Featured Projects and Programs
Curiosity Rover on Mars Predicted to Encounter Moving Sand Dunes
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SETI Institute Search for Exolife Hangout
SETI Institute scientists, Dale Andersen, Lori Fenton, Franck Marchis and Cynthia Phillips discuss various research topics including life in extreme environments (extremophiles), life on Mars, Europa and future missions, and exoplanets. Moderated by Jill Tarter.
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Curiosity Rover on Mars Predicted to Encounter Moving Sand Dunes
The dunes in Gale Crater on Mars, near the landing site of the Curiosity rover, are moving. Until a few years ago, it was thought that the surface of Mars was largely inactive, with its landscapes no longer undergoing any significant modification. The identification of widespread active sand dune migration is one of several recent discoveries that has disproved this claim. -
What Lessons Can We Learn from the Chelyabinsk Meteor?
Vatican Astronomer Guy Consolmagno, Director of the Carl Sagan Center David Morrison, and Planetary Astronomer Franck Marchis discuss the recent meteor impact in Chelyabinsk, Russia.
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We are proud to announce the Second Annual MarsFest (formerly Mars and the Mojave Festival) in Death Valley National Park from March 1st to March 3rd, 2013!
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Herschel Finds Old Star Possibly Making Planets
A star thought to have passed the age when it can form planets may in fact be creating new worlds. The disk of material surrounding the surprising star called TW Hydrae may be massive enough to make even more planets than we have in our own solar system.
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Kepler Mission Announces 461 New Planet Candidates, Two in Habitable Zone
The Kepler mission announced the discovery of 461 new planet candidates. Four of the potential new planets are less than twice the size of Earth and orbit in their sun's "habitable zone," the region in the planetary system where liquid water might exist on the surface of a planet.
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SETI Institute Researcher Strikes Scientific Gold with Meteorite
Scientists found treasure when they studied an exceptional meteorite recovered April 22, 2012 at Sutter's Mill, the gold discovery site that led to the 1849 California Gold Rush.
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Monitoring Io’s Insane Volcanic Activity from the Comfort of Earth
Watching active volcanic eruptions should definitely be done from a distance, but a group of California researchers has figured out how to do it from the comfort of home.
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Dr. Peter Jenniskens Confirms Meteorite Find
When Lisa Webber heard a thump on her roof the night of October 17, 2012, she had no idea a meteorite was the cause. It wasn't until she read an article in the San Francisco Chronicle describing the NASA/CAMS project's prediction that Novato was a meteor's possible impact center, that she realized there may be a space rock in her back yard. Indeed, when she scoured her yard, she found a rock with light and dark regions, weighing 63 grams and responding to magnets.
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The Secrets of Asteroid Minerva and its Two Moons
Since the discovery of its two moons, the triple asteroid Minerva has been the focus of space and ground-based telescope studies that have attempted to unravel the secrets of this intriguing system. A multiple-telescope campaign has now revealed that Minerva is unusually round for an asteroid, and has a possibly unique structure.
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