3 ms·
The Arecibo message was sent out 46 years ago, in 1974 [1]. We'd only miss responses from potential respondents who are between 23 and (23 + (time to build repl
by LeifCarrotson 6y ago
The Arecibo message was sent out 46 years ago, in 1974 [1]. We'd only miss responses from potential respondents who are between 23 and (23 + (time to build replacement / 2)) light-years away.
Fortunately, the message was sent to globular cluster M13, which is 22,000 light years away. As long as we get it done by the 47th millenium AD we should be fine.
Unfortunately, applying Parkinson's law to that task means we've got a lot of work to do!
[1] Side note: It somehow never ceases to amaze me how very year, my mental shortcut for approximating the number of years since a given date by subtracting it from 2000 gets less and less accurate.
- dylan604 6y ago>[1] Side note: It somehow never ceases to amaze me how very year, my mental shortcut for approximating the number of years since a given date by subtracting it from 2000 gets less and less accurate. Remember when partying like it was 1999 was something to achieve? The one that gets me every year is my graduation date from high school gets further away. It is now more easily measured in decades.
- sandworm101 6y ago>> Fortunately, the message was sent to globular cluster M13, which is 22,000 light years away. Unfortunately, the message was aimed at where M13 appears to us today. By the time the message gets there it will have moved. The message was, is, doomed to miss.