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EJASA - Part 14
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APPENDIX B
THE SETI PROTOCOLS
The following information was provided by Robert Arnold of the SETI
Institute.
November 20, 1991
Dear Colleague,
It is my pleasure to send you a copy of a document entitled
"Declaration of Principles Concerning Activities Following the
Detection of Extraterrestrial Intelligence."
The Declaration was developed over a period of several years by the
SETI Committee of the International Academy of Astronautics, with the
assistance of many experts interested in this question. In April of
1989 it was approved by the Board of Trustees of the Academy, and also
by the Board of Directors of the International Institute of Space Law.
Over the last two years it has been endorsed by the Committee on Space
Research, by Commission 51 of the International Astronomical Union, by
the members of Commission J of the Union Radio Scientifique
Internationale, and by the International Astronautical Federation.
The document is intended as a series of guidelines for individuals or
organizations, national or international, engaged in carrying out radio
searches for extraterrestrial intelligence. In the near future it will
be sent by the Academy to all such individuals and organizations with a
request that they give consideration to endorsing it.
In the meantime, the SETI Committee of the International Academy of
Astronautics will continue to review the principles and procedures of
the Declaration, and will assemble a special post-detection committee,
as indicated in Principle 9 of the document. The Committee is also
working on a second declaration, designed to expand the wording of
Principle 8 into a process for obtaining international agreement on
questions about a reply from Earth after the detection of a signal.
Sincerely,
John Billingham
Chief, SETI Office
Enclosure:
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Declaration of Principles Concerning Activities Following the Detection
of Extraterrestrial Intelligence -
We, the institutions and individuals participating in the search for
extraterrestrial intelligence,
Recognizing that the search for extraterrestrial intelligence is an
integral part of space exploration and is being undertaken for peaceful
purposes and for the common interest of all mankind,
Inspired by the profound significance for mankind of detecting evidence
of extraterrestrial intelligence, even though the probability of
detection may be low,
Recalling the Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States
in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, Including the Moon and Other
Celestial Bodies, which commits States Parties to that Treaty "to
inform the Secretary General of the United Nations as well as the
public and the international scientific community, to the greatest
extent feasible and practicable, of the, nature, conduct, locations and
results" of their space exploration activities (Article XI),
Recognizing that any initial detection may be incomplete or ambiguous
and thus require careful examination as well as confirmation, and that
it is essential to maintain the highest standards of scientific
responsibility and credibility,
Agree to observe the following principles for disseminating information
about the detection of extraterrestrial intelligence:
1. Any individual, public or private research institution, or
governmental agency that believes it has detected a signal from or
other evidence of extraterrestrial intelligence (the discoverer)
should seek to verify that the most plausible explanation for the
evidence is the existence of extraterrestrial intelligence rather
than some other natural phenomenon or anthropogenic phenomenon
before making any public announcement. If the evidence cannot be
confirmed as indicating the existence of extraterrestrial
intelligence, the discoverer may disseminate the information as
appropriate to the discovery of any unknown phenomenon.
2. Prior to making a public announcement that evidence of extra-
terrestrial intelligence has been detected, the discoverer should
promptly inform all other observers or research organizations that
are parties to this declaration, so that those other parties may
seek to confirm the discovery by independent observations at other
sites and so that a network can be established to enable continuous
monitoring of the signal or phenomenon. Parties to this
declaration should not make any public announcement of this
information until it is determined whether this information is or
is not credible evidence of the existence of extraterrestrial
intelligence. The discoverer should inform his/her or its relevant
national authorities.
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3. After concluding that the discovery appears to be credible evidence
of extraterrestrial intelligence, and after informing other parties
to this declaration, the discoverer should inform observers
throughout the world through the Central Bureau for Astronomical
Telegrams of the International Astronomical Union, and should
inform the Secretary General of the United Nations in accordance
with Article XI of the Treaty on Principles Governing the
Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space,
Including the Moon and Other Bodies. Because of their demonstrated
interest in and expertise concerning the question of the existence
of extraterrestrial intelligence, the discoverer should
simultaneously inform the following international institutions of
the discovery and should provide them with all pertinent data and
recorded information concerning the evidence: the International
Telecommunication Union, the Committee on Space Research, of the
International Council of Scientific Unions, the International
Astronautical Federation, the International Academy of
Astronautics, the International Institute of Space Law, Commission
51 of the International Astronomical Union and Commission J of the
International Radio Science Union.
