The Arecibo Test Message
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The Arecibo Test Message |
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This message was transmitted from the Arecibo Observatory (Puerto Rico) on November 16 1974.
The message was 1679 bits long, 1679 being the product of the two prime numbers 23 and 73, which are the dimensions of the image.
The message was coded in binary, hence the image was monochrome. The above image is in false colour.
From the top down, the image (supposedly) contains:
- binary representations of the numbers 1-10.
- atomic numbers of the 5 elements crucial to terrestrial life.
- the chemical formula of the DNA molecule.
- numbers for the average human height and the Earth's population.
- an image of the human form.
- the solar system, with the Earth displaced to indicate the planet of the signal's origin.
- an image of the transmitting telescope, with its diameter indicated.
This signal was sent towards M13, a globular cluster 23,000 light years distant in our Galaxy.
If a civilisation receives this message and they are able to decipher it, we should expect a reply in 46,000 years time.
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Comments/enquiries: a.wolff@ucl.ac.uk |
