JOURNAL ARTICLE

Message in a Molecule: Career scientists revisit a Carl Sagan challenge they undertook nearly half a century ago.

  • Published In: Sky & Telescope, 2024, v. 148, n. 5. P. 84 1 of 3

  • Database: Academic Search Ultimate 2 of 3

  • Authored By: Isaacman, Rich; French, Linda 3 of 3

Abstract

In 1974, the Arecibo Observatory transmitted the "Arecibo Message," a symbolic transmission created by Carl Sagan and his team. A year later, Sagan challenged a group of Cornell graduate students to interpret a binary message he developed for a BBC TV documentary. The students worked through the night to decode the message, eventually realizing it depicted a molecule, formaldehyde (H2CO), and indicated a frequency of 4.83 GHz. Sagan was pleased with their interpretation, and the students were proud of their accomplishment. [Extracted from the article]

Additional Information

  • Source:Sky & Telescope. 2024/11, Vol. 148, Issue 5, p84
  • Document Type:Article
  • Subject Area:History
  • Publication Date:2024
  • ISSN:0037-6604
  • Accession Number:178864031
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