The SETI institute in the news from 4 to 10 October 2018

The rise of astrobiology

The National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine have assembled a group of experts to discuss the field of astrobiology and its priorities for the future. Victoria Meadows, a recipient of the SETI Institute's Drake Award, sits on the Scientific Strategy Committee on Astrobiology for the Search for Life in the Universe that wrote the report.

Space.com noted the radical change in the way the field of astrobiology is now considered and its relationship with the field of SETI. Jill Tarter, co-founder of the SETI Institute and Emeritus Chair of SETI Research, has long argued for in-depth thinking on looking for signs of a technologically advanced life in the table. set of astrobiology:

The report also marks the reintroduction of extraterrestrial intelligence research, or SETI, into traditional research. Cut off from NASA funding since the 1990s, the group is looking for the signals of cutting-edge civilizations – seeking life like us, rather than single-cell organisms.

"It was really frustrating and scientifically unsustainable to say that one particular research was not part of the astrobiology chart," Jill Tarter, a retired astrobiologist at SETI Institute, a non-profit organization, told Space.com independent profit. . "At least, it is now legitimate and discussed as part of the entire series of investigations on astrobiology."

The report highlighted the need for collaborative work, highlighting the innovative work of the research accelerator developed by the SETI Institute, Frontier Development Lab (FDL). He also noted the increased interest in research in technosignature.

New fast radio stations discovered by Australian researchers

Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs) are high energy radio pulses emitted that last only a few milliseconds and seem to come from beyond the Milky Way; their exact nature and origin are unknown, and they have been a headache for scientists since they were discovered in 2007. In September, Breakthrough Listen researchers announced the detection of 72 new FRBs following the application of new techniques. machine learning to analyze the data already collected by the Green. Bank Telescope in West Virginia. More recently, a team of scientists announced the discovery of 20 additional FRBs detected during aerial surveys with the Australian telescope Square Kilometer Array Pathfinder (ASKAP). Newsweek Andrew Siemion, Chair of the Bernard M. Oliver Chair for SETI Research at the SETI Institute, for comments:

Andrew Siemion, director of Berkeley's SETI Research Center and principal investigator on Breakthrough Listen, commented on the study. "The latest results from the ASKAP FRB team are very exciting," he told Newsweek. "In addition to almost doubling the number of known FRB sources, these works reveal the existence of a population of very bright FRB sources that would have existed, but whose existence was not known." . "

These results mark a huge step forward in learning a phenomenon whose nature raises many more questions than answers so far.

Infected: Seth Shostak on monstrous extraterrestrial microbes

Science fiction abounds with hostile aliens, often in the form of fleets of invading spaceships. Some – like the recent movie "Venom" – describe the threat as an infection or parasite. The threatening alien is a cartoon anti-hero from the Marvel Universe, known as Symbiote until he finds a human host, becoming the eponymous venom (and, of course, wreaking havoc. ). Other films have explored this concept (like the famous "Alien" franchise), and everyone has had a slightly different twist. Space.com spoke with Seth Shostak, Senior Astronomer at SETI Institute, about the threat of extraterrestrial parasites crashing at your dinner:

Each of these microbe examples is unique, but they are all extremely unlikely, said Seth Shostak of the SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) Institute. Shostak, who is the principal astronomer of the institute, told Space.com that the bacteria that infect humans on Earth are highly adapted to our own biological systems, but only because 4 billion people are infected with it. years of evolution connect our species. Extraterrestrial life – even if it is based on carbon and even if it needs water like earthly life – would have grown in a different ecosystem.

"Even on Earth, we catch diseases that your dog will not contract," said Shostak. Only a handful of viruses can even jump between species, let alone between planets, he continued. "They tend to be quite specific to a species, for example, you never see an elephant with a cold."

We could be the biggest threat to microbial life on other worlds, if we met it. Mars, for example, is known for its constituent elements of life, even its water, and future explorations could lead to contamination if we introduced germs from the Earth:

"Mars is a difficult environment," said Shostak; high levels of radiation on the surface of the planet and its extremely dusty environment are some examples. However, Shostak said, "Some bacteria on Earth could survive if they get liquid water on Mars."

As missions to Mars grow, both the protection of our planet and those we explore must be taken into account.

