Scenes from Earth on the Voyager Spacecraft(voyager.jpl.nasa.gov)
voyager.jpl.nasa.gov
Scenes from Earth on the Voyager Spacecraft
http://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/spacecraft/scenes.html
17 comments
That is why Voyager 1 has a disk with pictures and Voyager 2 is following with a suponea from RightHaven to 'Alien Doe' for rights violations :-)
While I don't doubt for a second that should our probe come into the possesion of another intelligent species, they would publish copies of the pictures on their version of the Internet, as they aren't signatories of out international copyright treaties they wouldn't be culpable, however you and I, should we make say a really cool t-shirt with these designs on them, well we would be violating someone's copyright.
Someday, assuming someone finds the probe before it gets sucked into a black hole. It will be a really interesting story.
While I don't doubt for a second that should our probe come into the possesion of another intelligent species, they would publish copies of the pictures on their version of the Internet, as they aren't signatories of out international copyright treaties they wouldn't be culpable, however you and I, should we make say a really cool t-shirt with these designs on them, well we would be violating someone's copyright.
Someday, assuming someone finds the probe before it gets sucked into a black hole. It will be a really interesting story.
Why should it drop into a black hole? It'll probably just go into orbit. Black holes behave like normal masses, if you don't get too close.
As a NASA project, the images are government owned and therefore public domain.
Works created directly by the federal government are in the public domain. Works created for the government by contractors or works acquired by the federal government can be copyrighted. (And not that it applies here, but works created by state governments can also be copyrighted.)
That's the law as I understand it. I agree it's insane for stuff like this to be copyrighted; it makes no sense to give copyright protection to works funded by and for the public.
Works created directly by the federal government are in the public domain. Works created for the government by contractors or works acquired by the federal government can be copyrighted. (And not that it applies here, but works created by state governments can also be copyrighted.)
That's the law as I understand it. I agree it's insane for stuff like this to be copyrighted; it makes no sense to give copyright protection to works funded by and for the public.
From Wikipedia:
The copyright owners for the images and music on the actual record signed agreements which only permitted the replay of their works outside of the solar system
The copyright owners for the images and music on the actual record signed agreements which only permitted the replay of their works outside of the solar system
that is interesting.. AFAIK they were not supposed to go outside the solar system, but their life has been unexpectedly long. Why specifically solar system? why not our planet or upto mercury and Venus.. :O
I'm guessing these have been contributed by many copyright holders who have made them available to NASA for the Voyager mission, but have not put them into the public domain.
Yeah, that was my guess too. But none of the pictures are amazing, they're just random stuff of random human life. They can surely do better than that.
That's actually the point. Archaeologists are always searching for information about ordinary life. There is tons of data on famous people, kings, leaders, warriors. But very little on day to day life.
That's why Archaeologists are so keen on garbage dumps.
(And to anyone worrying that our digital artefacts are much shorter lived than clay tables: We are producing more garbage than almost any society before. They'll be plenty to piece together.)
(And to anyone worrying that our digital artefacts are much shorter lived than clay tables: We are producing more garbage than almost any society before. They'll be plenty to piece together.)
You misunderstood. (and others did too, judging by the downvotes).
I meant that they could better than finding copyrighted images. As they are standard images, they can surely find non-copyrighted materials.
I meant that they could better than finding copyrighted images. As they are standard images, they can surely find non-copyrighted materials.
It means we can fund space exploration using MPAA and RIAA funds. They can look for aliens making infringing copies.
wait when they find out alien technology infringes some earth patents
"The artifact appears to contain data about a civilization on the third planet of a previously-unknown star system. The inhabitants' bodies are made of metal or (sometimes) wood, and have wheels affixed for locomotion. The inhabitants seem to have an obsession with some sort of soft-bodied apparatus, which they appear to consume as fuel."
--Lord Arquhus, Report to the XVIIth Convention
--Lord Arquhus, Report to the XVIIth Convention
This gave me one of the best "the world is awesome"-feelings. Seeing how much we discovered, how much we know, seeing humans being humans, living their life. And at the same time knowing that we are only a drop in the ocean of the universe. Barely escaped from the claws of evolution. All these messages a tiny hope, that maybe someday somewhere somebody/thing will discover them. A tiny scream against the vastness of interstellar space.
And we we wonder. Wondering how 'they' will perceive us. What will they think of us? Will they understand us? Like thinking about seeing your girlfriends parents for the first time. Only on a vastly grander scale...
Hm, sorry for this little anti-rant. Some things are ... not meant to be captured by words.
Hm, sorry for this little anti-rant. Some things are ... not meant to be captured by words.
Most likely the records will never be discovered. Possibly they will be the last remaining evidence of humanity's existence, out lasting our civilization, the last living human, and perhaps even the surface of the earth. In that sense, I find it interesting and in fact comforting that even millions, perhaps billions of years after humanity has been erased, we will have at least left a tiny crumb hinting at our past.
