The rationale for the water hole
Abstract
The Project Cyclops team dubbed the frequency band between 1400 and 1700 MHz the 'water hole' and suggested that different galactic species might 'meet' there just as different terrestrial species have always met at more mundane water holes. The present paper gives physical and psychological bases for the belief that the 'water hole' is a prime band for the search for extraterrestrial intelligence. It is argued that any advanced society wishing to establish contact with others will choose the least expensive means assuring success, that electromagnetic radiation is less espensive than probes or spacecraft, and that the terrestrial microwave window (1 to 10 GHz) is clearly a preferred region of the spectrum for an interstellar search using low-noise receivers.
- Publication:
-
Anaheim International Astronautical Federation Congress
- Pub Date:
- October 1976
- Bibcode:
- 1976anah.iafcQ....O
- Keywords:
-
- Bandwidth;
- Extraterrestrial Life;
- Extraterrestrial Radio Waves;
- Interstellar Communication;
- Signal To Noise Ratios;
- Doppler Effect;
- Fourier Transformation;
- H Lines;
- Hydroxyl Emission;
- Intelligence;
- Linear Amplifiers;
- Microwave Emission;
- Radio Spectra;
- Water Vapor;
- Space Sciences (General)