Welcome! "Alien Life" tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation.Here's today's news:
g Stars - The Milky Way will have the fuel to continue forming stars, thanks to massive clouds of ionized gas raining down from its halo and intergalactic space. See article.
g Abodes - It seems unlikely that life could arise on giant, gaseous exoplanets. But what about their moons? See article.
g Message - While SETI scans the galaxy for evidence of advanced alien civilizations, what can studying dolphins teach us about non-human intelligence? See article.
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Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Searchers for extraterrestrial intelligence reach a humble conclusion and scrambling to see supernova
Welcome! "Alien Life" tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation.Here's today's news:
g Stars - Astronomers have caught a supernova very soon after it exploded. Scientists are now scrambling to study it with as many telescopes as possible. See article.
g Life - Scientists have discovered a new fossil that fills an important gap in the fossil record and sheds new light on the evolution of mammals. See article.
g Message - Searchers for extraterrestrial intelligence reach a humble conclusion: We don't know what we don't know. See article.
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g Stars - Astronomers have caught a supernova very soon after it exploded. Scientists are now scrambling to study it with as many telescopes as possible. See article.
g Life - Scientists have discovered a new fossil that fills an important gap in the fossil record and sheds new light on the evolution of mammals. See article.
g Message - Searchers for extraterrestrial intelligence reach a humble conclusion: We don't know what we don't know. See article.
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Monday, August 29, 2011
Can we land humans on an asteroid by 2025 and estimating number of technological civilizations that might exist among the stars
Welcome! "Alien Life" tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation.Here's today's news:
g Stars - A new study suggests that scientists may soon be able to predict sunspots before they're visible to the human eye. Sunspots are the starting point for coronal mass ejections - powerful bursts of energy that sometimes hit the Earth. See article.
g Message - How can we estimate the number of technological civilizations that might exist among the stars? While working as a radio astronomer at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory in Green Bank, West Virginia, Dr. Frank Drake (currently on the Board of the SETI Institute) conceived an approach to bound the terms involved in estimating the number of technological civilizations that may exist in our galaxy. The Drake Equation, as it has become known, was first presented by Drake in 1961 and identifies specific factors thought to play a role in the development of such civilizations. See article.
g Learning - NASA has been given a presidential directive to land astronauts on an asteroid by 2025. Is a human mission to an asteroid possible in this time-frame, and what benefits will such a mission provide for the future of space exploration? See article.
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g Stars - A new study suggests that scientists may soon be able to predict sunspots before they're visible to the human eye. Sunspots are the starting point for coronal mass ejections - powerful bursts of energy that sometimes hit the Earth. See article.
g Message - How can we estimate the number of technological civilizations that might exist among the stars? While working as a radio astronomer at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory in Green Bank, West Virginia, Dr. Frank Drake (currently on the Board of the SETI Institute) conceived an approach to bound the terms involved in estimating the number of technological civilizations that may exist in our galaxy. The Drake Equation, as it has become known, was first presented by Drake in 1961 and identifies specific factors thought to play a role in the development of such civilizations. See article.
g Learning - NASA has been given a presidential directive to land astronauts on an asteroid by 2025. Is a human mission to an asteroid possible in this time-frame, and what benefits will such a mission provide for the future of space exploration? See article.
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Saturday, August 27, 2011
Dwarf planet Snow White and setiQuest
Welcome! "Alien Life" tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation.Here's today's news:
g Abodes - Astronomers have discovered that the dwarf planet Snow White is an icy world, with about half its surface covered in water ice that once flowed from slush-spewing volcanoes. The dwarf planet may also be covered in a thin layer of methane. See article.
g Message - For centuries humans have looked at the stars and wondered “are we alone?” Now, setiQuest is an opportunity for you to help answer that question. In 1960, Frank Drake conducted the first scientific search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI). Since then, scientists from many countries have conducted more than 100 projects looking for communication signals from other civilizations. With the spread of the Internet in the 21st century, it is now possible for humans around the globe to participate in this new SETI program. You can participate as a software developer, signal detection algorithm developer, or a citizen scientist. See article.
g Cosmicus - NASA´s GRAIL mission to study the Moon is in final launch preparations for a scheduled launch on Sept. 8, 2011. See article.
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g Abodes - Astronomers have discovered that the dwarf planet Snow White is an icy world, with about half its surface covered in water ice that once flowed from slush-spewing volcanoes. The dwarf planet may also be covered in a thin layer of methane. See article.
g Message - For centuries humans have looked at the stars and wondered “are we alone?” Now, setiQuest is an opportunity for you to help answer that question. In 1960, Frank Drake conducted the first scientific search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI). Since then, scientists from many countries have conducted more than 100 projects looking for communication signals from other civilizations. With the spread of the Internet in the 21st century, it is now possible for humans around the globe to participate in this new SETI program. You can participate as a software developer, signal detection algorithm developer, or a citizen scientist. See article.
g Cosmicus - NASA´s GRAIL mission to study the Moon is in final launch preparations for a scheduled launch on Sept. 8, 2011. See article.
