Jill Tarter’s unique career in astronomy

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Jill Tarter has dedicated her life to listening for evidence of life in the universe, and although she has listened in vain so far, she is more certain than ever that it is out there. Meet the astronomer on whom the lead role in space geeks’ favourite film, ‘Contact’, is based.

Astronomers discover new exoplanets almost every day – worlds that are orbiting alien suns outside our Solar System. And as the exoplanet count increases, so do the number of scientists who believe that at least some of the worlds may include life. But intelligent life? Every time we approach this subject in Science Illustrated we get letters warning that we are veering from science to pseudo-science. ‘Aliens are not science!’ we are told. Yet the search for life is one of humanity’s greatest pursuits. And worldrenowned astronomer Jill Tarter has spent her life listening to possible frequencies of remote civilisations.

If there is intelligent life, why have we not heard from them yet? Should we fear the day when we do? And is contacting alien civilisations a really bad idea? If anyone has answers, it’s Jill Tarter.

When did your interest in what is ‘out there’ begin?

Growing up in the 1950s, my father was my entire universe. His enthusiasm for science and research was highly contagious, and thanks to him I was introduced to the amazing world of astronomy. I grew up at a time when space exploration was taking its first steps, and fantasies about what science and space exploration could lead to had almost no limits. My passion for astronomy was cemented when I got a telescope as a teenager. It allowed me to see the Moon, planets and stars in a way I had never seen them before. The experience confirmed my decision to pursue natural science, initially to do a bachelor’s degree in physics.

The physics programme was exciting, but my social life was miserable. I was the only woman among 300 men, locked in the dormitory at 10 o’clock at night, because that was how Cornell University looked after their young women in the 1960s.

By the time I finished, I knew I had a good education in problem solving. I also knew that if physicists are as boring as my professors, I needed to find some other interesting problems to work on.

The way stars form – the very fact that stars have a full life-cycle at all – had fascinated me for a while, so I switched to astronomy.