Arecibo Message Beamed Toward Messier 13

Scientists at the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico transmitted a 1,679-bit binary radio message toward the globular star cluster Messier 13, approximately 21,000 light-years away in the constellation Hercules. Designed by Frank Drake and colleagues at Cornell University, the message encoded information about DNA structure, human form, the solar system, and the Arecibo telescope itself. Broadcast at 2,380 MHz with 450 kilowatts of power for under three minutes, the transmission was selected partly because M13 would be overhead during the rededication ceremony.