S.E.T.I.

S.E.T.I. is the acronym for the project of search of possible extraterrestrial intelligent life in space: SEARCH FOR EXTRATERRESTRIAL INTELLIGENCE. Arecibo’s message is strictly connected with this project. It is in fact a radio message broadcast into the space on 16 November 1974. This message was prepared by dr. Frank Drake with Carl Sagan’s help, too.
Arecibo’s message is composed by 679 binary digits: the structure is the following (73 lines, 23 columns), it makes an image where you can find some pieces of information (Drake’s cryptogram).
Reading from left to right and in vertical sense, it shows the following information:
The numbers from 1 to 10;
The atomic numbers of the following elements: hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen, oxygen and phosphorus;
Sugars’ formula and bases of nucleotides of deoxyribonucleic acid ( DNA );
The number of nucleotides in the DNA;
A graphic representation of the double helix of DNA with a central bar, which stands for the number of nucleotides;
A graphic representation of a man;
The population of the Earth;
A graphic representation of the Solar System;
A graphic representation of the Arecibo’s radiotelescope and the dimensions of the broadcasting aerial.
This message was sent towards the globular mass of Hercules M13, 25000 light-years of distance.

Long aerials to send our poetry,
fusion of our primigenial molecules and faraway stars:
in a system called solar, our house,
the tale of our own life
renewing in a pearl ear-ring.
Faraway aerials as long as the others,
to pick up the surprise of an intelligent form who
brings near the depths of spaces, telling about herself.

Dimensions 50 x 70
Mixed painting technique: “Pablo” pencil + tempera