In the mountains of Northern California, a field of radio dishes that look like giant dinner plates waited for years for the first call from intelligent life among the stars. But they're not listening anymore.
Cash-strapped governments, it seems, can no longer pay the interstellar phone bill.
Astronomers at the SETI Institute in Mountain View, Calif., said a steep drop in state and federal funds has forced the shutdown of the Allen Telescope Array, a powerful tool in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence, an effort scientists refer to as "SETI."
The 42 radio dishes had scanned deep space since 2007 for signals from alien civilizations while also conducting hard scientific research into the structure and origin of the universe.
SETI chief executive Tom Pierson said in an email to donors last week that the University of California, Berkeley, had run out of money for day-to-day operation of the dishes.
"Unfortunately, today's government budgetary environment is very difficult, and new solutions must be found," Pierson wrote. (read more)
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