SEARCHING THE COSMOS

McConnell, Brian S.

Beyond Contact: A Guide to SETI and Communicating with Alien Civilizations

O'Reilly Media, Sebastopol, CA:, 2001.
WHEN THE SEARCH ENDS, THE CONVERSATION BEGINS.

Beyond Contact examines both the scientific search for intelligent life beyond Earth and the challenges that would accompany a successful detection. Rather than treating SETI as solely an astronomical pursuit, Brian McConnell presents it as an interdisciplinary field drawing upon physics, biology, linguistics, computer science, information theory, and communications.

The book explains how scientists search for signals from distant civilizations, the technologies employed in that search, and the methods by which humanity might interpret and respond to an extraterrestrial message. Particular attention is given to the SETI@home project, an early and influential distributed-computing initiative that enabled millions of volunteers to contribute processing power to the analysis of astronomical data. Accessible and thoughtfully organized, the work provides a clear introduction to one of science's most enduring questions: Are we alone?

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: Octavo. Publisher's blue cloth-covered boards with silver spine lettering. Mylar-protected dust jacket. 9.25 inches tall; 417 pages with appendices and index. Illustrated throughout with charts, diagrams, drawings, and explanatory figures.

CONDITION: A Fine Hardcover in a Fine Dust Jacket protected in archival Mylar. Appears unread. No ownership markings noted. A bright, fresh, gift-quality copy.

HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE —
Issued during a period of renewed public engagement with SETI research, the book captures the optimism surrounding early large-scale distributed computing projects and the growing sophistication of scientific approaches to extraterrestrial communication. It reflects the state of SETI research at the beginning of the twenty-first century and provides insight into how scientists, engineers, and theorists approached the possibility of first contact.

CONTENT HIGHLIGHTS
+++ Accessible introduction to the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence
+++ Explains the science and technology behind SETI research
+++ Examines the pioneering SETI@home distributed computing project
+++ Explores the challenges of interpreting and responding to alien signals
+++ Integrates astronomy, linguistics, biology, and information theory
+++ Illustrated throughout with diagrams and charts

SUBJECTS: SETI; Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence; Alien Communication; Radio Astronomy; Astrobiology; SETI@home; Space Science; Information Theory; Extraterrestrial Life; Astronomy, Science; Astronomy; Popular Science; Space Exploration.

Item #22061
ISBN: 0596000375

Price: $34.00