Listening for Signals, Sending Messages: The SETI–METI Quest and Our Place in the Cosmos

To the point

Two tracks drive the search for alien life: listening for signals (SETI) and sending deliberate messages (METI/CETI), using the Green Bank Telescope and citizen scientists to sort data, with notable messages such as the Arecibo Message toward M13 and transmissions carried on Pioneer and Voyager spacecraft illustrating the effort; since the universe is vast, contact is unlikely and Earth signals are hard to detect across interstellar distances, debates focus on who should represent humanity and the risks of inviting contact, The Planetary Society supports SETI while urging thoughtful consideration, and Kate Howells frames this curiosity as a way to learn about life beyond us and our place in the cosmos.