SETI — MCQs

1. What does SETI stand for?
(A) Search for Earth Terrestrial Investigations
(B) Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence
(C) Science of Extraterrestrial Information
(D) Space Exploration and Technology Institute

2. The primary goal of SETI is to:
(A) Explore the Moon
(B) Detect signs of intelligent life beyond Earth
(C) Study black holes
(D) Launch satellites into orbit

3. Which scientist is most famously associated with promoting SETI?
(A) Carl Sagan
(B) Isaac Newton
(C) Albert Einstein
(D) Edwin Hubble

4. The SETI program mainly searches for:
(A) Gravitational waves
(B) Radio signals from other civilizations
(C) Exoplanet atmospheres
(D) Asteroids near Earth

5. Which equation is used to estimate the number of intelligent civilizations in the galaxy?
(A) Schrödinger’s equation
(B) Drake equation
(C) Einstein’s field equation
(D) Fermi equation

6. Who developed the Drake Equation?
(A) Stephen Hawking
(B) Frank Drake
(C) Carl Sagan
(D) Edwin Hubble

7. Which telescope was famously used in early SETI research?
(A) Arecibo telescope
(B) Hubble Space Telescope
(C) Chandra X-ray Observatory
(D) Kepler telescope

8. What was the “Wow! Signal”?
(A) A strong, unexplained radio signal detected in 1977
(B) The first image of a black hole
(C) A gravitational wave detection
(D) A signal from Mars Rover

9. The “Wow! Signal” was detected by which observatory?
(A) Arecibo Observatory
(B) Big Ear Radio Telescope, Ohio
(C) Green Bank Observatory
(D) Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex

10. Why does SETI focus on radio waves?
(A) They are easily absorbed by space dust
(B) They travel long distances with little interference
(C) They require less power to transmit
(D) They cannot be detected by humans

11. The term “Technosignature” refers to:
(A) Chemical traces of microbial life
(B) Evidence of advanced technology by extraterrestrial civilizations
(C) Geological formations resembling life
(D) DNA traces on asteroids

12. Which of the following is an example of a technosignature?
(A) Oxygen in an atmosphere
(B) Methane from volcanoes
(C) Artificial radio transmissions
(D) Fossilized microbes

13. The SETI Institute is located in:
(A) Washington, D.C.
(B) Mountain View, California
(C) Houston, Texas
(D) New York City

14. Optical SETI focuses on detecting:
(A) Infrared signals
(B) Visible light or laser pulses
(C) Gamma rays
(D) Ultraviolet light

15. What does METI stand for, in contrast to SETI?
(A) Messaging to Extraterrestrial Intelligence
(B) Monitoring Earth’s Technology and Information
(C) Missions for Extraterrestrial Technology Initiatives
(D) Mapping Extraterrestrial Terrain and Information

16. The main difference between SETI and METI is:
(A) SETI listens, METI transmits messages
(B) SETI studies planets, METI studies stars
(C) SETI uses satellites, METI uses rovers
(D) SETI is funded, METI is not

17. The “Fermi Paradox” is related to:
(A) Why Earth has no moon
(B) Why we haven’t found evidence of extraterrestrial civilizations despite high probability
(C) Why galaxies expand
(D) Why black holes exist

18. The “Great Silence” refers to:
(A) Lack of signals from extraterrestrial civilizations
(B) The vacuum of space
(C) A radio blackout on Earth
(D) The quietest region in space

19. What is the primary funding source for modern SETI programs?
(A) NASA and ESA
(B) Private donations and foundations
(C) UN space budget
(D) Military funding

20. Which billionaire has funded large-scale SETI projects like “Breakthrough Listen”?
(A) Jeff Bezos
(B) Elon Musk
(C) Yuri Milner
(D) Richard Branson

21. Breakthrough Listen focuses on:
(A) Searching for gravitational waves
(B) Conducting the most comprehensive SETI survey ever
(C) Launching spacecraft to Mars
(D) Building space stations

22. Which frequency range is most often studied in SETI?
(A) Gamma-ray range
(B) Optical range
(C) Microwave/radio range
(D) Infrared range

23. The “water hole” in SETI research refers to:
(A) A frequency range between hydrogen and hydroxyl emissions suitable for communication
(B) A crater on the Moon
(C) An ancient site on Earth
(D) A dark spot on the Sun

24. Which U.S. government agency briefly funded SETI before canceling?
(A) NASA
(B) DARPA
(C) CIA
(D) NOAA

25. One criticism of METI is that:
(A) It wastes radio signals
(B) It could expose Earth’s location to potentially hostile civilizations
(C) It cannot transmit across space
(D) It is more expensive than SETI

