History

History of SETI Projects

Date	Investigator(s)	Location	Antenna Diameter (m)	Search Freq (Hz)	Resolution (Hz)	Targets	Comments
1960	Drake	Green Bank	26	1420 M	100	e Eridani, t Ceti	Project Ozma
1963-64	Kardashev,Sholomitskii	Crimea Deep Space Station	16 x 8 ant.	923 M	10 M	2 quasars	CTA 102 - initial report of type III civilization
1966	Kellerman	Parkes	64	350-5,000 M	full bandwidth	1 galaxy (1934-63)
1968-69	Troitskii, Rakhlin, Gershtejin, Starodubstev	Zimenkie	5	926-8, 1421-3 M	13	11 stars and M31
1968-82	Troitskii	Gorky	dipole	1, 1.875, 3.75, 10 G		all-sky
1969-83	Troitskii, Bondar, Starodubstev	Gorky, Crimea, Murmansk, Primorskij	dipoles	600, 927, 1863 M		all-sky	search for pulsed signals
1970-72	Slysh, Pashchenko, Rudnitskii, Lekht	Nancay	40 x 240 antennas	1665, 1667 M	4 k	5 OH masers	search for unnatural emission characteristics
1970-72	Slysh	Nancay	40 x 240 antennas	1665, 1667 M	4 k	10 nearest stars
1971, 1972	Verschuur	Green Bank	91, 43	1420-1, 1410-30 M	490, 6.9 k	9 stars	Project "Ozpa"
1972	Kardashev, Popov, Soglasnov, et al	Crimea, RT-22	22	8570 M		galactic center	search for statistical anomalies
1972-74	Kardashev, Gindilis, Popov, Soglasnov, Spangenburg, et al	Caucasus, Pamir, Kamchatka, Mars 7	38, 60	371, 408, 458, 535 M	5 M	omnidirectional	"eavesdropping" search for pulses
1972-76	Zuckerman, Palmer	Green Bank	91	1413-25, 1420-1 M	6.4x10^4, 4 k	674 stars	Project "Ozma II"
1972-6	Bridle, Feldman	Algonquin	46	22,235 M	30 k	70 stars	first search at the water wavelength
1973-74	Shvartsman, et al	Special Astrophys. Observatory, MANIA	0.6	optical		21 peculiar objects	optical search for short pulses and laser lines
1973-1998	Dixon, Ehman, Raub, Kraus	Ohio State	53	1420 M	10 k, 1 k	all-sky	Wow! signal in 1976
1974	Wishnia	Copernicus	1	UV		nearby stars	search for UV laser lines
1975	Drake, Sagan	Arecibo	305	1420, 1667, 2380 M	1 k	4 galaxies	search for type II civilizations
1975-79	Israel, de Ruiter	WRST	1500	1415 M	4x10^6	50 star fields
1976	Wielebinski, Seiradakis	Max Planck Institute	100	1420 M	20 M	various nearby stars	search for pulsed signals with periods of 0.3-1.5 s
1976	Black, Cuzzi, Clark, Tarter	Green Bank	43	8522-3 M	5	4 stars
1977	Black, Cuzzi, Clark, Tarter	Green Bank	91	1665, 1667 M	5	200 stars
1977	Drake, Stull	Arecibo	305	1664-8 M	0.5	6 stars
1978	Shvartsman, et al	Special Astrophys. Observatory, MANIA	6	optical			optical search of 30 radio objects for pulses from Kardashev II or III civiliz.
1978	Horowitz	Arecibo	305	1420 M	0.015	185 stars
1978	Cohen, Malkan, Dickey	Arecibo, HRO, Parkes	305, 36, 64	1665-7, 22235, 1612M	9.5 k, 65 k, 4.5 k	25 globular clusters	passive search for type II and III civilizations
1978	Knowles, Sullivan	Arecibo	305	130-500 M	1	2 stars
1978	Makovetskij, Gindilis, et al	Zelenchukskaya, RATAN-600	7.4x450			Barnard's Star
1978-80	Harris	Pioneer Venus, Venera 11 and 12		20 keV - 1 MeV		54 g-ray bursters	search for 3 linear events as sign of i/s spacecraft
1979	Cole, Ekers	Parkes	64	5000 M	10 M, 1 M	nearby FGK stars
1979	Freitas, Valdes	Leuschner Observatory	0.76	optical		Lagrangian points	Bracewell probes
1979-81	Tarter, Clark, Cuquet, Lesyna	Arecibo	305	1420, 1666 M	5, 600	200 stars
1979-85	Bowyer et al	Hat Creek	26	917-937, 1410-30, 1602-5 M, etc	2x500	all-sky	SERENDIP piggyback
1980	Witteborn	NASA-Univ. of Arizona, Mt Lemon	1.5	infrared		20 stars	infrared excess from Dyson spheres
1980-81	Suchkin, Tokarev, et al	Nirfi, Gorkii, Gaish, Moscow		9.3 M	1.5 k	Lagrangian points	Bracewell probes
1981	Lord, O'Dea	Univ. of Mass.	14	115 G	20 k, 125 k	N. galactic rot. axis
1981	Israel, Tarter	WRST	3000 max. baseline	1420 M	4 M, 10 M	85 star fields	parasitic search
1981-82	Biraud, Tarter	Nancay	40x240	1420 M, 1665-7 M	49	343 stars
1981	Shostak, Tarter	WRST	3000 max. baseline	1420 M	1.2 k	galactic center	interferometer search for pulsed signals
1981	Talent	Kitt Peak	2.1	optical		3 stars	search for enhanced stellar lines of rare earth elements as evidence of et nuclear waste disposal
1981-2	Valdes, Freitas	Kitt Peak	0.61	optical		Langrangian points	Project "SETA". Search for Bracewell probes
