The Arecibo Message is best described as which characteristic?

The Arecibo Message is best described as which characteristic?

• A. DNA structure, humans, antenna
• B. Binary format
• C. 2380 MHz
• D. EIRP 20 trillion watts

Answer: (B)

The key idea is that the Arecibo Message is a binary-encoded transmission. It was sent as a stream of 1s and 0s, organized into a 23-by-73 grid (1679 bits in all). When the recipient decodes the bits and arranges them as that grid, the pattern forms a bitmap image containing information about numbers, DNA, a human figure, the solar system, and the Arecibo telescope. This use of binary data makes the message universally interpretable by any civilization that can read binary, rather than relying on natural language or symbolic writing. The carrier frequency and the transmitter’s power are technical details of how the signal was sent, but they don’t define what the message is about—the standout characteristic is its binary encoding that enables a reconstructable image.

The key idea is that the Arecibo Message is a binary-encoded transmission. It was sent as a stream of 1s and 0s, organized into a 23-by-73 grid (1679 bits in all). When the recipient decodes the bits and arranges them as that grid, the pattern forms a bitmap image containing information about numbers, DNA, a human figure, the solar system, and the Arecibo telescope. This use of binary data makes the message universally interpretable by any civilization that can read binary, rather than relying on natural language or symbolic writing. The carrier frequency and the transmitter’s power are technical details of how the signal was sent, but they don’t define what the message is about—the standout characteristic is its binary encoding that enables a reconstructable image.