ATA starts search for aliens
It was a historic day for the science of radio astronomy. The Allen Telescope Array (ATA) has launched its first set of 42 radio antennas to start the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI). The operation was started near the town of Hat Creek, north of Lassen Volcanic National Park in the northeast corner of California.
This is the first set of dishes of the 350 radio dishes project of ATA. They have started receiving scientific data from the far reaches of the universe.
Cosmiclog reports that the first image captured by the array shows atomic hydrogen in the Andromeda Galaxy.
The Allen Telescope Array, which is named after Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, is a joint venture of University of California, Berkeley and the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) Institute. It is the panchromatic wide-angle snapshot radio camera built that enables round the clock surveillance of the skies for signs of alien intelligence by SETI astronomers.
The projected was started way back in 2001. The total cost projected for the project is nearly $50 million. Paul Allen donated $25 million to the project.
Image: Cosmiclog