4. A confirmed detection of extraterrestrial intelligence should be
disseminated promptly, openly, and widely through scientific
channels and public media, observing the procedures in this
declaration. The discoverer should have the privilege of making
the first public announcement.
5. All data necessary for confirmation of detection should be made
available to the international scientific community through
publications, meetings, conferences, and other appropriate means.
6. The discovery should be confirmed and monitored and any data
bearing on the evidence of extraterrestrial intelligence should be
recorded and stored permanently to the greatest extent feasible and
practicable, in a form that will make it available for further
analysis and interpretation. These recordings should be made
available to the international institutions listed above and to
members of the scientific community for further objective analysis
and interpretation.
7. If the evidence of detection is in the form of electromagnetic
signals, the parties to this declaration should seek international
agreement to protect the appropriate frequencies by exercising
procedures available through the International Telecommunication
Union. Immediate notice should be sent to the Secretary General of
the ITU in Geneva, who may include a request to minimize trans-
missions on the relevant frequencies in the Weekly Circular. The
Secretariat, in conjunction with advice of the Union's Admini-
strative Council, should explore the feasibility and utility of
convening an Extraordinary Administrative Radio Conference to deal
with the matter, subject to the opinions of the member Admini-
strations of the ITU.
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8. No response to a signal or other evidence of extraterrestrial
intelligence should be sent until appropriate international
consultations have taken place. The procedures for such
consultations will be the subject of a separate agreement,
declaration or arrangement.
9. The SETI Committee of the International Academy of Astronautics, in
coordination with Commission 51 of the International Astronomical
Union, will conduct a continuing review of procedures for the
detection of extraterrestrial intelligence and the subsequent
handling of the data. Should credible evidence of extraterrestrial
intelligence be discovered, an international committee of
scientists and other experts should be established to serve as a
focal point for continuing analysis of all observational evidence
collected in the aftermath of the discovery, and also to provide
advice on the release of information to the public. This committee
should be constituted from representatives of each of the
international institutions listed above and such other members as
the committee may deem necessary. To facilitate the convocation of
such a committee at some unknown time in the future, the SETI
Committee of the International Academy of Astronautics should
initiate and maintain a current list of willing representatives
from each of the international institutions listed above, as well
as other individuals with relevant skills, and should make that
list continuously available through the Secretariat of the
International Academy of Astronautics. The International Academy
of Astronautics will act as the Depository for this declaration and
will annually provide a current list of parties to all the parties
to this declaration.
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INDEX
A Adaptive 17,20,24,39,43,52,58
Airy Disk 47,78
All Sky Survey 4,31,33-34,82-83
Alpha Centauri 54
Amateur Optical SETI 5-6,8,16,25,37,42,45-48,51-52,54,
60-61,90,92
Ames Research Center (ARC) 3,11,19
Arecibo 11,16,20,27-28,36
Asimov, Isaac 25
Assumption of Ineptitude 13,58
Assumption of Mediocrity 13