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Friday, August 26, 2011
Habitable worlds thrown out of forming planetary systems and Messaging to Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence
Welcome! "Alien Life" tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation.Here's today's news:
g Abodes - A new study indicates that our solar system might be unusual in the universe. Using a new computer model, the researchers showed that habitable worlds are likely to be thrown out of forming planetary systems when collisions occur between the system and clumps of material in space. See article.
g Life - Researchers have found what could be the oldest microbial fossils yet documented. The traces, discovered in 3.4-billion-year-old Australian rocks, might help to resolve the question of when cellular life arose, and how it produced energy. See article.
g Message - Active SETI messages are usually in the form of radio signals. Physical messages like that of the Pioneer plaque may also be considered an active SETI message. Active SETI is also known as METI (Messaging to Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence), or positive SETI. See article.
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g Abodes - A new study indicates that our solar system might be unusual in the universe. Using a new computer model, the researchers showed that habitable worlds are likely to be thrown out of forming planetary systems when collisions occur between the system and clumps of material in space. See article.
g Life - Researchers have found what could be the oldest microbial fossils yet documented. The traces, discovered in 3.4-billion-year-old Australian rocks, might help to resolve the question of when cellular life arose, and how it produced energy. See article.
g Message - Active SETI messages are usually in the form of radio signals. Physical messages like that of the Pioneer plaque may also be considered an active SETI message. Active SETI is also known as METI (Messaging to Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence), or positive SETI. See article.
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Thursday, August 25, 2011
SETILive and potential habitability of Lacaille 8760
Welcome! "Alien Life" tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation.Here's today's news:
g Stars - What is the potential habitability of the nearby star Lacaille 8760? See article.
g Abodes - An international team of astronomers has set out on the largest program to date exploring the alien atmospheres of "Hot Jupiters." See article.
g Message - SETILive is taking the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) directly to you by presenting radio frequency signals LIVE from the SETI Institute's Allen Telescope Array (ATA) while it's pointed at stars that, based on Kepler exoplanet discoveries, have the best chances of being home to an alien civilization. We'll also be putting you "in the loop" where if enough of you see a potential extraterrestrial (ET) signal in the same data, then within minutes, the ATA will be interrupted and sent back to take a second look. The data you see will be from frequencies where human-made Radio Frequency Interference (RFI) crowds them and we believe the human eye will have a better chance than SETI's computer algorithms to find ET signals there. See article.
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g Stars - What is the potential habitability of the nearby star Lacaille 8760? See article.
g Abodes - An international team of astronomers has set out on the largest program to date exploring the alien atmospheres of "Hot Jupiters." See article.
g Message - SETILive is taking the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) directly to you by presenting radio frequency signals LIVE from the SETI Institute's Allen Telescope Array (ATA) while it's pointed at stars that, based on Kepler exoplanet discoveries, have the best chances of being home to an alien civilization. We'll also be putting you "in the loop" where if enough of you see a potential extraterrestrial (ET) signal in the same data, then within minutes, the ATA will be interrupted and sent back to take a second look. The data you see will be from frequencies where human-made Radio Frequency Interference (RFI) crowds them and we believe the human eye will have a better chance than SETI's computer algorithms to find ET signals there. See article.
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Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Mars lost ocean’s worth of water and potential habitability of Tau Ceti
Welcome! "Alien Life" tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation.Here's today's news:
g Stars - What is the potential habitability of the nearby star Tau Ceti? See article.
g Abodes - Mars has lost an ocean's worth of water, but to find where it all went will take satellites and computer models working in conjunction. See article.
g Message - SETI@home ("SETI at home") is an Internet-based public volunteer computing project employing the BOINC software platform, hosted by the Space Sciences Laboratory, at the University of California, Berkeley. See article.
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g Stars - What is the potential habitability of the nearby star Tau Ceti? See article.
g Abodes - Mars has lost an ocean's worth of water, but to find where it all went will take satellites and computer models working in conjunction. See article.
g Message - SETI@home ("SETI at home") is an Internet-based public volunteer computing project employing the BOINC software platform, hosted by the Space Sciences Laboratory, at the University of California, Berkeley. See article.
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Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Are saltwater droplets common Mats and potential habitability of 61 Cygni
Welcome! "Alien Life" tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation.Here's today's news:
g Stars - What is the potential habitability of the nearby star system 61 Cygni AB? See article.
g Abodes - A new NASA project will soon help answer questions about whether or not saltwater droplets are common on Mars and whether or not they could play a role in the survival of Martian microbes. See article.
g Message - The SETI Institute is a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to “explore, understand and explain the origin, nature and prevalence of life in the universe.” See article.
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g Stars - What is the potential habitability of the nearby star system 61 Cygni AB? See article.
g Abodes - A new NASA project will soon help answer questions about whether or not saltwater droplets are common on Mars and whether or not they could play a role in the survival of Martian microbes. See article.
g Message - The SETI Institute is a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to “explore, understand and explain the origin, nature and prevalence of life in the universe.” See article.
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Monday, August 22, 2011
How Martian geology may have affected life and Communication with Extraterrestrial Intelligence
Welcome! "Alien Life" tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation.Here's today's news:
g Abodes - Some of the features on Mars that have been interpreted as large, ancient riverbeds might actually be evidence of massive, fast-moving, low-viscosity lava flows. The new study could have implications in the search for signs of past life on Mars. See article.
g Message - SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) is a scientific area whose goal is to detect intelligent life outside Earth. One approach, known as radio SETI, uses radio telescopes to listen for narrow-bandwidth radio signals from space. Such signals are not known to occur naturally, so a detection would provide evidence of extraterrestrial technology. See article.
g Aftermath - In the last quarter of the 20th century, an international social movement — Communication with Extraterrestrial Intelligence — has emerged which advocates an attempt to achieve communication with extraterrestrial intelligence, and many of its most active members have been leading scientists. Modest efforts to detect radio signals from intelligent extraterrestrials already have been made, both under government aegis and privately funded, and the technical means for a more vigorous search have been developed. If a CETI project were successful, linguists would suddenly have one or more utterly alien languages to study, and some consideration of linguistic issues is a necessary preparation for it. See article.
