The Hunt for E.T.

July 20, 2023

Our summer interns go on a field trip to the Allen Telescope Array (ATA) and Lassen National Park each year. At the ATA, they toured our 42-dish radio telescope array and worked with our researchers to learn about radio astronomy and how we conduct SETI searches. At Lassen, the students shifted their attention from searching for technosignatures to astrobiology. They climbed the cinder cone despite the heat, explored the Subway Cave lava tube, examined various lakes and streams for life, analyzed the mineralogy of the rocks and discussed the extremophiles living in the bubbling mud pots.

Meanwhile, back at the home office, we’re beginning to gear up for the Drake Awards, which will be on September 14 this year. We’ll announce this year’s recipient and special guests soon, and there will be opportunities to take part both in-person and online. Stay tuned!

Cheers to all you Earthlings,

Rebecca

SETI Live Replay: Searching for ET at the Heart of the Milky Way

If an alien civilization wanted to communicate with other civilizations throughout the Milky Way, the galaxy’s core holds potential as a strategic site for a beacon. Until now, radio SETI has primarily dedicated its efforts to the search for continuous signals. A new study sheds light on the remarkable energy efficiency of a train of pulses as a means of interstellar communication across vast distances. This marks the first-ever comprehensive endeavor to conduct in-depth searches for these signals. Join us in discussion with Dr. Vishal Gajjar, a SETI Institute astronomer working at the Allen Telescope Array.

High School Student Explores Curiosity About Astrobiology By Conducting Astronomical Observations

Several months ago, I would have never imagined myself attempting to observe an exoplanet transit until 3 AM or analyzing the light of a star in a distant region of our galaxy. I did not know that it was possible for a high student with no experience in astronomy to become involved in some of the work that professional astronomers do. However, thanks to the Unistellar and SETI Institute science team, I was able to have that experience and participate in my own astronomical observations.

SETI AIR Newsletter -- July

This month, we take a closer look at the work of Xin Liu, who is participating in three exhibitions this summer, including one solo show. Her work weaves narratives of space exploration into her personal, lived experiences and focuses on technology’s relationship with the human body. Take a deep dive into her captivating work exploring medical innovations such as cryonics and egg freezing.

Voyage of Dreams: From Apollo to Artemis

On July 22nd the USS Hornet will host a big Space Expo to celebrate the anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon mission. There's a great line up of space exploration experts, space exploration companies and Hornet crew members that were part of the Apollo missions. There will be fun and educational activities. We are going to cover the Apollo mission from over 50 years ago but also the new Artemis Moon program and more. The SETI Institute will be there with a booth and speakers Dr. Nathalie Cabrol and Dr. Pascal Lee.

SETI Shorts: Icy Giants Uranus and Neptune as Observed From JWST, ft. Dr. Heidi B. Hammel

We caught up with Dr. Heidi Hammel, an Interdisciplinary Scientist on the James Webb Space Telescope, and asked her three questions about ice giants and observing them with JWST.

A Sign in Space: The Ethics of X

This is an opportunity to discuss our ideas about the future of contact with a philosophy professor and trained ethicist. We will think critically together about uncertain futures, unknown others, our sense of duty, our sense of wonder, and the effects that extraterrestrial prospects have on us and here and now.

Week of July 10, 2023

Welcome to our weekly recap of our Planetary Picture of the Day (PPOD) for the week of July 10. Beautiful giant planets in infrared, the Earth and the Moon, Rhea and Titan, and a month's worth of sunspots.

Big Picture Science: Fantasic-er Voyage

Check out this podcast from?Big Picture Science, hosted by Seth Shostak and Molly Bentley, Fantasic-er Voyage. A new generation of diminutive robots can enter our bodies and deal with medical problems such as intestinal blockages. But do we really want them swimming inside us, even if they’re promising to help?

The mission of the SETI Institute is to explore, understand, and explain the origin and nature of life in the universe and the evolution of intelligence.

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