Did anyone else dig into the quotes section for "Messages from Earth"? (http://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/spacecraft/greetings.html)
This one made me chuckle because all I could think about was the Simpsons Halloween episode where the aliens have cookbooks about cooking humans:
"Friends of space, how are you all? Have you eaten yet? Come visit us if you have time."
This one made me chuckle because all I could think about was the Simpsons Halloween episode where the aliens have cookbooks about cooking humans:
"Friends of space, how are you all? Have you eaten yet? Come visit us if you have time."
The "Mathematical Definitions" photo was fascinating. http://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/spacecraft/images/image003.gif
isn't 5+⅔ = 5 ⅔ really easy to get wrong?
Consider that in every other context listed, {glyph1} {glyph2} (where both glyphs are numerals) indicates "{value of glyph1} * {base} + {value of glyph2}".
For anyone with a passing familiarity with our number system, yes it's straightforward. But this wasn't produced for those people - it was produced for people with absolutely no prior experience with human culture whatsoever.
For anyone with a passing familiarity with our number system, yes it's straightforward. But this wasn't produced for those people - it was produced for people with absolutely no prior experience with human culture whatsoever.
I wonder why every alien-oriented mathematical thing I've seen includes binary. It doesn't seem very important to me to communicate that we understand base two, versus showing some more advanced mathematical formulas.
Because we've learned from the Rosetta stone that having more than one language system is extremely helpful for translating things. Translating something like this with no knowledge of the human race is an enormous endeavor. By providing three bases (base 1, base 2, and base 10), it'll be much easier to extrapolate their meaning. Base 1 should be fairly universal, and since much of our world today revolves around base 2 and 10, having each of those present will make for an effective starting point.
Think of it this way - if an alien probe landed on earth today, wouldn't it be a nice starting point to know that they use a mix of base 7, base 342, and base 61 for their number systems?
Think of it this way - if an alien probe landed on earth today, wouldn't it be a nice starting point to know that they use a mix of base 7, base 342, and base 61 for their number systems?
if an alien probe landed on earth today, wouldn't it be a nice starting point to know that they use a mix of base 7, base 342, and base 61 for their number systems?
I doubt that would be useful information. I would be most interested in knowing what number systems they used natively. Humans (almost?) universally use base ten.
I doubt that would be useful information. I would be most interested in knowing what number systems they used natively. Humans (almost?) universally use base ten.
Because binary in fundamental. You can pick any higher base you want, but everyone understand binary, so it's useful for transmitting information.
> versus showing some more advanced mathematical formulas
We aren't trying to teach them math, or show off. It's about setting a method of communication.
> versus showing some more advanced mathematical formulas
We aren't trying to teach them math, or show off. It's about setting a method of communication.
The assumption is they will understand counting dots easily, = sign, then base 2, then another = sign, then base 10. It's to help both with the = sign and figuring out we use base 10.
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Using dots to indicate what number we mean with our glyphs doesn't scale. So we need an intermediate notation to bootstrap the process.
I don't recall any base two which wasn't next to dots.
I was more impressed by these images intended for aliens' consumption:
http://perl.plover.com/yak/12views/img/q01.gif
http://perl.plover.com/yak/12views/img/q02.gif
...
http://perl.plover.com/yak/12views/img/q23.gif
Can you decode them?
Can you decode them?
spoiler alert, if you want to decode them
q01.gif counts in dots and associates it with binary X and O. The most often repeated symbol (like a double-dashed integral) looks like a separator, or more probably an equal sign. It follows that then rightmost side of each equation is numbers too, in decimal form since 10 is one followed by zero. Underside are a list of prime numbers in base 10. The last line is a Mersenne prime, precisely 2^3021377-1, which I suppose was among the largest primes proven at that time. It also conveniently defines minus symbol and exponent notation by offset.
The XO on top define page number in binary, and also define page orientation. The middle symbol certainly defines some chapter.
The symbols are certainly so convoluted to resist bit rot and/or tampering, offering some form of redundancy, and making them unambiguous upon rotation.
q01.gif counts in dots and associates it with binary X and O. The most often repeated symbol (like a double-dashed integral) looks like a separator, or more probably an equal sign. It follows that then rightmost side of each equation is numbers too, in decimal form since 10 is one followed by zero. Underside are a list of prime numbers in base 10. The last line is a Mersenne prime, precisely 2^3021377-1, which I suppose was among the largest primes proven at that time. It also conveniently defines minus symbol and exponent notation by offset.
The XO on top define page number in binary, and also define page orientation. The middle symbol certainly defines some chapter.
The symbols are certainly so convoluted to resist bit rot and/or tampering, offering some form of redundancy, and making them unambiguous upon rotation.
Yeah, those are Blasto, Adventure, and Miner 2049er on a TI-99/4A that overheated and had a graphical glitch.
Those low res glyphs look like they come from the Space Invaders game.
Neat, but not all pictures are linked. Here's s site that has working links to all the pictures:
http://re-lab.net/welcome/images.html
http://re-lab.net/welcome/images/image108.gif
Should've had words "Oh Shit" placed at top, and some graphical representation of defecation.
Should've had words "Oh Shit" placed at top, and some graphical representation of defecation.
