Breakthrough Listen publishes first analysis of 692 stars in ET search

From what I have read, most of this SETI data processing involves very long FFT to channelize down to 1 Hz BW. However, assuming any alien signals would be like our digital comms, those signals are pseudo noise like, so using very narrow bandwidths just reduces the signal too. These narrow bandwidths would only be good for CW signals?

I hope we find some ETs. Otherwise I&#x27;m worried we&#x27;re either:<p>- in a simulation, and they didn&#x27;t bother to simulate other parts of the universe in high fidelity.<p>- in a zoo, and somehow we&#x27;re blocked from seeing other civilizations.<p>I don&#x27;t buy, for an instant, that in a universe of this size, we&#x27;d be the only life forms.

<i>&quot;The Green Bank Telescope searched for these signals using its “L-band” receiver, which gathers data in frequencies ranging from 1.1 to 1.9 GHz ... they conducting three five-minutes observation periods, while also conducting five-minute observations on a set of secondary targets&quot;</i><p>Does this seem like a really short timescale to anyone else?<p>Of course, anything on human timescales is but the blink of an eye on geological, never mind astronomical timescales, but it still fells like you&#x27;d have to get awful lucky to catch something in just the 5 to 15 minutes you happened to be listening on a narrow range of radio frequencies.

I thought this may have been NIROSETI but it isn&#x27;t I wonder how NIROSETI is doing they search by looking at near infrared signals.<p>Here is what they do: &gt;Near-infrared Optical SETI (NIROSETI) has the advantage that light at infrared wavelengths is less affected by interstellar gas and dust; an infrared signal can be seen at greater distances than an optical signal at shorter wavelengths. Also, it takes less energy to send the same amount of information with an infrared signal than at shorter, optical wavelengths.

The data is analyzed on a distributed network. You can download the app and have it run in the background or as a screensaver. If ET is found, they promise to credit the computer owner that actually finds it. Just think, you might be the one!<p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;seti.berkeley.edu&#x2F;participate&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;seti.berkeley.edu&#x2F;participate&#x2F;</a><p>I have been doing this since 2005, have processed over 5 million units, and am in the 98th percentile worldwide.

Sounds a little like taking a few sniffs and hoping to smell campfire smoke 100 km away. Eventually I hope we&#x27;ll find more effective methods for SETI