AU SETI Team Project

(Updated 1-11-01)

Welcome to the Alternative Universe's SETI Project. As a team member, you have certain tasks and responsibilities, which are in effect as long as you are enrolled in AU Astronomy; or longer, if you want to continue your participation beyond the course. Your contribution to the actual multi-year SETI@home Project, headquartered at the University of California at Berkeley, is part of a coordinated signal-processing effort by 2,662,918 computer users, who have been processing radio signals, received at the Arecibo Radio Observatory in Puerto Rico, by using the SETI@home screen saver signal processing program

Your role in this project involves tasks using skills and concepts of radio astronomy, data processing, and statistical mathematics. As a data processor, you will complete weekly updates and analysis of the signal processing of raw data received at the Arecibo Radio Observatory in Puerto Rico. As a mathematician, you will use Fast Fourier Transform Analysis and various statistical measurements to evaluate the data. As a radio astronomer, you will study various components of radio waves and wave propagation, and learn how to detect candidate signals among random background noise. Although the data transfers and processing use the internet, rather than direct observation, the various aspects of radio astronomy are similar to those used by onsite astronomers.

Part 1: Download and Installation of the SETI@home Screensaver (if not already installed on your computer)

Once you have the correct version for your computer (Windows or Mac) installed, put the following conditions in the preferences block:
1) Prompt for your attention if you are on a modem connection, or connect automatically if you have an ethernet connection;
2) The time settings are up to you, but waiting 5 minutes for screensaver activation, and 20 to 30 minutes before darkening screen are workable parameters.

Part 2: Initial Login/Launch

This will require you to log in as either a new account or an existing one, put your seti team number assignment in the user name block, which will be in the form "ikesetixx", where xx = a number between 40 and 100. (examples - ikeseti45, ikeseti67, etc.) The e-mail account for the IKE SETI Project is ikeastronomy@hotmail.com

Part 3: Initial Download

Once you launch the SETI@home screensaver, it will access the Berkeley server,which contains 0.250 MB-sized raw data files of radio signals received at Arecibo during 1999. One of these will be downloaded to your computer for processing by the screensaver program. Once your CPU has finished processing the data, the computer will automatically, or at your prompt, upload the processed data and download a new set of signals.

Part 4: All About the SETI@home Project (compiled from the main project page)

We will investigate one subsection of the main project page each week for 5 weeks:

1) Use SETI@home:

User Account Area
Groups
FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
Related web sites

2) The Project:

Personnel
Project plan
Sponsors and acknowledgments

3) News and Statistics:

Current statistics
Graphs and Maps (New plots)
News Summary (Updated August 18, 1999)
Technical News Reports (Updated September 22, 1999)

4) Learn about SETI@home:

How SETI@home works
Screensaver graphics explained
NEW Radio Frequency Interference (RFI)\
Listen to radio signals from space
Articles about SETI@home
Technical paper

5) Learn about SETI:

About SETI
The SETI radio search
Web sites related to SETI

Part 5: Weekly Updates and Projections

This part of the project covers your duties and responsibilities as an IKE SETI project team member. The primary subsection you will use for your tasks is the News and Statistics Section. You will also be responsible for reporting any news dealing with unusual findings, especially those items detected during signal processing by your computer.

Part 6: Analyzing Your Results

This is where you combine your data processing, statistical mathematics, and radio astronomer experiences to evaluate the data your computer has refined. This activity provides a workplace simulation, which closely parallels the actual tasks performed by radio astronomers in analyzing signals received from various radio observatories around the world.

Your assessment for this project will be based on your weekly updates, quizzes over concepts and discussion topics, and a self-evaluation of your contribution to the overall team effort. The experiential learning of skills and processes in analyzing data is more important than detecting candidate signals. Thank you for your contribution to the IKE SETI Project!

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