Woodruff T. Sullivan III

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Woodruff T. Sullivan III (born 1944) is a U.S. physicist and astronomer, known primarily for his work in astrobiology, galactic astronomy, as well as for his role in the search for extra-terrestrial intelligence (SETI).

Woodruff T. Sullivan III was born in Colorado, USA. He went on to study physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he received a B.S. in 1966, and a Ph.D. (astronomy) in 1971.

[edit] Earth radio leakage research

In order to sample the radio signature of Earth from an external site and thus test whether TV broadcasting is in fact the principal component, W. T. Sullivan III, and S. H. Knowles used the Moon as a passive reflector of Earth's radio frequency leakage. Using the 305-m Arecibo radio telescope, a wide range of frequencies were scanned between 100 and 400 MHz. After local interference was eliminated (using an on-Moon, off-Moon technique), the frequencies of most observed signals could be identified with the television AM video carriers of various nationalities. This experiment demonstrated that the lunar surface is capable of reflecting terrestrial band III (175-230 MHz) television signals. [1]