Good evening, stargazers! Today is November 27th, and we're celebrating one of the most mind-bending discoveries in the history of astronomy!
On this date in 1974, humanity received the most famous cosmic "hello" ever transmitted through the universe. Astronomers working at the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico beamed the iconic **Arecibo Message** toward the globular star cluster M13, located about 25,000 light-years away.
Now, here's where it gets absolutely wild: This wasn't just any radio signal. The message was a carefully crafted binary transmission containing information about humanity, our solar system, and our DNA structure. Scientists encoded it in a 1,679-bit transmission—a deliberately prime number to hint at intelligent organization—which can be arranged into a 73 by 23-pixel image. When decoded, it shows the numbers 1-10, atomic numbers of essential elements, a DNA double helix, a human figure with a height reference, our solar system, and the Arecibo telescope itself!
But here's the cosmic joke: by the time that message reaches M13 in about 25,000 years, if anyone's listening, humanity might have completely reinvented itself or moved on to colonize distant worlds. We basically sent a cosmic message in a bottle, hoping someone checks their mail in the year 27,000!
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If you've enjoyed learning about this fascinating moment in astronomical history, please **subscribe to the Astronomy Tonight podcast**! For more information about today's astronomical event and other cosmic wonders, be sure to check out **Quiet Please dot AI**. Thank you for listening to another Quiet Please Production!
This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI
Episode Transcript
This is your Astronomy Tonight podcast. Good evening, stargazers. Today
is November twenty seventh, and we're celebrating one of the
most mind bending discoveries in the history of astronomy. On
this date. In nineteen seventy four, humanity received the most
famous cosmic Hello ever transmitted through the universe. Astronomers working
at the Eresibo Observatory in Puerto Rico beamed the iconic
(00:23):
Arecibo message toward the globular star cluster M thirteen, located
about twenty five thousand light years away. Now here's where
it gets absolutely wild. This wasn't just any radio signal.
The message was a carefully crafted binary transmission containing information
about humanity, our solar system, and our DNA structure. Scientists
(00:47):
encoded it in a one thousand, six hundred and seventy
nine bit transmission, a deliberately prime number to hint at
intelligent organization, which can be arranged into a seventy three
by twenty three pixel image. When decoded, it shows the
numbers one to ten atomic numbers of essential elements, a
DNA double helix, a human figure with a height reference,
(01:10):
our solar system, and the Aracibo telescope itself. But here's
the cosmic joke. By the time that message reaches M
thirteen in about twenty five thousand years, if anyone's listening,
humanity might have completely reinvented itself or moved on to
colonize distant worlds. We basically sent a cosmic message in
(01:31):
a bottle, hoping someone checks their mail in the year
twenty seven thousand. If you've enjoyed learning about this fascinating
moment in astronomical history, please subscribe to the Astronomy Tonight
podcast for more information about today's astronomical event and other
cosmic wonders. Be sure to check out Quiet Please dot Ai.
(01:51):
Thank you for listening to another Quiet Please production
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