ScienceFiction photos on Flickr

SETI, acronimo di Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence (Ricerca di Intelligenza Extraterrestre), è un programma dedicato alla ricerca della vita intelligente extraterrestre, abbastanza evoluta da poter inviare segnali radio nel cosmo. Il programma si occupa anche di inviare segnali della nostra presenza ad eventuali altre civiltà in grado di captarli (SETI attivo).

Un viaggio interstellare per visitare un'altra civiltà in un mondo distante, almeno per adesso, è oltre le possibilità tecnologiche della civiltà umana. Siamo però in grado di utilizzare ricevitori molto sensibili per cercare nel cielo eventuali segnali radio di origine artificiale, generati da civiltà non umane.

Si tratta di un progetto scientifico e altamente tecnologico che vede i più importanti radiotelescopi del mondo impegnati ad "ascoltare" i segnali radio che vagano nello spazio interstellare.

Come molti di voi sanno, tutte le trasmissioni radio che normalmente captiamo, che siano segnali TV piuttosto che onde radio emesse dalla nostra emittente radiofonica preferita, dalla TV via satellite, alle telecomunicazioni, ormai viaggiano per il 90% attraverso segnali radio e rimbalzano sui satelliti predisposti a tale scopo. Quello che molti non sanno è che questi segnali vanno al di là del nostro pianeta. Il segnale radio, benché convogliato verso una direzione, si espande e questo implica che parte del segnale non solo colpisca il nostro pianeta, ma venga anche "spedito" nello spazio. Ora le onde radio si muovono ad una velocità relativamente lenta rispetto a quella della radiazione luminosa (la luce) ma non significa che abbiano meno potenzialità, saranno più lente, per raggiungere una certa destinazione impiegheranno maggiore tempo, ma in ogni caso sono un importantissimo mezzo di comunicazione.

Tutte le sonde finora spedite dalla NASA nello spazio, per le vari missioni solari, per lo studio di Marte o del Sistema Solare, hanno comunicato con il centro dati attraverso onde radio. Le stesse onde radio che sulla Terra produciamo per ore e ore. Rimane purtroppo il limite che, data la lentezza delle onde radio, un segnale ricevuto potrebbe essere stato trasmesso centinaia di migliaia di anni fa.

Da qui comunque nacque l'idea del progetto:

SE ESISTE DA QUALCHE PARTE UNA CIVILTA' EVOLUTA, DEVE ESSERCI PER FORZA UN SEGNO DI COMUNICAZIONE ALL'INTERNO DI QUESTA SOCIETA'. IL PROGETTO S.E.T.I. NON FA CHE CERCARE, "ASCOLTANDO" E "ANALIZZANDO" I SEGNALI RADIO PROVENIENTI DALLE PROFONDITA' DELLO SPAZIO, NELLA SPERANZA DI CAPTARE E RICONOSCERE UN SEGNALE ARTIFICIALE CREATO DA UNA CIVILTA' EVOLUTA, QUINDI NON GENERATO DA UNA STELLA O IL RISULTATO DI UN'INTERFERENZA.

Quando nacque il progetto SETI, la stazione di ascolto registrava ed analizzava i dati che provenivano dal radiotelescopio di Arecibo alla ricerca di un segnale che, difficilmente spiegabile come naturale, potesse in qualche modo stabilire che non siamo gli unici che di notte alzano lo sguardo per ammirare questo stupendo cielo stellato. Con il passare degli anni i sistemi di ascolto e ricezione sono diventati maggiormente potenti e i radiotelescopi sempre più perfetti, così da mettere in crisi la capacità di calcolo dei giganteschi mainframe e computer impegnati nel progetto.

Fu così che si arrivò ad una soluzione tanto semplice ma allo stesso tempo tanto geniale, che avrebbe coinvolto non solo gli esperti e i ricercatori del settore, ma anche semplici neofiti, curiosi o appassionati, che rappresentano forse il vero motore di questo progetto. Visto che le possibilità di acquisizione dei dati aumenta vertiginosamente attraverso l'installazione in tutto il mondo di nuovi e più potenti radiotelescopi, si è reso inutile pensare di continuare ad aggiornare gli elaboratori impegnati nella ricerca. Sarebbe stata un'inutile e dispendiosa soluzione tampone, ben presto ci si sarebbe ritrovati nelle medesime condizioni di dover aggiornare il "parco macchine", quindi si arrivò a ipotizzare il sistema SETI@Home, ovvero i ricercatori si posero la domanda "quale sarebbe la potenza di calcolo generata dal "remote computing" di migliaia di semplici personal computer che, collegati tra loro attraverso, una rete capillare quale Internet, potessero analizzare una piccola quantità di dati ciascuno e ritrasmettere infine i risultati al computer centrale?" "Infinita" fu la risposta, e così nacque SETI@Home.

