Search for E.T. gets financial boost
Private funds will make listening data publicly available
First contact with an alien civilization might now be in the hands of a Russian billionaire.
Yuri Milner, an entrepreneur and venture capitalist, is throwing $100 million at the search for extraterrestrial intelligence. Powerful radio and optical telescopes will be drafted to listen and look for interstellar broadcasts, Milner announced July 20 at a news conference in London. The data will be made publicly available so that anyone can lend a hand in the hunt for E.T.