Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence at home

Come help us Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence!

Currently there are several programs that are now looking for the evidence of life elsewhere in the cosmos. Collectively, these programs are called SETI (the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence.) One program that allows individual personal computers (like yours) to help analyze the raw data in your spare time and receive credit for it is called SETI@home.

SETI@home is a scientific experiment that uses Internet-connected computers in the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence. You can participate by running a free software program that downloads and analyzes radio telescope data. The SETI@home project lets them borrow your computer when you aren't using it and help "...search out new life and new civilizations." It is done with a screen saver that can go get a chunk of data over the internet, analyze that data, and then report the results back to the UC Berkeley SETI team. When you need your computer back, the screen saver instantly gets out of the way and only continues it's analysis when you are finished with your work. Instead of having a screen saver that does absolutely nothing now you can help Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence in your spare time!

SETI@home connects only when transferring data. This occurs only when the screen saver has finished analyzing the work-unit and wants to send back the results (and get another work-unit.). The data transmission lasts for less than 5 minutes with most common modems and will disconnect immediately after all data is transferred. It will only do this with your permission and allow you to control when your computer connects to them or, you have the option to set the screen saver to transfer data automatically as soon as it's done with the current work-unit.

Finally, if your computer finds E.T. then the person(s) who found the signal with their screen saver would be named as one of the co-discoverers along with the others on the SETI@home team!

To help in this scientific research perform the following 4 steps to download the free software program. If you already have SETI@home but want to join our group to be listed both as an individual and as a member of our team then proceed to step 3.

1.	Go to the SETI@home site and download the small application program need to analyze the raw data. The Windows version requires at least 32MB RAM and the ability to display 8-bit color in 640x480 resolution (though 800x600 or higher is recommended in order to fit all the graphics on the screen). The Macintosh version requires a PowerPC processor, 32MB RAM (it could run with as little as 24MB RAM, but would be quite sluggish), the ability to display 8-bit color in 640x480 resolution (though 800x600 or higher is recommended in order to fit all the graphics on the screen) and System 7.5.5 or later. For UNIX, WinNT, OS/2, BeOS, Mac OS X Server, OpenVMS, etc there is Text-Only Client Software available.
2.	Run the program to set up your user account with SETI@Home. If you have any problems go to their Problems and Help page.
3.	Get a password from SETI@Home. It will be e-mailed to you within minutes.
4.	With your password, you can join our team and be listed both as an individual and as a member of our team! The more work units you complete, the higher your ranking will be displayed in both. Just select "Groups" from the SETI@home home page, enter "The Ultimate Space Place" at the bottom of the page in the "search for group" box and then click "Join."

Good luck and thanks for joining!

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