1982	Horowitz, Teague,Linscott, Chen, Backus	Arecibo	305	2841 M / 1420 M	0.03	250 stars / 150 stars	"Suitcase SETI"
1982	Vallee, Simard-Normandin	Algonquin	46	10522 M	185 M	galactic center meridian	search for strongly polarized signals
1983-85	Horowitz	Oak Ridge	26	1420 M, 1667 M	0.03	sky survey	Project Sentinel
1983	Damashek	Green Bank	92	390 M	2x10^6	sky survey	search for single pulses and telemetry
1983	Valdes, Freitas	Hat Creek	26	1516 M	4.9 k / 76 k	80 stars / 12 stars	search for radioactive tritium from et fusion technology
1983	Gulkis	DSS 43	64	8 G, 2380 M	40 k	southern sky survey
1983-88	Gray	Small SETI Observatory	4	1419-1421 M	1-40	sky survey	amateur meridian transit search
1983-4	Cullers	AMSETI	2	1420, <1000 M			amateur SETI based on satellite TV dishes
1983-8	Stephens	Hay River, NWT	two 18x18	1415-25 M	30 k	northern sky survey	amateur SETI observatory using two 64-ft square dishes
1984	Slysh	satellite radiometer		37 G	400 M	all-sky	Dyson spheres radiating > 1sol. lum. within 100 pc
1985-95	Horowitz	Oak Ridge	26	1420, 1665, 1667, 2841 M	0.05	sky survey	META
1986-88	Bowyer, Wertheimer, Lampton	Green Bank	92	400-3,500 M	1	various sky areas	SERENDIP II
1986	Mirabel	Green Bank	43	4,830 M	76	galactic center, 33 stars
1986	Betz	Mount Wilson	1.65	infrared	3.5 M	100 Sun-like stars	search for IR beacons at carbon dioxide laser freq.
1986-	Colomb, Martin, Lemarchand	Argentina	30	1415, 1425, 1667 M	2.5 k	78 Sun-like stars
1987	Tarter, Kardashev, Slysh	VLA	26 x 9 ant.	1,612 M	6.1 k	G357.3-1.3	obs. of IR source near galactic center to check if Dyson sphere
1987	Gray	Oak Ridge	26	1,420 M	0.05	sky positions of Wow! signal	used META system
1988	Bania, Rood	Green Bank	43	8,665 M	305	24 Vega-like stars with IR excess	search for narrow-band signal at freq. of spin-flip of 3He+
1990	Colomb et al.	Argentina	30	1,420 M	0.05	all-sky	META II (southern hemis.)
1990	Blair et al.	Parkes	64	4,462 M	100	100 Sun-like stars	search at pi times 21-cm hydrogen line frequency
1990	Gray	Oak Ridge	26	1,420 M	0.05	M31, M33
1990-	Kingsley	Bexley, Ohio	0.25	optical		nearby stars	COSETI
1992	NASA Ames	Arecibo	305	1.3-2.4 G	1, 7, 28	78 Sun-like stars	HRMS targeted search
1992	JPL	Goldstone	26, 34	1.7 G, 8.3-8.7 G	30	all-sky	HRMS sky survey
1992-96	Bowyer, Wertheimer, Donnelly	Arecibo	305	423-435 M	0.6	all-sky	SERENDIP III
1993	Steffes, Deboer	NRAO/Tucson	12	203 G	32	40 stars and 3 locations near galactic center	search near positronium line
1995-	SETI Institute	Parkes-Mopra / Arecibo / Jodrell Bank	64 / 305 / 76	1.2-3 G	1	206 stars / 192 stars / 600 stars	Project Phoenix
1995	Gray	VLA	26	1,420 M	381, 6.1 k	"Wow!" signal region
1995	Beskin	Special Astrophysical Observatory	6	optical		several objects
1995	Mauersberger, Wilson, Rood, Bania, Hein, Linhart	IRAM	30	203 G	9.7 k	17 stars and positions	search at spin-flip frequency of positronium
1995-99	Horowitz, et al	Oak Ridge	26	1.4-1.7 G	0.5	northern all-sky	BETA; covered full waterhole (damaged by wind storm)
1996	Blair, Zadnik	Perth, Australia	0.64	optical		nearby stars
1997-	Wertheimer, et al.	Arecibo	305	1.32-1.52 G	0.6	all-sky	SERENDIP IV
1998-	SETI League	amateur dishes (up to 5000)	3-5	1.42 G	10	all directions in real time	Project Argus
1998-	Stootman, et al.	Parkes	64	0.6	1,418-1,420 M	southern random all-sky	Southern SERENDIP; uses 13 beams on sky from focal plane array
1999-	Wertheimer	Leuschner	0.76	optical		nearby stars	search for pulsed signals
1999-	Marcy	Lick and Keck	4 and 10	optical		nearby stars	search for narrowband continuous wave sugnals in data archive of extrasolar planet search
1999-	Horowitz	Harvard Smithsonian	1.55	optical		nearby stars	search for nanoseccond pulsed signals
1999-	Montebugnoli	Medicina	32	1,415-1,425 M; 4,255-4,256 M	0.6	northern sky survey	SETI Italia; SERENDIP-type ransom sky survey at 21 cm and 7 cm
1999-	Wertheimer, Anderson	Arecibo	305	1.419-1.421 G	0.1	all sky	SETI@home (2.5 MHz of SERENDIP IV data analyzed by screen-savers on home PCs

Based on data compiled by Jill Tarter of the SETI Institute

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