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Feature Stories

[08-28-08] - Putting the Jelly in the Space Donut
The second "A" in ATA stands for array, meaning that this instrument is made of many small dishes. Although each dish is as big as a house, they are small compared to the complete telescope: ten city blocks on a side.

Janice Bishop[08-21-08] - The Makeup of Mesmerizing Mars
What is Mars made of? Dust and many kinds of rock, for sure. But Dr. Janice Bishop, who is both a chemist and planetary scientist, is trying to learn more about the Red Planet's makeup by studying the spectral behavior of other materials that might be found there. Her group is analyzing pure minerals, rocks from potential Mars analog field sites, and meteorites that are rocks from Mars.

Kepler Spacecraft[08.14.08] - Summer Triangle: Target for Kepler Mission
Each evening, I go outside and look overhead at the Summer Triangle: three bright stars high above my home in California. Then I dream about what will happen when we find another Earth, a habitable planet around a distant Sun. In less than a year, the first actual observations to make this dream come true will be underway with NASA's Kepler Mission.

Shostak Nye Sagan[08.06.08] - UFOs: Flying Emotions
Reader warning: I'm taking off the kid gloves. If I seem angry here — a state of emotional discombobulation that seldom seems to be my wont — it's because people whom I barely know, or in some cases haven't even heard of, insist on propelling me over the precipice.

Mark Showalter[07.31.08] - Lord of the Rings
SETI Institute planetary astronomer Mark Showalter is rabid about rings.
Showalter directs the Planetary Rings Node of NASA's Planetary Data System. Anyone looking for information on planetary rings comes to Showalter's website here at the SETI Institute.

[07.30.08] - Congressional Appropriation in Support of the Allen Telescope Array (ATA)
Some recent news stories have erroneously characterized Department of Defense appropriations for the Allen Telescope Array as being intended to fund SETI research.These stories have been either poorly researched or purposely sensationalized.

[07.17.08] - Writing for an Extraterrestrial Audience
Walking past the open door of a writer's workshop that was held this spring at the University of Wyoming in Laramie, much of the conversation was of the sort you might expect from any other group of students honing their craft as creative writers.

[07.10.08] - The Roar of the Aurora
It's the mother of all earthly radio transmissions, a broadcast that's been on the air for billions of years.


[07.03.08] - Adopt a Scientist
This story inaugurates a new monthly feature that will highlight the research undertaken by SETI Institute scientists, as well as provide an opportunity for you to join an expedition or participate directly in science or science education.  This month, we feature planetary geologist Dr. John Marshall.


extrasolar earthes[06.28.08] - Scientists Hunt for Astrobiology at Carl Sagan Center
What is the Carl Sagan Center? Astrobiology has become one of the hottest fields of science, and one of the most interesting to the general public. Research in astrobiology has spread widely, with many major universities and other research institutions establishing active programs. Scientists at the SETI Institute have been doing astrobiology research for more that two decades.

extrasolar earthes[06.19.08] - Closing In on Extrasolar Earths
Little more than a decade ago, astronomers Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz announced the discovery of a planet in orbit about 51 Pegasi. It rushes around its sun in just over four days, seared to a temperature of 1,000 degrees Celsius (about 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit).

[06.12.08] - Good Timing
I don't keep a Top 40 list of SETI questions, but if I did, this one would be perennially on the charts: "could our experiments pick up Earth?"

[06.05.08] - Water on the Moon?
Recent headlines have announced a raging controversy among scientists about whether there is actually water ice in the craters near the lunar poles.

 

Archive of Feature Stories

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The Kavli Prize Public Awareness Lectures 2008 features Jill Tarter

Silicon Valley Astronomy Lectures are available on the web and via podcast, featuring talks from Jill Tarter and Frank Drake

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Research News


Martian Clays Tell Story of a Wet Past
Dr. Janice Bishop
[press release]

Clays Shed Light on History of Mars Water and Possibly Life
August 7, 2008
SPACE.com

Hydrated silicate minerals on Mars observed by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter CRISM instrument

Dr. Janice Bishop, co-author


Team hopes to use new technology to search for ETs
Dr. Seth Shostak

A paper on information theory and humpback whale songs[pdf]
Dr. Laurance Doyle


The One that Got Away
Dr. Jonathan Fortney

The Dark Side of the Rings of Uranus Dr. Mark Showalter

An Unusual Meteor Shower on 1 September 2007 [pdf] by Dr. Peter Jenniskens.