[TLAM Strike]

Originally Posted by privateer

Not long ago smoke and huge fires were the means of long distant signaling.

Why assume that we can detect any type advanced signaling?
Or any type advanced Space Crafts Drive systems?

We've barely scratched the Stealth surface in the last 50 years.

So detection based on our technology is like trying to detect a pebble thrown in the Red Sea from New York.
We probably have a better chance of actually doing that!

The Why...

The Space Shuttle's much main engines could be detected past the orbit of Pluto. The Space Shuttle's manoeuvering thrusters could be seen as far as the asteroid belt. And even a puny ship using ion drive to thrust at a measly 1/1000 of a g could be spotted at one astronomical unit.

If the spacecraft are torchships, their thrust power is several terawatts. This means the exhaust is so intense that it could be detected from Alpha Centauri. By a passive sensor.

And if there is intellegent life out there?
They probably feel about as good about visiting us,
as I do about walking through Harlem after dark with a wad of money taped to my forehead.

Bring'em on!
And I hope they come in at light speed those punks!

We will have a few thousand years notice to advanced our tech and build a fleet to ships to wait for them...

Originally Posted by UnderseaLcpl

It would be interesting to study, I'll give you that, but I think that what would be more useful in the long-run is devoting the resources needed to undertake such a mission to solving practical problems on the perfectly good planet we already have.

This planet and the and whole stinking universe it sits in wants to kill us.

We got to get the heck out of here!

An attractive possibility, but not a probable one. Even if there were an extinct alien civilization within our currently very limited reach, odds are that nothing useful would remain.

As a thought experiment, imagine that we suddenly went extinct today. We've been sending and receiving organized high-power transmission en masse for almost a hundred years. No advanced civilization within at least 30 light-years (generously rounding down) has responded. If a civilization existed that was at least equivalent to ours in terms of technology, they would have responded by now, or we would have at least picked up their broadcasts, so we can safely assume that that no such civilization exists within 30 light-years.

Now imagine what would be left of our civilization by the time they got here. There wouldn't be much left, even if they were somehow capable of travelling at light-speed. All of our most advanced technology requires constant maintenance and power and energy of some type. There would be no useful record that they didn't already understand.

Well that assumes they develop technologically evenly in all departments. What if they make a sudden leap in one and the others by accident or design remain undeveloped?
They might get here and be like "OMG what are these transistor things!"

I'll have to do more research on visual SETI before I can from an opinion on that, but at least we agree on something

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28916124...science-space/

Great thing from my perspective is that it allows for possible communication with both less advanced and more advanced civilizations. A less advanced civ might put a giant mirror on their planet to flash out a message or a more advanced one might build a giant structure with a message.