beamjockey | Heading for an Extraterrestrial Encounter

I am driving across the country and have arrived in Fairmont, West Virginia. After many long years I am seeing a dear friend, Prof. J. Robert Baker of Fairmont State University, and we are having a fine reunion. Wish I could have brought K, who is stuck in Chicagoland, but I will just have to show her West Virginia another time.

Tomorrow, I am headed for the National Radio Astronomy Observatory at Green Bank. You'll recall that Project Ozma, the first attempt to use a radio telescope to search for extraterrestrial civilizations, was conducted there in 1960.

To celebrate the 50th anniversary, NRAO is holding an invitational workshop, "From Project Ozma to the Starship Enterprise: A Conversation about the Next 50 Years of SETI."

I've learned that NRAO will be webcasting some of our discussions. Those who have Windows Media Player may wish to eavesdrop at mms://videostream.ad.nrao.edu/ozma50, beginning Monday morning, 13 September, at 8:30 AM EDT.

I can scarcely express-- and perhaps, to readers here I scarcely need to-- how excited I am to be participating in this event. I hope to write more about it. Also, tomorrow I will see Grote Reber's radio telescope for the first time!