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g Abodes - Some of the features on Mars that have been interpreted as large, ancient riverbeds might actually be evidence of massive, fast-moving, low-viscosity lava flows. The new study could have implications in the search for signs of past life on Mars. See article.
g Message - SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) is a scientific area whose goal is to detect intelligent life outside Earth. One approach, known as radio SETI, uses radio telescopes to listen for narrow-bandwidth radio signals from space. Such signals are not known to occur naturally, so a detection would provide evidence of extraterrestrial technology. See article.
g Aftermath - In the last quarter of the 20th century, an international social movement — Communication with Extraterrestrial Intelligence — has emerged which advocates an attempt to achieve communication with extraterrestrial intelligence, and many of its most active members have been leading scientists. Modest efforts to detect radio signals from intelligent extraterrestrials already have been made, both under government aegis and privately funded, and the technical means for a more vigorous search have been developed. If a CETI project were successful, linguists would suddenly have one or more utterly alien languages to study, and some consideration of linguistic issues is a necessary preparation for it. See article.
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Sunday, August 21, 2011
Life as we know it could survive in Martian soils and optical SETI
Welcome! "Alien Life" tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation.Here's today's news:
g Abodes - A new analysis of data from the Phoenix Lander indicates that life as we know it could survive in Martian soils. See article.
g Intelligence - Astrobiology Magazine is launching a new blog - AstroTurf - written by science historian Richard Milner. In this first post, Milner writes about an internet hoax created to promote Hollywood's latest "Planet of the Apes" movie. See article.
g Message - The Planetary Society is a leader in the search for life on other worlds, whether intelligent or microbial. Its active projects include SETI Optical Telescope, looking for laser signals beamed across the vastness of space, and SETI Radio Searches, in which huge radio dishes sift through nature's random noise for beacons from other civilizations. See article.
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g Abodes - A new analysis of data from the Phoenix Lander indicates that life as we know it could survive in Martian soils. See article.
g Intelligence - Astrobiology Magazine is launching a new blog - AstroTurf - written by science historian Richard Milner. In this first post, Milner writes about an internet hoax created to promote Hollywood's latest "Planet of the Apes" movie. See article.
g Message - The Planetary Society is a leader in the search for life on other worlds, whether intelligent or microbial. Its active projects include SETI Optical Telescope, looking for laser signals beamed across the vastness of space, and SETI Radio Searches, in which huge radio dishes sift through nature's random noise for beacons from other civilizations. See article.
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Saturday, August 20, 2011
Oxygen oases and a member of a vast intergalactic fraternity of advanced civilizations?
Welcome! "Alien Life" tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation.Here's today's news:
g Abodes - Prior to the Great Oxidation Event, when Earth's atmosphere became rich in oxygen, reserves of the gas may have been stored in the oceans. The evidence of oxygen oases in the oceans can be seen in tiny aerobic organisms that evolved to survive on extremely low levels of oxygen in these undersea habitats. See article.
g Message - Could humans be the only intelligent beings in all the vastness of the universe? Or are we just one humble race, a member of a vast intergalactic fraternity of advanced civilizations? SETI, the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence, is the scientific quest to answer these great unknowns. As of now all we have are questions, but we know the answers, when they come, could transform our world. Since the day it was formed in 1980, The Planetary Society has been there to support the search. See article.
g Cosmicus - NASA scientists have taken time over the last several months to answer questions about the upcoming - and harmless - approach of Comet Elenin. See article.
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g Abodes - Prior to the Great Oxidation Event, when Earth's atmosphere became rich in oxygen, reserves of the gas may have been stored in the oceans. The evidence of oxygen oases in the oceans can be seen in tiny aerobic organisms that evolved to survive on extremely low levels of oxygen in these undersea habitats. See article.
g Message - Could humans be the only intelligent beings in all the vastness of the universe? Or are we just one humble race, a member of a vast intergalactic fraternity of advanced civilizations? SETI, the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence, is the scientific quest to answer these great unknowns. As of now all we have are questions, but we know the answers, when they come, could transform our world. Since the day it was formed in 1980, The Planetary Society has been there to support the search. See article.
g Cosmicus - NASA scientists have taken time over the last several months to answer questions about the upcoming - and harmless - approach of Comet Elenin. See article.
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Friday, August 19, 2011
Earth not expanding and key journal article suggesting SETI approach
Welcome! "Alien Life" tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation.Here's today's news:
g Abodes - Using measurements from space, scientists have confirmed that, although the surface of the Earth is constantly changing, the planet is not expanding. See article.
g Message - Since the beginning of civilization, people have wondered if we are alone in the universe or whether there is intelligent life somewhere else. In the late twentieth century, scientists converged upon the basic idea of scanning the sky and "listening" for non-random patterns of electromagnetic emissions such as radio or television waves in order to detect another possible civilization somewhere else in the universe. In late 1959 and early 1960, the modern SETI era began when Frank Drake conducted the first such SETI search at approximately the same time that Giuseppe Cocconi and Philip Morrison published a key journal article suggesting this approach. See article.
g Imagining - Our Stellar Neighborhood is an ongoing project aimed at providing accurate and useful information to science fiction writers about stars in the Local Bubble. It also can be used by scientists and astronomy buffs, though the data isn't always the most relevant for them. See article.
