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March 13, 2006
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Could the proverbial message in a bottle be the ticket to interstellar communication?
For long messages sent very far away, it saves energy to send a physical package rather than radio waves. The longer the message, and the farther the distance, the more advantageous it is to send a "message in a bottle."
Credit: Nicolle Rager-Fuller, National Science Foundation
Images credited to the National Science Foundation, a federal agency, are in the public domain. The images were created by employees of the United States Government as part of their official duties or prepared by contractors as "works for hire" for NSF. You may freely use NSF-credited images and, at your discretion, credit NSF with a "Courtesy: National Science Foundation" notation.
Additional information about general usage can be found in Conditions.
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Related story: Getting a Message Across the Universe: Would E.T. Send a Letter?