26. The Kepler Space Telescope contributed to SETI by:
(A) Detecting exoplanets where SETI searches could be focused
(B) Sending laser signals
(C) Searching for aliens directly
(D) Measuring black holes

27. Why are narrow-band radio signals considered good candidates for SETI?
(A) They are common in nature
(B) They are rare in nature and more likely artificial
(C) They cannot be detected by telescopes
(D) They disappear quickly

28. SETI signals are often analyzed using:
(A) Space rovers
(B) Spectroscopy and signal processing
(C) Chemical experiments
(D) Particle accelerators

29. The “Zoo Hypothesis” suggests that:
(A) Aliens have already visited Earth
(B) Advanced civilizations are observing us but not contacting us
(C) Aliens live in Earth’s oceans
(D) Intelligent life cannot exist beyond Earth

30. The first dedicated SETI experiment was conducted in:
(A) 1950
(B) 1960
(C) 1977
(D) 1985

31. The 1960 SETI project “Project Ozma” was led by:
(A) Carl Sagan
(B) Frank Drake
(C) Stephen Hawking
(D) Jill Tarter

32. Jill Tarter is known for her work as:
(A) A space shuttle commander
(B) A leading SETI scientist and advocate
(C) A planet geologist
(D) A spacecraft engineer

33. Which Hollywood movie was inspired by SETI research and Jill Tarter’s work?
(A) Interstellar
(B) Contact
(C) Arrival
(D) The Martian

34. In SETI, what does “signal-to-noise ratio” measure?
(A) Brightness of stars
(B) Strength of a possible signal compared to background noise
(C) Speed of light transmission
(D) Distance of a planet

35. Why are pulsars not considered alien signals anymore?
(A) They were proven to be natural rotating neutron stars
(B) They are too weak to study
(C) They only exist in distant galaxies
(D) They emit no detectable radiation

36. Which SETI-related signal detection method uses many volunteers’ computers worldwide?
(A) SETI@Home
(B) Breakthrough Starshot
(C) RadioLab
(D) Galaxy Zoo

37. SETI@Home is an example of:
(A) Cloud computing
(B) Citizen science distributed computing
(C) Artificial intelligence
(D) Quantum simulation

38. Which frequency is nicknamed the “hydrogen line” in SETI?
(A) 1420 MHz
(B) 21 kHz
(C) 100 GHz
(D) 50 MHz

39. Why is the hydrogen line important in SETI?
(A) Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe
(B) It marks a natural “cosmic calling frequency”
(C) It minimizes background interference
(D) All of the above

40. Which of the following has NOT been proposed as a technosignature?
(A) Dyson spheres
(B) Artificial light on exoplanets
(C) Gravitational waves
(D) Megastructures

41. A Dyson sphere is:
(A) A theoretical megastructure built to capture a star’s energy
(B) A type of black hole
(C) A natural gas cloud
(D) A pulsar emission

42. In SETI, “narrowband drifting” signals indicate:
(A) A planet’s orbit
(B) Doppler shifts due to planetary motion
(C) Gravitational lensing
(D) Sunspot activity

43. Why is AI increasingly used in SETI?
(A) To detect hidden patterns in massive datasets
(B) To transmit messages faster
(C) To replace telescopes
(D) To build spacecraft

44. Which U.S. state hosts the Green Bank Observatory, important in SETI?
(A) California
(B) West Virginia
(C) Texas
(D) Florida

45. The term “astroengineering” in SETI refers to:
(A) Engineering spacecraft
(B) Large-scale technological modifications of planets or stars by advanced civilizations
(C) Construction of space telescopes
(D) Terraforming Mars

46. Which scientist warned that broadcasting signals (METI) might be dangerous?
(A) Stephen Hawking
(B) Frank Drake
(C) Jill Tarter
(D) Carl Sagan

47. Why is the search for technosignatures important?
(A) It is the only way to prove alien life beyond microbes
(B) It helps detect planets in habitable zones
(C) It replaces the need for exoplanet studies
(D) It measures black hole spin

48. SETI mainly relies on which branch of astronomy?
(A) Radio astronomy
(B) X-ray astronomy
(C) Gamma-ray astronomy
(D) Optical astronomy

49. Why are repeated observations important in SETI?
(A) To confirm signals and rule out interference
(B) To track star movements
(C) To map galaxies
(D) To find asteroids

50. The ultimate aim of SETI is to:
(A) Discover microbial life in soil samples
(B) Establish evidence of intelligent civilizations beyond Earth
(C) Build interstellar spacecraft
(D) Prove humans are unique in the universe