by Researchers are studying humpback whale communication systems to learn how to detect and interpret extraterrestrial signals from outer space.
Humpback whale "conversations" provide valuable insight on how humans may one day communicate with life beyond Earth.
Researchers from the SETI Institute, University of California Davis and the Alaska Whale Foundation recently "conversed" with a humpback whale named Twain using an underwater speaker and recorded a humpback "contact" call.
Twain responded to the researchers' call by matching the interval variations between signals of each playback call over a 20-minute period.
"We believe this is the first such communicative exchange between humans and humpback whales in the humpback ‘language,'" Brenda McCowan, lead author of the study from U.C. Davis, said in the statement.
Much like how astronaut crews simulate missions to Mars or the moon on Earth, the Whale-SETI team is studying humpback whale communication systems to better understand how to detect and interpret signals from outer space.
Their findings can be used to develop filters that can be applied to any extraterrestrial signals received, according to the statement.
Source
Humpback whale "conversations" provide valuable insight on how humans may one day communicate with life beyond Earth.
Researchers from the SETI Institute, University of California Davis and the Alaska Whale Foundation recently "conversed" with a humpback whale named Twain using an underwater speaker and recorded a humpback "contact" call.
Twain responded to the researchers' call by matching the interval variations between signals of each playback call over a 20-minute period.
"We believe this is the first such communicative exchange between humans and humpback whales in the humpback ‘language,'" Brenda McCowan, lead author of the study from U.C. Davis, said in the statement.
Much like how astronaut crews simulate missions to Mars or the moon on Earth, the Whale-SETI team is studying humpback whale communication systems to better understand how to detect and interpret signals from outer space.
Their findings can be used to develop filters that can be applied to any extraterrestrial signals received, according to the statement.
Source