Signs of light

Physicists from the University of California at Santa Barbara have proposed a promising new approach in the search for extraterrestrial signals. They plan to look for powerful sources of artificial light extracted from advanced extraterrestrials, which would theoretically be brighter than stars. By repeatedly taking photos of the Andromeda galaxy, and then comparing the photos, they hope to detect any new luminosity that may appear. Why the galaxy Andromeda? Seth Shostak, senior astronomer at the SETI Institute, explains in an article that he wrote for NBC News MACH:

The reason is simple: choosing a nearby galaxy means that the project can quickly recognize a vast expanse of extraterrestrial territory.

It is thought that Andromeda, like the Milky Way, contains about a trillion planets, which led physicists in Santa Barbara to creatively nickname their efforts in the Trillion Planet investigation. . Most conventional searches for E.T. look for nearby star system signals, one at a time. By examining an entire galaxy at a time, Santa Barbara scientists are looking to dramatically increase the chances of finding something.

The investigation process is automated and can continue as long as it maintains support, but it is of course based on the hope that detectable signals exist. Nevertheless, Shostak notes, "little research has touched so much on cosmic real estate as the Trillion Planet survey predicts." They could indeed catch a ray of surprise light.

In memory of Carl Sagan

Perhaps we have not retained as many personalities to have inspired the wonder of science as the late astronomer Carl Sagan – known by many as a science educator and for his television series "Cosmos", Sagan also made an important scientific contribution. Space.com recalled his work and his legacy, especially his contributions to the search for extraterrestrial intelligence:

Sagan helped lay the foundation for two new scientific disciplines: planetary sciences and exobiology, or the study of potential life on other planets. He co-founded and served as the first president of The Planetary Society, an organization dedicated to inspiring and engaging the public in space exploration. And he promoted the Institute of Extraterrestrial Intelligence Research (SETI), where he served as trustee.

Sagan was also known for his fictional representations of real science:

Although most of his work is fiction, he uses fiction to present scientific principles in his 1985 novel, "Contact" (Simon & Schuster, 1985). The story revolved around the interactions between the human race and an advanced civilization of extraterrestrials. The novel has sold over one million copies during its first two years of publication and, in 1997, it was released as a feature film starring Jodi Foster in lead role Ellie Arroway (inspired by SETI's astronomer Jill Tarter).

Jill Tarter co-founded the SETI Institute, which today continues Sagan's legacy of exploration and outreach. As Sagan said, according to his obituary of 1996:

" Are we an exceptionally improbable accident or is the universe overflowing with intelligence? (It's a vital question for us to understand and understand our history. "

You can read about the Carl Sagan Center of the SETI Institute here.

E.T., the needle in the cosmic haystack

While interest in the SETI research field is increasing, one question persists: where are the others? A new article written by researchers at Pennsylvania State University looks into the question of how much ground research has covered so far. The conclusion? Not much.

Motherboard discussed the report, noting that Jill Tarter, President Emeritus of SETI Research at the SETI Institute, had thought long and hard about the question:

Jill Tarter, a radio astronomer from the SETI Institute, for example, proposed a "nine-dimensional haystack" in which SETI performs a search in three spatial dimensions, time, two-dimensional polarization of the radio signal, the central frequency of the radio. signal, the sensitivity of the receivers and the way information is encoded in the signal.

Using the nine-dimensional haystack, Tarter compared all SETI research to date to extracting a cup of water from all the oceans of the Earth and looking for evidence that fish only exist in this mug. When Penn State researchers plugged eight parameters into their tool, they found that all SETI searches done to date were more like looking for life in a seawater sample the size of their own. a hot tub Although it is much larger than a glass of water, it remains small overall and the researchers point out that these types of calculations can be useful in refuting the misconception that "it can be said that SETI has "failed" to find what he is looking for. "

For the moment, we can not prove that extraterrestrials exist or conclude that they do not exist. What we do know is that we have barely begun to search.