Oggi il progetto SETI@home dispone, sparsi in tutti gli angoli del globo, di migliaia di comuni personal computer, di studenti, professionisti, semplici curiosi, che attraverso un programma realizzato appositamente, elaborano, utilizzando i tempi morti dell'uso del PC, il pacchetto di dati scaricato precedentemente dal server dedicato e direttamente messo a disposizione da uno dei numerosi radiotelescopi che quotidianamente, 24 ore su 24, 365 giorni all'anno, rappresentano l'orecchio del mondo sull'universo che ci circonda.

guardando ed elaborando questo scatto, una foto della ruota panoramica che per alcuni mesi ha fatto divertire i cittadini di Bari e provincia, ho immediatamente pensato ad un radiotelescopio, ad una gigantesca antenna capace di captare le più remote emissioni provenienti dall' infinito ...

...e oltre

Imperial Walkers by Bob Wall

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One of those rare times when there were no container ships unloading here so I could get just the walkers.

The way I have heard it is, Lucas was being driven across the Bay Bridge when he saw the cranes at the Port of Oakland and started sketching them. They became the walkers. I don't know if it's true, but it is a fine tale.

Oakland, California.

we're doomed. by helen sotiriadis

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on the blog: toomanytribbles.blogspot.com/2010/04/were-doomed.html

I Robot by Patrick

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I ROBOT

This is one of the first books I ever read after leaving school and it took me down the long road of Science Fiction. Isaac Asimov, Philip K Dick, J G Ballard, Frederic Pohl, Jack Williamson, Robert A Heinlein and so many others.

So this is a little tribute to those imaginative folk who put pen to paper, thank you from the bottom of my heart.

The little clock character was a birthday gift of many moons ago, he seemed appropriate to go on the shelf too. A bit cranky now, he doesn’t stand up by himself but leans in a very casual way and is a good timekeeper.

The next bit is a bit weird, I don’t own a copy of Asimov’s “I Robot” because it’s not in Penguin Books and I only collect Penguin Science fiction but I might make an exception and buy it along with the ‘Foundation' series at some time.

Hope some of you have enjoyed Sci/Fi too and have appreciated those writers and their imaginations. Here are a couple of other titles that I think have gone down in history as classic fiction.

Wandering Drune by Annjalyk Storm (model/photographer)

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Shot @ Drune: maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Ravine/197/124/59

traces by patrice-photographiste

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(english follow)

« N'allez pas là où le chemin peut mener. Allez là où il n'y a pas de chemin et laissez une trace. » Ralph Waldo Emerson

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"Do not go where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trace. » Ralph Waldo Emerson

The Hunters by ·Peter Mardie·

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The attack was preceded by a hypnotic green light, the fight was brief but fierce, but historians agree Mr. Furball saved Earth on this wild night of ghoulish scenes under a Martian moon.

From our upcoming series 'Aliens From Abroad'.

Model: Mr. Furball (as himself)

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My web page:

petermardie.smugmug.com

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Come say hello! (my other hideouts)

IG: www.instagram.com/petermardie/

Facebook: www.facebook.com/petermardie

Tumblr: petermardie.tumblr.com

Troll Territory by Deb's Artography

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Created with 2 Wombo images plus hiker added from a third, all blended with Pixelmator Pro.

Prompts: Troll under forest bridge, ultra realistic skin and human eyes, scruffy hair

Style: VFX v2

Used a gray toned texture as an input.

I hope this hiker just turned around and ran the other way.

So glad you joined the this trek!

Attack on Kinkadeville by Deb's Artography

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Combo of 2 Wombos.

Prompts: Giant alien spacecraft attacking village, in style of Thomas Kinkade

Style: Spectral

Is it just me or do you think it is hilarious to see one of those sweet little Kinkade scenes under attack? Maybe they shouldn't have had all those windows so lit up? Yeah, I was in a weird mood. Probably spending too much time on Wombo : )

Home Port by Deb's Artography

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Created with Dream Wombo

I've been revisiting some of my earlier images that really would have been better with a landscape format. Thanks again, Wombo, for the new aspect ratios!

