SETI Institute and ID4

Fact and Fiction

Many people are discovering the SETI Institute thanks to the movie Independence Day. While we appreciate the publicity, we'd like to point out a few differences between the actual and screen versions of the SETI Institute.

  1. The SETI Institute does not have radio telescopes in New Mexico (or anywhere else for that matter). Project Phoenix, the Institute's only SETI project uses telescopes that are national or university facilities.

  2. The telescopes seen in Independence Day (and quite a few other films) are part of the Very Large Array. In fact, while such a radio telescope array is great for mapping fine structure in quasars and galaxies, it's not the preferred instrument for SETI.

  3. We often say that we "listen" for signals to emphasize the fact that we do not transmit. As shown in the movie, it is the computers that do the primary "listening". When an interesting signal is detected, the control computer's terminals issue a series of beeps. We don't use flashing lights.

  4. We do have speakers in the control room, but they are used for more mundane audio warnings about equipment problems such as an air conditioner failure in our equipment trailer.

  5. Although we do not listen to signals, we generally listen to music while observing. The control room is seldom as quiet as in the movie. If the music has a latin beat, Jill Tarter is probably at the console.

  6. When we are in the control room monitoring observations, we do not practice putting. We play computer games. (Civilization is popular.)

  7. If a signal is confirmed as originating from extraterrestrial technology, the announcement will be made as quickly and widely as possible.

  8. In both Independence Day and The Arrival, SETI is depicted as an early warning system to alert us that extraterrestrials are in the neighborhood, about to land. In fact, SETI experiments are designed to detect signals coming from many light years distance. The Project Phoenix Follow-Up Detection Device would automatically reject signals coming from only 400,000 km (the distance of the moon).

  9. And if we got a percentage of the gross (not the net), we probably could build a dedicated SETI observatory. In the first weekend alone, Independence Day grossed $50M, enough to operate all existing SETI projects for a dozen years.
    Note: Donations to the SETI Institute and Project Phoenix are tax deductable.

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