Australian telescope to play key role in international search for alien life

A giant telescope in outback Australia is one of two major optical instruments of its kind that have been selected as part of a multi-million dollar international search for alien life in outer space.

The project, called Breakthrough Initiative, is funded by Russian billionaire Yuri Milner and was announced in London on Monday by physicist Stephen Hawking.

Fairfax Media reported on Tuesday that the Parkes Telescope, a 64-meter wide radio satellite dish in New South Wales, would be one of two telescopes that will comb the 100 closest galaxies to Earth and listen for "bumps" in the signal which could indicate extra-terrestrial life.

The Parkes Telescope will join the Green Bank Observatory in the American state of West Virginia in working on the project, estimated to cost more than 100 million U.S dollars.

Milner told The Guardian it was mankind's responsibility to answer the age-old question of whether or not aliens existed.

"It is our responsibility as human beings to use the best equipment we have to try to answer one of the biggest questions: are we alone?" he said.

"We cannot afford not to do this."

The search for extra-terrestrial life will cover ten times more of the universe than any previous alien hunt, and the Parkes Telescope has prime location - the center of the Milky Way is right above it for extended periods of the year.

For two months each year, Parkes will aim its powerful radar sensors at the stars in the sky, listening for any signs of life.

It will collect millions of terabytes of data from more than 10 billion radio frequencies for scientists and members of the public to analyze and scrutinize.

The Green Bank Observatory will begin listening for signs of life in January 2016, while Parkes will join it later that year in September. Endi