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The Arecibo Message: What We Told the Universe in 1974 | Smartest Year Ever (May 30, 2025)
In this episode of Smartest Year Ever, Gordy unpacks one of humanity’s boldest space broadcasts — the Arecibo Message. In 1974, a powerful radio telescope in Puerto Rico fired off a burst of binary data aimed at the stars. But what was in that message? Who was it meant for? And why do some scientists now think we might've made a cosmic mistake?
Explore how Frank Drake, Carl Sagan, and others condensed humanity into 1,679 bits. Dive into the incredible story of the Arecibo Observatory, the science behind interstellar messaging, and the ongoing debate about alien contact and space signals. This episode also follows up on yesterday’s topic — the Dark Forest Theory — with an even deeper look at how we’ve announced ourselves to the cosmos.
What happens when you send a postcard to the stars? What if nobody’s home?
Sources:
Drake, F. (n.d.). The Arecibo Message. Cornell University.
Sagan, C. (1978). Murmurs of Earth: The Voyager Interstellar Record. Random House.
National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center. (n.d.). Arecibo Observatory History.
SETI Institute. (n.d.). The Arecibo Message: What Did We Say to the Stars? https://www.seti.org/arecibo-message
Smithsonian Magazine. (n.d.). Sending Messages to Aliens — What Could Go Wrong? https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/sending-messages-to-aliens
#AreciboMessage #SETI #SpaceCommunication #AlienContact #DarkForestTheory #SmartestYearEver Music thanks to Zapsplat.
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By GordyIn this episode of Smartest Year Ever, Gordy unpacks one of humanity’s boldest space broadcasts — the Arecibo Message. In 1974, a powerful radio telescope in Puerto Rico fired off a burst of binary data aimed at the stars. But what was in that message? Who was it meant for? And why do some scientists now think we might've made a cosmic mistake?
Explore how Frank Drake, Carl Sagan, and others condensed humanity into 1,679 bits. Dive into the incredible story of the Arecibo Observatory, the science behind interstellar messaging, and the ongoing debate about alien contact and space signals. This episode also follows up on yesterday’s topic — the Dark Forest Theory — with an even deeper look at how we’ve announced ourselves to the cosmos.
What happens when you send a postcard to the stars? What if nobody’s home?
Sources:
Drake, F. (n.d.). The Arecibo Message. Cornell University.
Sagan, C. (1978). Murmurs of Earth: The Voyager Interstellar Record. Random House.
National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center. (n.d.). Arecibo Observatory History.
SETI Institute. (n.d.). The Arecibo Message: What Did We Say to the Stars? https://www.seti.org/arecibo-message
Smithsonian Magazine. (n.d.). Sending Messages to Aliens — What Could Go Wrong? https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/sending-messages-to-aliens
#AreciboMessage #SETI #SpaceCommunication #AlienContact #DarkForestTheory #SmartestYearEver Music thanks to Zapsplat.