Andrew Siemion to Receive the SETI Institute's 2024 Drake Award

The SETI Institute is pleased to announce that Dr. Andrew Siemion will be honored with the prestigious 2024 Drake Award for his exceptional and pioneering contributions to SETI and radio astronomy and his leadership in the field. Siemion's distinguished career includes his role as the Bernard M. Oliver Chair for SETI at the SETI Institute, Principal Investigator for the Breakthrough Listen Initiative at the University of Oxford, along with holding an Honorary Professorship at the University of Manchester, an Adjunct Appointment at the University of Malta, and directing the Berkeley SETI Research Center at the University of California, Berkeley. His dedication to SETI science and funding has been crucial in advocating for the scientific validity and importance of the field.

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The Solar Maximum: Navigating the Sun's Fiery Upswing

Solar observers are in for an electrifying time. The total solar eclipse will grace North America on April 8th, and with our celestial neighbor entering a phase of heightened activity known as a solar maximum, we stand on the brink of a spectacular astronomical show. This phenomenon, occurring roughly every 11 years, is characterized by an uptick in magnetic regions and awe-inspiring solar flares on the Sun's surface, set to reach its maximum around 2025. Let's delve into the nature of these active regions, their potential effects on Earth, and how we can monitor them safely from the comfort of our backyards.

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SETI AIR March 2024 Roundup

A roundup of exciting SETI Air projects including a Moon landing, exhibitions news, and links to interviews and publications!

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ICYMI - PRESS RELEASE: High School Students Contribute to Exoplanet Discovery

In a project aimed at democratizing science and fostering educational enrichment, a group of high school students from the Galaxy Explorer program at the Chabot Space & Science Center in Oakland, California, made contributions to the field of exoplanet research. Researchers from the SETI Institute worked with the students to use backpack-sized digital smart telescopes provided by Unistellar; these young citizen scientists played a role in observing and confirming the nature of a warm and dense sub-Saturn planet, known as TIC 139270665 b, orbiting a metal-rich G2 star.

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Upcoming Expedition on a Swan Hellenic Cruise Ship to Costa Rica & the Panama Canal!

Discover the wonders of Costa Rica and Panama on this breathtaking cruise. First, explore the stunning beaches, lush rainforests, and diverse wildlife of Costa Rica. Tour mangrove forests and swamps, and see monkeys, sloths, jaguars, tapirs, and toucans in their natural habitat. Then sail through the busy shipping lane of the Panama Canal, a marvel of engineering connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Your trip ends in Cartagena, Colombia.

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2024 FDL Applications are Closing!

The Frontier Development Lab (FDL) brings together early-career Ph.D.s and postdoctoral researchers from diverse scientific fields and pairs them with their counterparts in computer science to run an applied AI/ML research accelerator capable of answering some of humanity’s most critical research challenges in the areas of extreme weather modeling, disaster response and recovery, planetary defense, astronaut health, Heliophysics, Earth Science, astrobiology, and planetary science.

DEADLINE TO APPLY IS MARCH 31, 2024.

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SETI Live Replay - Electric Mayhem: TRAPPIST-1e's Atmospheric Erosion

The TRAPPIST-1 planetary system has fascinated both scientists and the public since the discovery of the last five of its seven terrestrial worlds in 2017. With four of those planets in the so-called habitable zone, where water can be liquid, the system has become a favorite target of ground- and space-based telescopes alike, especially with regard to the potential for harboring life. Now, in new research published in The Astrophysical Journal, a team of researchers has discovered that TRAPPIST-1e's atmosphere is being stripped by strong electric currents, quashing some hopes that the world is habitable.

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Planetary Picture of the Day: Week of March 18, 2024

Welcome to our weekly recap of our Planetary Picture of the Day (PPOD) for the week of March 18. Earth presents interesting opportunities for photos this week, from giant glaciers and massive storms to beautiful aurorae and strange rocket plumes.

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Big Picture Science: When the Moon Hits Your Eye

The Great North American Solar Eclipse will trace a path of shadow across Mexico and 13 U.S. States on April 8th. Phil Plait, also known as The Bad Astronomer, joins the show for an extended interview covering a wide-range of topics, such as his excitement about the eclipse, the Pentagon’s most recent UFO report, and some of the most persistent moon landing conspiracy theories.

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