Space news.

In the last couple of weeks, we have (maybe) the first picture of a planet outside our solar system.

And (maybe) First Contact.

ETs phoning Earth? Somebody take the call!

Reuters reported Sept. 2: ``An unexplained radio signal from deep space could-just might be-contact from an alien civilization.'' The story excited astronomers around the world, as it was based on an earlier New Scientist magazine article that concluded the signal was from 1,000 light years away.

``The signal, coming from a point between the Pisces and Aries constellations, has been picked up three times by a telescope in Puerto Rico,'' Reuters said.

``New Scientist said the signal could be generated by a previously unknown astronomical phenomenon or even a byproduct from the telescope itself,'' the story went on.

The mysterious signal, named SHGb02+14a, had been analyzed by the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI), an institute set up at the University of California, Berkeley, to catch extraterrestrial radio signals from civilizations that may exist in outer space.

At the time the New Scientist and Reuters articles appeared, expectations were high for discovering extraterrestrial life because the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) had just announced the first discovery of a new class of ``non-gaseous'' planets-probably ``rocky'' like Earth-beyond the solar system.

But SETI was quick to disclaim the magazine and wire service reports as ``exaggerated,'' noting that even though the signal was on the institute's ``best candidates'' list, the possibility of its being a message from an extraterrestrial civilization was practically nil.

But what if it were indeed a message from outer space? The International Astronomical Union (IAU) has agreed not to respond until a decision has been reached by an international conference. [Either it IS or it ISN'T. What is, is, regardless of what a committee says about it.]
It is exciting, though, to imagine SETI withholding information while secretly making preparations for an IAU conference.

However, even if Earth were to respond, it would be a millennium before the response reaches the signal's sender-an astronomically lengthy lag in communication indeed.