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g Abodes - Using measurements from space, scientists have confirmed that, although the surface of the Earth is constantly changing, the planet is not expanding. See article.
g Message - Since the beginning of civilization, people have wondered if we are alone in the universe or whether there is intelligent life somewhere else. In the late twentieth century, scientists converged upon the basic idea of scanning the sky and "listening" for non-random patterns of electromagnetic emissions such as radio or television waves in order to detect another possible civilization somewhere else in the universe. In late 1959 and early 1960, the modern SETI era began when Frank Drake conducted the first such SETI search at approximately the same time that Giuseppe Cocconi and Philip Morrison published a key journal article suggesting this approach. See article.
g Imagining - Our Stellar Neighborhood is an ongoing project aimed at providing accurate and useful information to science fiction writers about stars in the Local Bubble. It also can be used by scientists and astronomy buffs, though the data isn't always the most relevant for them. See article.
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Thursday, August 18, 2011
Our 20 amino acids only way toward life and Billion-channel ExtraTerrestrial Assay
Welcome! "Alien Life" tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation.Here's today's news:
g Abodes - Using a global circulation model, scientists have determined why Titan has what looks like an enormous white arrow on its surface. See article.
g Life - All life on Earth relies on a standard set of 20 amino acids to build the proteins that carry out life's essential actions. But did it have to be this way? See article.
g Message - The Billion-channel ExtraTerrestrial Assay (BETA) is a radioastronomical search for microwave beacons from intelligent civilizations. It searches the 1400-1720 MHz "waterhole" region with 0.5 Hz resolution for narrow-band carriers. BETA incorporates several systems for terrestrial radio frequency interference mitigation: a terrestrial "veto" feed, two sky feeds to detect sidereal motion, and adaptive filtering to reduce intermittent interference. The search has surveyed the entire sky from +60 deg. to -30 deg. decliniation twice and is starting a third. During this time it has sifted through ~ 1016 frequency bins, followed by ~ 109 candidate features and archived 3500 of these which passed preliminary tests. No candidate has repeated or otherwise presents the assumed characteristics of an extraterrestrial intelligent origin. See article.
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g Abodes - Using a global circulation model, scientists have determined why Titan has what looks like an enormous white arrow on its surface. See article.
g Life - All life on Earth relies on a standard set of 20 amino acids to build the proteins that carry out life's essential actions. But did it have to be this way? See article.
g Message - The Billion-channel ExtraTerrestrial Assay (BETA) is a radioastronomical search for microwave beacons from intelligent civilizations. It searches the 1400-1720 MHz "waterhole" region with 0.5 Hz resolution for narrow-band carriers. BETA incorporates several systems for terrestrial radio frequency interference mitigation: a terrestrial "veto" feed, two sky feeds to detect sidereal motion, and adaptive filtering to reduce intermittent interference. The search has surveyed the entire sky from +60 deg. to -30 deg. decliniation twice and is starting a third. During this time it has sifted through ~ 1016 frequency bins, followed by ~ 109 candidate features and archived 3500 of these which passed preliminary tests. No candidate has repeated or otherwise presents the assumed characteristics of an extraterrestrial intelligent origin. See article.
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Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Graphene in space and META
Welcome! "Alien Life" tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation.Here's today's news:
g Abodes - New research indicates that Earth's moon could be younger than previously thought. See article.
g Life - NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope has spotted graphene in space. If confirmed, it would be the first-ever cosmic detection of the unique, chicken-wire-like material. Graphene is composed of carbon and has many industrial applications on Earth. Studying carbon in space may also hold clues about how life on Earth developed. See article.
g Message - META (the Million-channel Extraterrestrial Assay) was a search program that was in operation from 1985 to 1995 at the Harvard/Smithsonian 26-meter steerable Cassegrain radio telescope at Harvard, Massachusetts. BETA (the Billion-channel Extraterrestrial Assay) is our new search program which went on-line October 30, 1995. See article.
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g Abodes - New research indicates that Earth's moon could be younger than previously thought. See article.
g Life - NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope has spotted graphene in space. If confirmed, it would be the first-ever cosmic detection of the unique, chicken-wire-like material. Graphene is composed of carbon and has many industrial applications on Earth. Studying carbon in space may also hold clues about how life on Earth developed. See article.
g Message - META (the Million-channel Extraterrestrial Assay) was a search program that was in operation from 1985 to 1995 at the Harvard/Smithsonian 26-meter steerable Cassegrain radio telescope at Harvard, Massachusetts. BETA (the Billion-channel Extraterrestrial Assay) is our new search program which went on-line October 30, 1995. See article.
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Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Closest Earth-like planet we know of and current searches for ETI
Welcome! "Alien Life" tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation.Here's today's news:
g Abodes - Astronomers have witnessed a super-Earth, which was first discovered in 2004, eclipsing its star. Because the star is only 40 light years away, this is the closest Earth-like planet we know of, although the planet is too hot to support life as we know it. See article.
g Message - Are We Alone? It's a fundamental question, which has haunted humankind since first we realized that the points of light in the night sky are other suns. Today we have the technology to seek a definitive answer! The SETI League, Inc. is participatory science. Founded in 1994, we are the international grass-roots organization dedicated to privatizing the electromagnetic Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence. Together, fifteen hundred members in five dozen countries on all seven continents are keeping alive the quest for our cosmic companions. See article.
g Cosmicus - NASA's Dawn spacecraft has begun its first science-collecting orbit phase at Vesta. See article.