The cosmic perspective of Jill Tarter on the North Public Radio

Jill Tarter, co-founder of the SETI Institute and President Emeritus of SETI Research, appeared on Northern Public Radio Describe his work as an astronomer looking for evidence of a smart life beyond the Earth. Tarter explained why "intelligence" is a delicate term in this context:

"We certainly do not know how to detect remote intelligence," said Tarter. "The main purpose is to use technology as an intelligence proxy. So we tried to find ways to find evidence that someone else was using technology to change their environment, which we could detect remotely. And yes, it started with the radio and then the optics. "

Tarter also presented the conference "A Cosmic Perspective: Looking for Strangers in Search of Themselves" at the Fermilab Auditorium in Ramsey.

Big Picture Science

In the episode of last week, what you do not know about animals will surprise you in Creatons Unconforts. In our episode of the previous week, enjoy a reminder of Wonder Women, celebrating women who struggle against sexism to get into science.

Facebook Live

Last week on Facebook live, a look at the Berkeley SETI Research Center with the Bernard M. Oliver Chair of the SETI Institute for SETI Research, Andrew Siemion. In our previous Facebook Live episode, Bill Diamond, CEO of the SETI Institute, and Michael Busch, researcher, discussed Ryugu, the Hayabusa 2 probe and the MASCOT rover. Videos of all previous Facebook Live events are available on our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/SETIInstitute/

Events

• Science with HabEx: Space Astronomy from Ultraviolet to Infrared in the 2030s: October 15 to 16, in New York, NY: Franck Marchis, Principal Investigator at the # 39; SETI Institute, will be one of the guest speakers
• SETI: October 16, Menlo Park, California. From Cowboys to communities: changing the face of space exploration. Margaret Race of the SETI Institute will be accompanied by Jan Millsapps, Professor Emeritus of Film at the University of San Francisco and Brian Patrick Green, Director of Technology. Ethics at the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics of the University of Santa Clara
• Mars Rover landing site 2020: October 16-18, Glendale, CA SETI Institute scientist, J.R. Skok, will give a presentation on the landing site of Northeast Syrtis.
• SpaceTalks: October 20 Jasper, Alberta Canada Seth Shostak to participate in roundtable
• Planetary Science Division Meeting: October 21-26, Knoxville, TN Scientists at the SETI Institute should participate
• VB Summit 2018: October 22-23, Mill Valley, California. Andrew Siemion, Bernard M. Oliver, President of SETI at the SETI Institute, will present the project "Forget the construction of your AI". Buy it on the board. "
• NASA Kepler and K2 Missions: Bremerton, WA, Oct. 24, Jeff Coughlin, a scientist with the SETI Institute and Director of the K2 Science Office, will give a public lecture at the Olympic College in Bremerton, WA.
• 50th Annual Meeting of the Planetary Science Division (DPS): October 21-26, Knoxville, TN Many scientists from the SETI Institute will participate, including: Chloe Beddingfield, Ross Beyer, Michael Busch, Richard Cartwright, Matija Cuk , Cristina Dalle Ore, Paul Estrada, Robert French, Pamela Harman, Frank Marchis, Stuart Pilorz, Alessandra Ricca, Joseph Roser, Mark Showalter, Matthew Tiscareno and Orkan Umurhan,
• The Undiscovered: October 26, Cambridge, MA Jill Tarter, President Emeritus of SETI Research at SETI Institute, will be one of the keynote speakers
• Towards a fully radio-based SETI telescope: October 29th and 31st in Manchester (United Kingdom) Jill Tarter, President Emeritus of SETI Research at the SETI Institute is a member of the Scientific Organization Committee
• Scientific Workshop of the Observatory of Solar Dynamics 2018: Catalyzing Solar Connections: October 29th to November 2nd, Ghent, Belgium The SETI Institute's scientific researcher, Meng Jin, is a member of the research committee. organization of sciences.
• Earth's impact on comet and asteroid debris: Nov. 9, Los Angeles, CA: lecture presented by scientist Peter Jenniskens of the SETI Institute at UCLA
• World Premiere – The Sound of Silence: Concert on November 10 in Brooklyn, NY, with the new work of SETI's artist-in-residence, Felipe Pérez Santiago, inspired by Jill's work Tarter, President Emeritus of SETI at the SETI Institute.
• The last spectacular year from Cassini to Saturn: November 13th, Matthew Tiscareno, principal investigator of the SETI CA Institute, Palo Alto,