Hidden Hangar by Deb's Artography

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A blending of several Wombo Dream images using Prompt words: spaceship, rusty, chrome, abandoned warehouse, puddles on floor. Used the style "VFX." Layering and masking done with Pixelmator Pro and further processed with Distressd FX Plus and Pastello.

Well, I have definitely fallen down the Wombo rabbit hole now. Wanting to use some of the premium styles as well as getting tired of all the free version's ads, I popped for the premium version and it was well worth it! Hope you enjoy this little sci-fi creation.

Have a great week and thanks in advance for any comments, faves and invitations!

There are not many groups that I have found to display Wombo works, so I have created one. Please be patient with me, as I have never done this before. Please check it out!

Wombo World

www.flickr.com/groups/wombo_art/

Lyon - Vaise by Gilles Daligand

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But I Was Supposed to Look Like This by Deb's Artography

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Created with Dream Wombo with texturing and effects done with JixiPix Grungetastic and Pixelmator Pro.

Reminds me of times when I would take a photo to my hairdresser and get something very different.

Thank you for taking a look!

How Did THAT Get Here? by Deb's Artography

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Created with Dream Wombo

There have been some interesting finds at the bottom of Lake Mead, but nothing like this!

Thanks for taking a look!

I'll be your cyborg girl by Becca Prender

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Mechanical Singularity by Deb's Artography

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"A position or configuration of a mechanism or a machine where the subsequent behavior cannot be predicted."

Inspired by all the doom and gloom news about AI. Ironically, created with Dream by Wombo AI.

Farming by Night by Kerry Bryne

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The original photo was of a lone tree in a field in De Forest, Wisconsin. Photofox Cloud Wanderer components were used to create this image.

Cyber Ralphy Returns by Ralphy Triellis.

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Total Eggclipse by Silke

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#MacroMondays

#Egg

While in our Solar system, a total eclipse like the Great North American Eclipse of April 8 is an extremely rare sensation, it is a way more frequent (regular, even) occurrence in the Egglar system. There, a total eclipse often can be seen every Sunday morning. Sometimes, these total eclipses even happen twice or more times a week.

Since in Germany, the April eclipse wasn't even visible as a partial eclipse, and the next total eclipse, visible only in Southern Germany, will happen in... 2081 (and Northern Germany? 2135!), I can safely say I won't see either. So I decided to create my very own eclipse for "Egg".

For the sun, I used a whole uncooked egg, backlit by an LED lamp placed right behind it. A smaller, cracked piece of eggshell served as the moon. At first, I had put a smaller egg in front of the "sun", but the round edges were too soft to create this nicely defined shape the moon had in the real eclipse. The cracks in the smaller piece of eggshell also helped in making the "moon's" upper edge better visible in the image because they caught on/let through a little bit of the backlight.

To achieve a good sharpness and definition on both the sun and the moon I had to do focus stacking/bracketing. The in-camera focus stacking didn't work that well with this rather difficult setup, so I did focus bracketing instead. When the camera is set on focus bracketing, one can technically take up to 999 single images. Which I thought was a slight stacking overkill, so I made do with 99 images of which I used about 40 which I combined in Helicon Focus (A, R8, S1).

Size info: The part of the whole egg that is visible in the frame is 4,5 cm/1,77 inches.

HMM, Everyone, and have a nice week ahead!

Alien Botany Lab by Deb's Artography

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Created with 2 Wombo images.

Prompts: clear glass vase with alien plant, roots in the water, black background, rough dark wood table, dark room, side lighting, ultra realistic details

Sorry, I didn't make note of the style but it looks like either The City or Soft Touch.

The thing I enjoy most about AI is making things that do not exist in a realistic style. Of course I enjoy landscapes and flowers, but I truly have the most fun coming up with imaginary things and places. I hope you enjoy the wanderings of my imagination.