Interesting to think about how this was conceived as representative of human culture: http://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/spacecraft/images/image082.gif
Who on earth (literally) drinks like that? :)
Who on earth (literally) drinks like that? :)
When I was in Catalonia, they said that this container and way of drinking are both local customs.
They explained it's a heritage from times of plague - this way you drink without touching (thus contaminating) it.
They explained it's a heritage from times of plague - this way you drink without touching (thus contaminating) it.
Heh. I'm guessing "normal" alternatives wouldn't clearly illustrate that it was a liquid that was being consumed.
The 'bota' (boot) is a leather/skin bag filled with wine that's very common in Spain. It's basically used the same way.
Considering the rarity of planets in a habitable part of a galaxy, with a magnetosphere, favorable chemistry, an atmosphere, oceans, plate tectonics, single central star, a moon that didn't fall in the roche zone and break up to form rings that bombard us, etc.. the creators of Voyager might have thought twice about giving out that map to our awesome little life supporting planet. The return message might be (as suggested in Contact) a guide to their colonization procedures.
This has been well covered - but the odds of someone finding Voyager, as compared to the approximately 30 Light Year Radius of Radio Energy we've been pumping out, is a number which pretty much approximates zero.
Actually V1 has a 20W transmitter on-board that will stay operational until around 2025. It's busy crossing into the Heliopause which means it's a transmitter far from the noise and obstructions of the solar system. The craft will fully cross into the Heliopause in around 2015 so will have a decade of transmitting in deep space.
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It's interesting that we didn't put up any nuclear explosion photos.
As proud as we appear of our technology. Is keeping it a secret a decency or tactical play?
As proud as we appear of our technology. Is keeping it a secret a decency or tactical play?
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how will alien distinguish this from random noise that is scrached on disk.
Check out the Dresden Codex: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dresden_Codex There's also this interesting short story: http://lesswrong.com/lw/qk/that_alien_message/
Considering the aliens are examining an interstellar space probe with manufactured materials and systems, perhaps they could intelligently conclude that the disc isn't there for any other purpose than to contain information?
but still you need to interpret that data, which can be done in infinite number of ways
I'm assuming that's what this metal plate [http://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/spacecraft/images/golden_rec_sid...] and the calibration circle
[http://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/spacecraft/images/image001.gif] are for.
Can you explain what the metal plate and calibration circle are for? (edit: I meant, how do they work?)
To me, the plate looks like Death Star blueprints, so I'm a little relieved to hear that it's not what I originally thought :)
To me, the plate looks like Death Star blueprints, so I'm a little relieved to hear that it's not what I originally thought :)
Going from memory, the plate defines a base unit of measurement based on the frequency of the Hydrogen atom (lower right). Hopefully every space-travelling civilization has got that one down on paper.
Then it goes into how to play the record back (the speed is drawn around the edge of the record), then how to demodulate the waves, then how to convert the data into scanlines and plot them in a square and get to the calibration circle (middle of the disc).
It's kind of quaint that we sent this record of civilization out as gold-plated LP record. Very 70's.
Then it goes into how to play the record back (the speed is drawn around the edge of the record), then how to demodulate the waves, then how to convert the data into scanlines and plot them in a square and get to the calibration circle (middle of the disc).
It's kind of quaint that we sent this record of civilization out as gold-plated LP record. Very 70's.
> It's kind of quaint that we sent this record of civilization out as gold-plated LP record. Very 70's.
Now, we'd probably just send an iPad with instructions for recharging it (or a solar charger). Or even better, just send an e-ink Kindle... just make sure to turn it off first.
Now, we'd probably just send an iPad with instructions for recharging it (or a solar charger). Or even better, just send an e-ink Kindle... just make sure to turn it off first.
Finally had time to dig out the decoding instructions:
http://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/spacecraft/images/VgrCover.jpg
http://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/spacecraft/images/VgrCover.jpg
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The images printed on the top of the disk hint that the disc itself contains information and how to play it.
This seems more like an exercise for NASA engineers to succinctly summarize the human race, instead of an intuitive discovery tool for aliens.
Maybe a book of pics would have been better, or some microfilm - that is if the aliens can even see in our spectrum.
But this disk, unless I'm mistaken, can be updated on the fly. It also provides a primitive starting point to read our current storage mediums, which if the world were to end in 2012 could provide an alien civilisation a glimpse of what we were (if they take the journey).
It's supposed to last for at least 40 000 years
So, other than "gold plated LP", what format this was this actually encoded in? It's designed to play back completely analog, scanned to a screen? Are the pixels shown only once or scanned repeatedly? What kind of screen / machine keeps those pixels lit long enough to see?
Does NASA actually have a terminal that reads this thing somewhere?
Does NASA actually have a terminal that reads this thing somewhere?
Are you f*cking kidding me? How are they copyright protected? As a NASA project, the images are government owned and therefore public domain.
Moreover, and OBVIOUSLY you're broadcasting them into outerspace. Are you going to sue the aliens for publishing these images in their newspapers once contact is made?
Get real.