Monday, October 13, 2008

Telescope tech and SETI history

Welcome! "Alien Life" tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. You may notice that this and future entries are shorter than usual; career, family and book deal commitments have forced me to cut back some of my projects. Now, here's today's news:
g Abodes - The hunt for extraterrestrial life is getting a major boost from revolutionary new technology that will give some of the world's largest telescopes the capability to detect Earth-size planets outside of our solar system, a feat not equaled even by the Hubble Space Telescope. See article.
g Life - NASA has picked up a research team from Arizona State University to boost the search for extraterrestrial life, by refining the criteria that guide the search for life. See article.
g Message - Want to get a sense of SETI’s history and varying projects? Jodrell Bank Observatory offers an easy to follow yet informative primer.
g Learning -DVD alert: In 2007 the History Channel launched a new documentary style series that took on a topic with more content than could ever be discussed. The Universe debuted to masses and became an instant success thanks largely in part to its quality production, but mostly due to an audience hungry for more. With shows like Planet Earth being all the rage, History Channel took that idea and expanded upon it, showing us detailed features of planets within our own solar system and even those beyond. The first season was a hit on DVD, and just about a year later it's time to check out the second collection of episodes.
g Imagining -Quantum physics and biochemistry is real, hard as nails science, say many physicists and also, it appears, those who write SF books and screenplays. But, reproductive biologist Jack Cohen asks, “Is biology a science?” And what affect does the answer have on our ability to imagine and recognize extraterrestrial life? See article. Note: This article is from 2002.
g Aftermath - What affect would the discovery of alien life have on the story-telling genre that inspires the search for it — science fiction? See article.

Honoring the Past, Inspiring the Future

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