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g Abodes - Astronomers have witnessed a super-Earth, which was first discovered in 2004, eclipsing its star. Because the star is only 40 light years away, this is the closest Earth-like planet we know of, although the planet is too hot to support life as we know it. See article.
g Message - Are We Alone? It's a fundamental question, which has haunted humankind since first we realized that the points of light in the night sky are other suns. Today we have the technology to seek a definitive answer! The SETI League, Inc. is participatory science. Founded in 1994, we are the international grass-roots organization dedicated to privatizing the electromagnetic Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence. Together, fifteen hundred members in five dozen countries on all seven continents are keeping alive the quest for our cosmic companions. See article.
g Cosmicus - NASA's Dawn spacecraft has begun its first science-collecting orbit phase at Vesta. See article.
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Monday, August 15, 2011
Why ETI will rely on electromagnetic radiation to communicate with us and testing future space exploration techniques on Devon Island
Welcome! "Alien Life" tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation.Here's today's news:
g Abodes - New research shows how the Earth's tides have changed dramatically over thousands of years - and may change again in the future. See article.
g Message - There are great challenges in searching across the cosmos for a first transmission that could be characterized as intelligent, since its direction, spectrum and method of communication are all unknown beforehand. SETI projects necessarily make assumptions to narrow the search, the foremost being that electromagnetic radiation would be a medium of communication for advanced extraterrestrial life.See article.
g Cosmicus - Astrobiology Magazine Field Research Editor Henry Bortman recently spent two weeks on Devon Island in the Canadian Arctic with the Haughton-Mars Project. Devon is a polar desert where researchers both study local geology and biology and conduct experiments to further the exploration of the moon, Mars and other planetary bodies. See article.
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g Abodes - New research shows how the Earth's tides have changed dramatically over thousands of years - and may change again in the future. See article.
g Message - There are great challenges in searching across the cosmos for a first transmission that could be characterized as intelligent, since its direction, spectrum and method of communication are all unknown beforehand. SETI projects necessarily make assumptions to narrow the search, the foremost being that electromagnetic radiation would be a medium of communication for advanced extraterrestrial life.See article.
g Cosmicus - Astrobiology Magazine Field Research Editor Henry Bortman recently spent two weeks on Devon Island in the Canadian Arctic with the Haughton-Mars Project. Devon is a polar desert where researchers both study local geology and biology and conduct experiments to further the exploration of the moon, Mars and other planetary bodies. See article.
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Sunday, August 14, 2011
Darkest known exoplanet and explore the Arecibo Message
Welcome! "Alien Life" tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation.Here's today's news:
g Abodes - Astronomers have discovered the darkest known exoplanet. The Jupiter-sized gas giant is blacker than coal, reflecting less than one percent of the sunlight falling on it. See article.
g Life - A new study reveals that viruses fill the oceans and have a significant effect on ocean biology. See article.
g Message - Explore the Arecibo Message! See article.
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g Abodes - Astronomers have discovered the darkest known exoplanet. The Jupiter-sized gas giant is blacker than coal, reflecting less than one percent of the sunlight falling on it. See article.
g Life - A new study reveals that viruses fill the oceans and have a significant effect on ocean biology. See article.
g Message - Explore the Arecibo Message! See article.
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Saturday, August 13, 2011
How single-celled organisms banded into multicellular groups and SETI@home
Welcome! "Alien Life" tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation.Here's today's news:
g Abodes - New research shows that Earth's crust recycles in volcanoes much faster than previously thought. See article.
g Life - New research shows how single-celled organisms may have initially banded together into multicellular groups. See article.
g Message - SETI@home is a scientific experiment that uses Internet-connected computers in the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI). You can participate by running a free program that downloads and analyzes radio telescope data. See article.
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g Abodes - New research shows that Earth's crust recycles in volcanoes much faster than previously thought. See article.
g Life - New research shows how single-celled organisms may have initially banded together into multicellular groups. See article.
g Message - SETI@home is a scientific experiment that uses Internet-connected computers in the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI). You can participate by running a free program that downloads and analyzes radio telescope data. See article.
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Friday, August 12, 2011
State of SETI science and a plausible route to the building blocks of life
Welcome! "Alien Life" tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation.Here's today's news:
g Life - A new study shows how a relatively simple combination of naturally occurring sugars and amino acids offers a plausible route to the building blocks of life. See article.
g Message - Mitch Waldrop, feature editor for Nature Magazine, has written a thoughtful piece on the state of SETI science in the wake of the shutdown of the Allen Telescope Array. The article presents a variety of opinions, including quotes from a few people here at Berkeley. See article.
g Cosmicus - After a journey of almost three years, NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity has reached Endeavour crater. Here the rover will study rocks that could shed new light on the history of the Martian climate and the potential for past life on Mars. See article.
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g Life - A new study shows how a relatively simple combination of naturally occurring sugars and amino acids offers a plausible route to the building blocks of life. See article.
g Message - Mitch Waldrop, feature editor for Nature Magazine, has written a thoughtful piece on the state of SETI science in the wake of the shutdown of the Allen Telescope Array. The article presents a variety of opinions, including quotes from a few people here at Berkeley. See article.
g Cosmicus - After a journey of almost three years, NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity has reached Endeavour crater. Here the rover will study rocks that could shed new light on the history of the Martian climate and the potential for past life on Mars. See article.