Avalanche Photodetector (APD) 7,42,44,48-50
B Beacon 10,28,39,52,55,90
BETA 4
Betz, Albert 5,7,9,13,20,35-37,55,61,78
Big Ear Radio Observatory 7,40
Billingham, John 5,94
Bit Error Rate (BER) 41,91
Bose-Einstein 89
Bova, Ben 3
Bulletin Board System (BBS) 6
C Carbon Dioxide Laser (CO2) 5,13,20,29,35-38,55,61,78-79
Carrier-To-Noise Ratio (CNR) 15-17,24,26-28,33-34,36,41,43,50,
82,86,88-91
Challenger 59
Charge Coupled Device (CCD) 42,46-51
Clarke, Arthur C. 8,41,57-58
Cold Fusion 2
Columbus Telescope 40
Coherence Cell 11,18
Coherent 14-15,18,20,26,37,40,42,46,49,
60-61,78,86,88-91
Contact 1-3,27,40,56-57,63
Cosmic Catastrophes 57
Cosmic Haystack 4,32,43
Cosmic Zoo 2,62
Cullers, Kent 3,8,54
Cyclops 7,18,19-20,23,26-27,54,58,81,86
D Dark Current 38,46,49,87-89
Daylight (Optical SETI) 20,26,36,42-43,45-47,54,58,79,89
Deep Space Network (DSN) 11
Directivity 36,75
Direct Detection 18,25,36-37,40,42-46,51,60-61,78,
87,89-90
Discovery 58
Dixon, Robert 4,7,40
Doppler Drift (Chirp) 11,14,16,22,24,32-33,46,56,93
Doppler Shift 11,22,24,32,35,46,56,92-93
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Drake Equation 71
Drake, Frank 3,9,71
E Effective Noise Temperature 15,86
EIRP 17,19,21-22,28,37-38,41,43-46,60,
72,77-79
Epsilon Eradani 54
F Fabry-Perot 45
Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) 4,34,48
Fermi's Paradox 1
Field-Of-View (FOV) 31,36-37,47,56,78,80-81,85
Fraunhofer 4,17,23,25-26,30-31,34-35,43,46,
59,73
Free Electron Laser 21,29
G Gaussian Beams 73-75
H Heliographs 9
Heterodyne 4,14-18,20,22-23,25,35,37,42,45,
49-50,56,82-84,86,88-91
Homodyne 14,49,83,88-89
Horowitz, Paul 4
Hubble Space Telescope (HST) 13,20
I Image Intensifier 42,46
Incoherent Detection 18,25,36-37,40,42-46,51,60-61,78,
87,89-90
Interferometer 5,8,37,40,55
J Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) 11
K Karhunen-Loeve Transform (KLT) 4,60
Kraus, John 40
L Light Pollution 26,60
Local-Oscillator (L.O.) 5,11,14-15,20,29,31,33-34,37,44,
48,56,79,82-88
M Magic Wavelength (or Frequency) 3,9,20,26,29,45,57,82
Magnitude (Intensity) 21-24,28,41,43-46,53-54,72
Microchannel Plate 46
Microwave Observing Project (MOP) 4-5,8,13,31,40,52-54,57-59,82
Monochromator 42,45,47-48,50-51,54,60,89
Morrison, Philip 3,7,9,13
MultiChannel Spect. Analy. (MCSA) 14,33-36,52,82,84-85
N NASA 3-5,7,9,11,19,27,35,38,45,58,
61-62
Neodymium YAG Laser (Nd:YAG) 18,21,27,29
Noise Equivalent Bandwidth 87
O Oliver, Bernard 3,7,9,21,31
Optoelectronics 19
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P Perkins Telescope 40,46
Photomultiplier (PM) 42,48-50
Photon-Counting 16,18,37,42,44-46,49,51,60,79,
87,89
Photon Count Rate 91
Photonics 19,62
Pilot-Tone 10-11,20,39,82-85
Planckian 17,20,22-23,25-28,39,42-44,46,49,
56,73,76,85
Planetary Report 4
Poisson Counting 15-16,89,91
Polar Response 75-76
Prime Directive 56
Professional Optical SETI 4,8,14,16,40,46,59-61
Project Ozma 9,54
Q Quantum (Shot) Noise 14-17,25-26,28,37,43,79,85,87-89
R Range Equation 92
Rather, John 7,9,21,75
Rayleigh Range 24,74-75,90
Rayleigh Resolution 80
Rayleigh Scattering 39,59
Rosetta Stone 10
S Sagan, Carl 3
Semaphores 9
Serendip 22,26,39-40,59
SETI Institute 3,5,7,12,31,54,58,62,71
SETI Protocols 63,94
Signal-To-Noise Ratio (SNR) 6,11,16,20-26,34,36-38,43-46,48,
49,59,79,85,86-91
Space Odyssey (2001 & 2010) 58
Spectrometer 36,38,44-45,47,49,51,55,78
Spielberg, Steven 4
Star Trek 62
Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) 14
Symbiotic 22,26,39-40,59
T Targeted Search 11-12,31,33-34,46,52-54,82
Tarter, Jill 8,25,54,61
Tau Ceti 54
Thermal Noise 14,87-89
Tipler, Frank 1,56-57
Townes, Charles 5,7,9,13,20,35-37,55,61,63
Type I,II & III Civilizations 2-3
U Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs) 1-2,63
V Von Neumann 1-2,32,56
W Waterhole 3,32
Z Zuckerman, Ben 9,20
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