Botz - Starstruck by Mike

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Botz Facebook page: www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100090574861493

I lit the fire 🔥 and gonna fucking burn it all to the ground 👿 by Rydell Wyler ♾️

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🎵 I can't help the fact that everyone can see these scars…. Time won't heal this damage anymore, I can't feel the way I did before.... Don’t turn your back on me, I won’t be ignored…. NO, hear me out NOW, you're gonna listen to me like it or not RIGHT NOW, hear me out NOW 👿

Please read about 🚳 My 17 year old Motorcycle Warrior 😭

My Flickr Group 📩

Secondlife ♾️ DAILY

Arrival by Ashok Boghani

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454 Landing (revisited) by Ken Barker

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Hidden in the Depths by Deb's Artography

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Created with Dream Wombo and texture as the input.

Thanks for taking your time to view, fave and comment!

Sciencefiction sunset by Luca Scaramuzza

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Hear the sound of butterflies I must by WJ Postma

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Aliens From Abroad by ·Peter Mardie·

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Part of a wider project documenting Aliens From Abroad in their natural habitat. Have space ship - will travel.

Models: {ChinaGirl}, ZodaZoul

Imagine...imagine you are an astronaut...in a shiny titanium rocket...who has just landed on another planet. The first visitor from another world. The first explorer of your kind. You walk through the dust of the red planet as you approach a small extraterrestrial village. And there they wait for you, the blue people - beautiful, savage and wild. And here you will introduce yourself and bring gifts. What will be your first words? What emotions will you experience? Will you survive the first five minutes of this encounter? What is the statistical life span of a star traveller? How now, Nathaniel York?

Fear. Curiosity. Apprehension. Exhilaration. The complex range of emotions experienced by both the anonymous onlooker and the aliens from another world. And in this moment of shared sensations and wonder, the realization that all life is connected through invisible threads of shared humanity. The same fears. The same hopes.

Loosely inspired by the short story 'Ylla' by Ray Bradbury, published in 'The Martian Chronicles' (1950). I first picked up this book when I was a teenager, back in the days when I kept live trilobites in my bathtub. This book never let me go. Such a fantastic read. Beautiful, entertaining, lyrical - and profound.

Alien romance, drama, premonition, tension, fear, jealousy, crime, symbolism and xenophobia - this story has it all. And at the end of each paragraph, as we get pulled deeper into the story, we feel reminded of Planet Earth, every step along the way. Bradbury is holding up a mirror to ourselves.

This story is deeply personal for me. I have been a life-long explorer. I also have been "the Martian". The two are interchangeable. I know both perspectives. And what I have learned: despite major differences in cultures and religion, if we can just find time to sit down, share a hot drink and talk a little, we find that we are actually not that different from each other after all. The same hopes, the same fears. All over the globe. And perhaps beyond.

Our entry for the LensCulture Critics' Choice Award 2022 (Single Photo Category).

An online copy of "Ylla" is available here:

englishonlineclub.com/pdf/Ray%20Bradbury%20-%20The%20Mart...

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My web page:

petermardie.smugmug.com

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Come say hello! (my other hideouts)

IG: www.instagram.com/petermardie/

Facebook: www.facebook.com/petermardie

Tumblr: petermardie.tumblr.com

Cyberracer by ღHarleyღ Erbachemer Resident

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Fast, sexy and dangerously armed.

With my new analog visor I just see everything...

Intergalactic meeting by WJ Postma

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Contemplating the Time Flux by Kerry Bryne

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The original photo was of a corner of State Street in Madison, Wisconsin. Photoleap was used to create this image using element of photos that I have taken.

Atlantis_ by PoéticoLab

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Think Anyone Will Notice Us? by Deb's Artography

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Blending of 2 Wombo images. All enhancements done in Pixelmator Pro.

Prompts: Human alien hybrid insanely beautiful female warrior on city street

Style: The City

Looks like the alien girls are enjoying their girls' day out on Earth. Perhaps they heard there are some early Black Friday sales. Looks like one picked up some shades to hide those yellow eyes.

In a wacky Wednesday mood. Thanks for all your views, faves and comments.

All who enjoy using this app are invited to join and post your creations in my new group, Wombo World.

www.flickr.com/groups/wombo_art/

If you enjoy using Wombo as a part of other creations, check out Wombo Art Blends.

www.flickr.com/groups/14789994@N25/

Forest Secrets - The Time Machine by Deb's Artography

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Created with Dream by Wombo

Prompts: Steampunk time machine portal embedded in trunk of huge ancient tree in dark misty overgrown forest

Style: VFX v2

As more forests are cleared, more mysterious secrets are revealed.

Thank you for viewing!