The hunt for extraterrestrial life just lost one of its best tools. The Allen Telescope Array (ATA), a field of radio dishes in rural northern California built to seek out transmissions from distant alien civilizations, has been shuttered, at least temporarily, as its operators scramble to find a way to continue to fund it.
In an April 22 letter to donors, Tom Pierson, CEO of the SETI Institute in Mountain View, Calif., explained that the ATA has been put into “hibernation,” meaning that “starting this week, the equipment is unavailable for normal observations and is being maintained in a safe state by a significantly reduced staff.” The ATA is a partnership between the SETI Institute, which is responsible for building the telescope array, and the University of California, Berkeley, which is responsible for operating it. Astronomer Franck Marchis, who is affiliated with both institutions, broke the news on his blog April 22.
They are much nearer than you think!!
The answer is easy. All they have to do is claim they have seen global warming on Alpha Centauri where little green men are driving SUV’s and furthermore none on the next door planet where the little pink men have to pay CO2 taxes.
They will get all the funding they want.
They are crossing the border by the droves. Point the dishes south!