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Thursday, August 11, 2011
The Center for Astronomy Signal Processing and Electronics Research and secrets of animal regeneration
Welcome! "Alien Life" tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation.Here's today's news:
g Abodes - In an exclusive podcast for astrobio.net, Dr. David Grinspoon, astrobiology curator at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, discusses our violent Earth. He explains why earthquakes, severe weather, and other aspects of the dynamic environment may be necessary for life to exist. See article.
g Life - Researchers have demonstrated that flatworms are able to regenerate their excretory system from scratch. The findings could provide clues about the evolutionary origin of mammalian kidneys and the processes behind organ maintenance and regeneration. See article.
g Message - The Center for Astronomy Signal Processing and Electronics Research, or CASPER is a research group at UC Berkeley working on improving the design of radio astronomy instrumentation, including SETI instruments. See article.
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g Abodes - In an exclusive podcast for astrobio.net, Dr. David Grinspoon, astrobiology curator at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, discusses our violent Earth. He explains why earthquakes, severe weather, and other aspects of the dynamic environment may be necessary for life to exist. See article.
g Life - Researchers have demonstrated that flatworms are able to regenerate their excretory system from scratch. The findings could provide clues about the evolutionary origin of mammalian kidneys and the processes behind organ maintenance and regeneration. See article.
g Message - The Center for Astronomy Signal Processing and Electronics Research, or CASPER is a research group at UC Berkeley working on improving the design of radio astronomy instrumentation, including SETI instruments. See article.
Get your SF book manuscript edited
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Searching for massive energy usage by an extremely advanced civilization and NASA’s Innovative Advanced Concepts program
Welcome! "Alien Life" tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation.Here's today's news:
g Abodes - New images from ESA's Mars Express show the north polar cap during the planet's summer solstice. At this time of year, the carbon dioxide ice has gone and only a bright cap of water ice remains. See article.
g Message - A search is underway for massive energy usage by an extremely advanced civilization. See article.
g Cosmicus - NASA has selected to fund thirty new concept studies as part of the NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) program. See article.
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g Abodes - New images from ESA's Mars Express show the north polar cap during the planet's summer solstice. At this time of year, the carbon dioxide ice has gone and only a bright cap of water ice remains. See article.
g Message - A search is underway for massive energy usage by an extremely advanced civilization. See article.
g Cosmicus - NASA has selected to fund thirty new concept studies as part of the NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) program. See article.
Get your SF book manuscript edited
Tuesday, August 09, 2011
Meteorites can carry certain nucleobases to Earth and using BIONC to find ETI
Welcome! "Alien Life" tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation.Here's today's news:
g Abodes - New research shows that the Earth was impacted for a few hours by a stream of dust from a potentially dangerous comet on February 4, 2011. See article.
g Life - New research indicates that meteorites can carry certain nucleobases - the building blocks of DNA - to the Earth. The findings could help astrobiologists understand the role of meteorite impacts in the origins of life on our planet. See article.
g Message - BOINC is the software that makes SETI@home possible. Downloading BOINC allows users to donate the unused CPU cycles of their personal computers to one of the scientific research projects supported by the software, in fields ranging from Astronomy to Earth Science, to Medicine. By consolidating the computing power of millions of machines, BOINC allows for a large amount of data to be processed and analyzed—all thanks to the at home volunteers. See article.
Get your SF book manuscript edited
g Abodes - New research shows that the Earth was impacted for a few hours by a stream of dust from a potentially dangerous comet on February 4, 2011. See article.
g Life - New research indicates that meteorites can carry certain nucleobases - the building blocks of DNA - to the Earth. The findings could help astrobiologists understand the role of meteorite impacts in the origins of life on our planet. See article.
g Message - BOINC is the software that makes SETI@home possible. Downloading BOINC allows users to donate the unused CPU cycles of their personal computers to one of the scientific research projects supported by the software, in fields ranging from Astronomy to Earth Science, to Medicine. By consolidating the computing power of millions of machines, BOINC allows for a large amount of data to be processed and analyzed—all thanks to the at home volunteers. See article.
Get your SF book manuscript edited
Monday, August 08, 2011
Did the Moon once have smaller, companion moon and Search for Extraterrestrial Visible
Emissions from Nearby Developed Intelligent Populations
Welcome! "Alien Life" tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation.Here's today's news:
g Abodes - The mountainous region on the far side of the Moon may be the remains of a collision with a smaller companion moon. See article.
g Message - The extent of the SETI project is by no means limited to scanning radio frequencies. SEVENDIP stands for the “Search for Extraterrestrial Visible Emissions from Nearby Developed Intelligent Populations,” an Optical SETI effort. SEVENDIP employs a 30-inch automated telescope located in Lafayette, California to scan the sky for potential signals from E.T. Since its inception in 1997, SEVENDIP has pioneered the use of optical technology to search for nanosecond time-scale pulses—pulses that could be generated by the powerful laser of a distant civilization. See article.
g Cosmicus - Astrobiology Magazine Field Research Editor Henry Bortman recently spent a week in British Columbia with scientists from the Pavilion Lake Research Project. In his fifth report he describes behind-the-scenes software that helps PLRP achieve its scientific goals. See article.
