In February 1995, a groundbreaking scientific project named Phoenix was launched with the ambitious goal of answering the age-old question: are we alone in the universe? This Sunday marks the 30th anniversary since the first observations began.
The origins of the project can be traced back to 1992, when NASA initiated a large-scale search program for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) with a budget of $100 million allocated for a decade. Unfortunately, in 1993, due to budget constraints, the funding for the program was completely halted by the US Congress, with some skeptics dismissing it as “searching for green men”.
However, the project was salvaged by the Seti Institute, a small scientific organization that managed to revive the initiative through private donations, renaming it Phoenix as a symbol of rebirth from the ashes of the discontinued NASA program. The Parkes Observatory radio telescope, situated in New South Wales, Australia, was chosen as the base for observations.
Scientists involved in the project have a logical reasoning that if life exists elsewhere, it would have likely evolved over millions of years on a planet orbiting a star similar to our Sun. Hence, SETI researchers are focusing on nearby sun-like stars in an attempt to detect intentional signals or technological traces of advanced civilizations.
The project utilized radio waves for the search, as they can easily penetrate through interstellar gas and dust clouds and traverse vast distances with minimal energy consumption. Technological signatures typically manifest in a narrow frequency range familiar to our own technology.
The 64-meter Murriyang radio telescope at the Parks Observatory, renowned for its contributions to astronomical discoveries since 1961, was the ideal facility for scanning the Southern sky as part of the SETI program.
On February 2, 1995, the telescope was directed towards a specific star in the Phoenix constellation located 49 light years away. This marked the initial phase of the Phoenix project, which originally planned to utilize multiple large telescopes worldwide but commenced with the Parkes Observatory due to various upgrades.
Jill Tarter, a prominent SETI researcher, led the project and personally conducted numerous night observations during the 16-week period at the Parks Observatory. Tarter’s dedication to the project later inspired the character portrayed by Jodie Foster in the film “Contact” (1998).
To analyze the vast amounts of data collected, the project team established a mobile laboratory equipped with state-of-the-art computers and touch screens, despite facing unexpected challenges such as interference from nocturnal insects attracted to the monitor lights leading to equipment malfunctions.