. This name was used for an omnidirectional, all-seeing antenna by Arthur Clarke in his novel Imperial Earth and by Carl Sagan in his novel Contact." Dixon, a longtime amateur radio operator (W8ERD), is Assistant Director of the Ohio State University Radio Observatory, and has for some time been designing an Argus-type radiotelescope for that institution. In addition to sharing the Argus name, he hopes to share technology with The SETI League.
SETI scientists seek to determine through microwave and optical measurements whether humankind is alone in the universe. Since Congress terminated NASA's SETI funding in 1993, The SETI League and other scientific groups have been attempting to privatize the research. Experimenters interested in participating in the search for intelligent alien life, or citizens wishing to help support it, should email to join_at_setileague_dot_org, check the SETI League Web site at http://www.setileague.org/, send a fax to +1 (201) 641-1771, or contact The SETI League, Inc. membership hotline at +1 (800) TAU-SETI. Be sure to provide us with a postal address to which we will mail further information. The SETI League, Inc. is a membership-supported, non-profit [501(c)(3)], educational and scientific corporation dedicated to the electromagnetic Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence.
P.S. Tearsheets are always appreciated. Thank you.
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