Get your SF book manuscript edited
g Abodes - The mountainous region on the far side of the Moon may be the remains of a collision with a smaller companion moon. See article.
g Message - The extent of the SETI project is by no means limited to scanning radio frequencies. SEVENDIP stands for the “Search for Extraterrestrial Visible Emissions from Nearby Developed Intelligent Populations,” an Optical SETI effort. SEVENDIP employs a 30-inch automated telescope located in Lafayette, California to scan the sky for potential signals from E.T. Since its inception in 1997, SEVENDIP has pioneered the use of optical technology to search for nanosecond time-scale pulses—pulses that could be generated by the powerful laser of a distant civilization. See article.
g Cosmicus - Astrobiology Magazine Field Research Editor Henry Bortman recently spent a week in British Columbia with scientists from the Pavilion Lake Research Project. In his fifth report he describes behind-the-scenes software that helps PLRP achieve its scientific goals. See article.
Get your SF book manuscript edited
Sunday, August 07, 2011
Testing the multiverse theory and the Search for Extraterrestrial Radio Emissions from Nearby Developed Intelligent Populations
Welcome! "Alien Life" tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation.Here's today's news:
g Stars - For the first time, physicists are testing the multiverse theory. See article.
g Life - A new study shows that the demise of the world's forests 250 million years ago was likely accelerated by tree-killing fungi triggered by global climate change. See article.
g Message - SERENDIP is an acronym for “Search for Extraterrestrial Radio Emissions from Nearby Developed Intelligent Populations”, and like SETI@home, SERENDIP searches the radio band for potential signatures of ETI. Although SERENDIP does not analyze data to the same level of detail as the computing power of SETI@home allows, it scans a broader range of frequencies. The data used in SERENDIP is currently taken using the Arecibo L-band Feed Array (ALFA) on the Arecibo radio telescope in Puerto Rico. See article.
Get your SF book manuscript edited
g Stars - For the first time, physicists are testing the multiverse theory. See article.
g Life - A new study shows that the demise of the world's forests 250 million years ago was likely accelerated by tree-killing fungi triggered by global climate change. See article.
g Message - SERENDIP is an acronym for “Search for Extraterrestrial Radio Emissions from Nearby Developed Intelligent Populations”, and like SETI@home, SERENDIP searches the radio band for potential signatures of ETI. Although SERENDIP does not analyze data to the same level of detail as the computing power of SETI@home allows, it scans a broader range of frequencies. The data used in SERENDIP is currently taken using the Arecibo L-band Feed Array (ALFA) on the Arecibo radio telescope in Puerto Rico. See article.
Get your SF book manuscript edited
Saturday, August 06, 2011
Water may flow on Mars and stability of bacterial communities in your bellybutton
Welcome! "Alien Life" tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation.Here's today's news:
g Abodes - Observations from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter have revealed possible flowing water during the warmest months on Mars. The findings could have implications in the study of potential habitats for life on Mars. See article.
g Life - Bacteria cultured from peoples' bellybuttons are providing information about the stability of bacterial communities over time. See article.
g Cosmicus - NASA's Juno Spacecraft lifted off on Friday, July 5, 2011, and began its five-year journey to Jupiter. Juno will study Jupiter's origin and evolution, and will help astrobiologists understand more about planetary systems around other stars. See article.
Get your SF book manuscript edited
g Abodes - Observations from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter have revealed possible flowing water during the warmest months on Mars. The findings could have implications in the study of potential habitats for life on Mars. See article.
g Life - Bacteria cultured from peoples' bellybuttons are providing information about the stability of bacterial communities over time. See article.
g Cosmicus - NASA's Juno Spacecraft lifted off on Friday, July 5, 2011, and began its five-year journey to Jupiter. Juno will study Jupiter's origin and evolution, and will help astrobiologists understand more about planetary systems around other stars. See article.
Get your SF book manuscript edited
Friday, August 05, 2011
Does planets need moons for complex life and crop circles
Welcome! "Alien Life" tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation.Here's today's news:
g Abodes - If a rocky planet has no moon, could complex life still arise? New research looks at the effects a large moon can have on a planet´s orbital stability over time. See article.
g Message - Are crop circles a sign of alien intelligence... or are they an example of how Earth-based artists are using physics to create environmental art. See article.
g Aftermath - For some provocative reading, pick up “Sharing the Universe,” by Seth Shostak, at your local bookstore. SETI scientist Shostak almost single-handedly is outlining social and political issues that will arise once we make contact with extraterrestrials. See article.
Get your SF book manuscript edited
g Abodes - If a rocky planet has no moon, could complex life still arise? New research looks at the effects a large moon can have on a planet´s orbital stability over time. See article.
g Message - Are crop circles a sign of alien intelligence... or are they an example of how Earth-based artists are using physics to create environmental art. See article.
g Aftermath - For some provocative reading, pick up “Sharing the Universe,” by Seth Shostak, at your local bookstore. SETI scientist Shostak almost single-handedly is outlining social and political issues that will arise once we make contact with extraterrestrials. See article.
Get your SF book manuscript edited
Thursday, August 04, 2011
Help SETI search for ETI signals and spacecraft about to head for Jupiter
Welcome! "Alien Life" tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation.Here's today's news:
g Abodes - A new study indicates that the Earth is as likely today to be struck by a large impactor as it was in the past. It's even possible that the rate of impact events has increased over the past 250 million years. See article.
g Message - SETI@home is a scientific experiment that uses Internet-connected computers in the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI). You can participate by running a free program that downloads and analyzes radio telescope data. See article.
g Cosmicus - NASA's Juno spacecraft is set to launch toward Jupiter on August 5. See article.
