Algorithms For Dummies

  Managing Big Data 

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Astronomy: Consider the data received from spacecraft on a mission (such as 

Voyager or Galileo) and all the data received from radio telescopes, which are 

specialized antennas used to receive radio waves from astronomical bodies. 

A common example is the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) project 

(

http://www.seti.org/

), which looks for extraterrestrial signals by observ-

ing radio frequencies arriving from space. The amount of data received and 

the computer power used to analyze a portion of the sky for a single hour 

is impressive (

http://www.setileague.org/askdr/howmuch.htm

). If 

aliens are out there, it’s very hard to spot them. (The movie Contact 

https:// 

www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B002GHHHKQ/datacservip0f-20/

 

explores what could happen should humans actually intercept a signal.)