May 2006

Once in a blue moon... er, make that "ring"!

Top: Saturn  Bottom: Uranus (not to scale)  Credit: Imke de Pater
SETI Institute scientist Mark Showalter's discovery of a new ring/moon system around the planet Uranus has yielded another surprise - this new ring is one of only two known rings in our solar system that are blue in color! (The other is the outermost ring of Saturn.)  Showalter is co-author of a paper about the new discovery, which was published in the April 7, 2006 issue of the journal Science.

Since both of the blue rings are the furthest from their planet, Showalter comments " That can't be coincidental.  There has to be a common thread of dynamics that is causing both of these phenomena."

 
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What is the
SETI Institute ?

The mission of the SETI Institute is to explore, understand and explain the origin, nature and prevalence of life in the universe.  It is a non-profit corporation that serves as the home for research and educational projects relating to the study of all potential life in the universe, including the disciplines of astronomy and planetary sciences, the origin of life, chemical evolution,  biological evolution, cultural evolution, and the search for extraterrestrial intelligence.

You are invited to a day of science and innovation at the SETI Institute!

Celebrating Science For The Future

When:
June 10, 2006
10am to 4pm

Where:
SETI Institute
515 N. Whisman Road
Mountain View, CA 94043 [map]

- Fun for the whole family
- Hands on demonstrations
- Meet real scientists

Admission is free!


Sightings 

May 17, 2006
Silicon Valley Astronomy Lecture Series, Foothill College - featuring Dr. Joshua Bloom speaking on " Giant Cosmic Explosions:The Gamma-Ray Burst Boom"

May 17, 2006
San Francisco Amateur Astronomers - Rocco Mancinelli talks about the "Evolution of Halophiles: A Terrestrial Analog for Life in Brines on Mars" 

  May 21-25, 2006
American Society for Microbiology - 
Rocco Mancinelli participates

May 24, 2006
NASA Research Park Exploration Lecture Series - Lecture and panel discussion featuring Seth ShostakCynthia Phillips, and Douglas Vakoch on "Life Out There - What Happens If We Find It?"

May 24, 2006
Odysseys in Technology Speaker Series Joel Birnbaum and Steve Dietz discuss "The History and Future of the City" at San Jose's Computer History Museum

June 3, 2006
Mt. Tam Astronomy Lectures - hear Seth Shostak give "The Latest Skinny on SETI"

June 10, 2006
Celebrating Science for the Future

June 19 - 22, 2006
Cornell University - Jean Chiar presents "Infrared Studies of Interstellar Dust"

June 19 - 24, 2006
ASSET

June 21 - 24, 2006
Star Quest III - Seth Shostak will be the keynote speaker on the last evening, June 24th.

For more information about these and other events, check out the SETI Institute Events Calendar

 

Are We Alone? - the SETI Insitute's Science Radio Show 

Upcoming shows:
The Gospel According to SETI
Look! Up in the Sky!
F is for Science

 

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Check out other new items at the SETI Institute Gift Shop.

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The SETI Institute is the foremost scientific research institution focused on life in the universe in all of its possible forms.  Show your support for astrobiology research and become a member  today! 

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