Get your SF book manuscript edited
g Abodes - A new study indicates that the Earth is as likely today to be struck by a large impactor as it was in the past. It's even possible that the rate of impact events has increased over the past 250 million years. See article.
g Message - SETI@home is a scientific experiment that uses Internet-connected computers in the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI). You can participate by running a free program that downloads and analyzes radio telescope data. See article.
g Cosmicus - NASA's Juno spacecraft is set to launch toward Jupiter on August 5. See article.
Get your SF book manuscript edited
Wednesday, August 03, 2011
SETI to examine 2321 exoplanetary candidates and ‘Star Trek’ biology
Welcome! "Alien Life" tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation.Here's today's news:
g Abodes - A new study shows that nearly half of Earth's heat comes from the radioactive decay of materials inside the planet. See article.
g Message - The SETI Institute is using the ATA to examine the 2321 exoplanetary candidates announced by the Kepler Mission. You can help by visiting this site.
g Imagining - Book alert: Get thee to a used bookstore if you haven’t read “Life Signs: The Biology of Star Trek,” by Susan and Robert Jenkins. The Jenkinses focus on the biological logic (or illogic) behind the alien ecologies in Star Trek — the original TV series and all of its sequels and movie spinoffs. The best parts are the biological bloopers, even though only a fan will truly appreciate them. For instance, how did the Klingons evolve forehead ridges between the original and the new series ... and why do all the planets look like California? The science in the book helps the authors hypothesize about how humanoid life might have evolved throughout the universe (panspermia revisited). They offer simple evolutionary theories to explain the various head shapes and behaviors of fictional alien species. See article.
Get your SF book manuscript edited
g Abodes - A new study shows that nearly half of Earth's heat comes from the radioactive decay of materials inside the planet. See article.
g Message - The SETI Institute is using the ATA to examine the 2321 exoplanetary candidates announced by the Kepler Mission. You can help by visiting this site.
g Imagining - Book alert: Get thee to a used bookstore if you haven’t read “Life Signs: The Biology of Star Trek,” by Susan and Robert Jenkins. The Jenkinses focus on the biological logic (or illogic) behind the alien ecologies in Star Trek — the original TV series and all of its sequels and movie spinoffs. The best parts are the biological bloopers, even though only a fan will truly appreciate them. For instance, how did the Klingons evolve forehead ridges between the original and the new series ... and why do all the planets look like California? The science in the book helps the authors hypothesize about how humanoid life might have evolved throughout the universe (panspermia revisited). They offer simple evolutionary theories to explain the various head shapes and behaviors of fictional alien species. See article.
Get your SF book manuscript edited
Tuesday, August 02, 2011
Oxygen found in space and traces of Earth’s primitive mantle
Welcome! "Alien Life" tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. Here's today's news:
g Stars - Astronomers have announced the first confirmed finding of oxygen molecules in space. See article.
g Abodes - New research shows that remnants of six of the largest volcanic events of the past 250 million years contain traces of Earth's primitive mantle. Such samples could provide information about the geochemical history of our planet. See article.
g Cosmicus - NASA has unveiled the first full-frame image of Vesta taken by the Dawn spacecraft. Vesta is the brightest object in the asteroid belt, and could provide clues about how rocky worlds formed and evolved in our solar system. See article.
Get your SF book manuscript edited
g Stars - Astronomers have announced the first confirmed finding of oxygen molecules in space. See article.
g Abodes - New research shows that remnants of six of the largest volcanic events of the past 250 million years contain traces of Earth's primitive mantle. Such samples could provide information about the geochemical history of our planet. See article.
g Cosmicus - NASA has unveiled the first full-frame image of Vesta taken by the Dawn spacecraft. Vesta is the brightest object in the asteroid belt, and could provide clues about how rocky worlds formed and evolved in our solar system. See article.
Get your SF book manuscript edited
Monday, August 01, 2011
Studying microbialites and why radio waves favored over optical signal
Welcome! "Alien Life" tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. Here's today's news:
g Abodes - Astrobiology Magazine Field Research Editor Henry Bortman recently spent a week in British Columbia with scientists from the Pavilion Lake Research Project. Scientist-pilots studied the microbialites in Kelly Lake in submersible vehicles and, as described in this report, scientist-scuba divers collected samples for lab analysis. See article.
g Message - While advanced civilizations might be tempted to use optical means such as lasers to send information between the stars, there are some good reasons that nearly all the major Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence experiments are looking for radio waves instead. See article.
g Cosmicus - Astronomers have discovered the first known Trojan asteroid that shares an orbit with Earth. See article.
Get your SF book manuscript edited
g Abodes - Astrobiology Magazine Field Research Editor Henry Bortman recently spent a week in British Columbia with scientists from the Pavilion Lake Research Project. Scientist-pilots studied the microbialites in Kelly Lake in submersible vehicles and, as described in this report, scientist-scuba divers collected samples for lab analysis. See article.
g Message - While advanced civilizations might be tempted to use optical means such as lasers to send information between the stars, there are some good reasons that nearly all the major Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence experiments are looking for radio waves instead. See article.
g Cosmicus - Astronomers have discovered the first known Trojan asteroid that shares an orbit with Earth. See article.
Get your SF book manuscript edited
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