SETI Institute

The historic landing of Odysseus (Odie) on the Moon on February 22 represented a significant milestone in commercial space exploration and cultural representation. Carrying scientific payloads and the Earthling Project’s global musical compositions, Odie’s successful mission underscores the blend of technology, humanity, and art in our expanding presence in space. Collage of The Earthling Project and Odysseus’ lunar landing. The Earthling Project logo, credit: The Earthling Project. Odysseus moon lander images, credit:…

Groundbreaking James Webb Space Telescope observations reveal gas wind dispersal in planet-forming disks, advancing our understanding of planet formation dynamics and disk evolution. (Artist’s impression.) Credit: ESO/M. KornmesserResearchers image for the first time, winds from an old planet-forming disk which is actively dispersing its gas content.The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is helping scientists uncover how planets form by advancing understanding of their birthplaces and the circumstellar disks surrounding…

Recent research utilizing the SETI Ellipsoid method with TESS observations has advanced the search for extraterrestrial intelligence by enhancing the detection of potential signals from advanced civilizations. Leveraging continuous sky surveys and precise distance measurements from Gaia, the study improves our ability to monitor for technosignatures, setting a foundation for expanded future searches and representing a significant leap forward in SETI research efforts.Researchers demonstrate that the SETI Ellipsoid method,…

A recent SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) effort focused on a famous supernova from 1987, working under the premise that aliens might use such events to draw attention to themselves with synchronized beacons. Although this hunt came up short, it lays the groundwork for future searches using the same innovative strategy.Nvidia’s Almost Worth 2 Trillion. Is It a Bubble, or Is It Just Getting Started?This principle, called the SETI Ellipsoid strategy, offers a potential solution to a challenging problem: How…

Aubrite meteorite from asteroid 2024 BX1, photographed at the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin by Laura Kranich, a Freie Universität MSc student and member of the Arbeitskreis Meteore, who participated in the search and found this meteorite near the village of Ribbeck, Germany. Credit: Museum für Naturkunde Berlin by Laura Kranic Jenniskens’ collaborators at the Museum für Naturkunde officially announced that the first examinations of one of these pieces with an electron beam microprobe prove the typical mineralogy and…

Scientists at the SETI Institute have advanced the understanding of Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs) through detailed observation of FRB 20220912A with the Allen Telescope Array. Their research, uncovering new properties and behaviors of these cosmic signals, highlights the ATA’s unique role in FRB studies and contributes significantly to the field of astrophysics.This research demonstrates that innovative telescopes with unique capabilities, such as the ATA, offer fresh perspectives on unresolved enigmas in the field of FRB…

Researchers at the SETI Institute have observed 35 bursts from FRB 20220912A using the Allen Telescope Array, shedding light on the mysterious nature of Fast Radio Bursts and their possible origins from extreme cosmic objects. Credit: SciTechDaily.comThis work proves that new telescopes with unique capabilities, like the ATA, can provide a new angle on outstanding mysteries in FRB science.A team of SETI Institute scientists have unveiled new insights into a cosmic mystery known as Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs). The discovery…

The SETI Institute, a leading non-profit in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence, has received a transformative $200 million gift from the estate of Franklin Antonio, a long-time supporter who passed away last year.What Inspired Dominic Monaghan's Performance in Moriarty?The recent $200 million gift from Franklin Antonio’s estate, announced last week, will likely serve as a game-changer for the SETI Institute. Antonio was a big supporter of the Institute’s work for more than 12 years, and his donation is expected…

The prospect of receiving an alien signal is both exhilarating and daunting, and we’ll actually get to experience it on Wednesday—or at least, a simulation of such a thing, as a group of scientists and artists carry out a fascinating SETI experiment.First Full-Color Images From Webb Space TelescopeOn May 24 at 3:00 p.m. ET, the European Space Agency’s ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) will transmit an encoded message to Earth. A trio of ground-based radio observatories will attempt to receive the signal when it arrives 16…

The SETI Institute said this week that the Very Large Array, a National Science Foundation telescope in New Mexico, will join the hunt for radio signals from extraterrestrial civilizations.First Full-Color Images From Webb Space TelescopeThese signals would be technosignatures, so called because they are radio waves that can only be produced by artificial transmitters. SETI, or the search for extraterrestrial intelligence, has long focused on radio searches. Some unusual radio signals from deep space, like pulsars, were…