Four decades after sending a unique message into the cosmos, astronomers led by Shinya Narusawa at the University of Hyogo are keenly awaiting a potential extraterrestrial response.
The Original Message
In August 1983, Masaki Morimoto and Hisashi Hirabayashi sent a series of 13 drawings into space. These illustrations traced the evolution of life on Earth, from single-celled organisms to humans. Created with a rudimentary digital art tool that resembles Microsoft Paint, the drawings also featured a waving human hand, the evolutionary transition from fish to land animals, and the word “toast.”
A 2008 report by Gizmodo revealed that the duo had been intoxicated while creating the message, which might explain the inclusion of the molecular formula for ethanol and the Japanese word for “cheers,” “kanpai,” alongside the English word “toast.”
The Transmission Point
The message was sent as radio signals from Stanford University, aimed at the star Altair, located 16.7 light-years away in the Aquila constellation. Although no planets have been discovered orbiting Altair, it remains one of the brightest stars in the night sky.
Awaiting a Reply
Now, 40 years later, the team at the University of Hyogo has angled their massive antenna dish toward Altair, hoping to catch any incoming signals. The expected date for a possible response was August 22, but as of now, there has been no confirmation of first contact.
The Debate on Extraterrestrial Life
The question of intelligent life beyond our solar system remains contentious. However, Seth Shostak, a senior astronomer at the SETI Institute in California, believes it’s only a matter of time before we discover extraterrestrial life. “Even if only 5 or 10 percent of all planets could support life, that means millions of planets in our galaxy could potentially harbor life,” he told Newsweek.
(Source: Newsweek)
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