New telescope forest sprouts in search for extraterrestrials

HAT CREEK VALLEY – In a meadow of one of Northern California’s pristine national forests, 2,000-pound radio telescopes are popping up like mushrooms.

Made of aluminum and resembling things out of the movie “Contact,” they point to the heavens and wait in silent attention. Scientists hope they will one day detect radio waves sent from a faraway planet.

Thousands of years after mankind first asked one of the most pressing philosophical questions – Are we alone in the universe? – Silicon Valley scientists are poised to bring us closer to an understanding.

The hunt for little green men has moved from Hollywood back lots to the Bay Area’s backyard.

“In many cultures throughout history, we’ve always wondered: Is there anybody else? Are we the only ones who can look up at the universe and wonder? I live in the first generation of humans that can try to answer this,” said Jill Tarter, director of the Center for the the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence at the SETI Institute in Mountain View.

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(Full Article: http://www.dailynews.com/glendale/ci_9176083)