The Arecibo message is an interstellar radio message carrying basic information about humanity and Earth that was sent to the globular cluster Messier 13 in 1974. It was meant as a demonstration of human technological achievement, rather than a real attempt to enter into a conversation with extraterrestrials.[1][2]
The message was broadcast into space a single time via frequency modulated radio waves at a ceremony to mark the remodeling of the Arecibo Telescope in Puerto Rico on 16 November 1974.[2][3] The message was aimed at the current location of M13, about 25,000 light years from Earth, because M13 was a large and relatively close collection of stars that was available in the sky at the time and place of the ceremony.[4] When correctly translated into graphics, characters, and spaces, the 1,679 bits of data contained within the message form the image shown here.[5]
- ^ The Staff at the National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center (December 1975). "The Arecibo message of November, 1974". Icarus. 26 (4): 462–466. Bibcode:1975Icar...26..462.. doi:10.1016/0019-1035(75)90116-5.
- ^ a b Steele, Bill (1999-11-12). "Cornell News: It's the 25th anniversary of Earth's first (and only) attempt to phone E.T." Cornell News. Archived from the original on 2008-08-02. Retrieved 2008-03-29.
- ^ Johnson, Steven (2017-06-28). "Greetings, E.T. (Please Don't Murder Us.)". The New York Times.
- ^ Klaes, Larry (2005-11-30). "Making Contact". Ithaca Times. Archived from the original on 2009-01-07. Retrieved 2007-07-27.
- ^ Cassiday, George. "The Arecibo Message". University of Utah. Retrieved 2013-10-13.[permanent dead link]