17 June 2013

The ‘First Animated GIF’ To Be Sent Into Deep Space





On Tuesday, 18 June—which is tomorrow—Conceptual artist Kim Asendorf will be sending the “first animated GIF into deep space”.



To achieve this, Asendorf created a short GIF called ‘Humans watching Digital Art’, and he will using the ‘Lone Signal METI’ (Messaging Extra Terrestrial Intelligence) experiment to beam it into space.



His target: ‘Gliese 526’, a “potentially habitable solar system in the The Catalog of Nearby Habitable Systems which is 17.6 light years from Earth.



According to Asendorf, he said that the “system’s position in the sky, as well as its relatively close proximity to the Earth, makes it an ideal choice as Lone Signal’s first target”.



If there is life on Gliese 526, they will be able to see Asendorf’s GIF in 17.6 years.



Maybe he should have picked a better image? What do you think?







[via Kim Asendorf]