SETI Institute

PRESS RELEASE: https://buff.ly/3xd4gpC The SETI Institute is excited to announce a new, first-of-its-kind grants program aimed at advancing technosignature science and technology. This program seeks to support innovative research that addresses key observational, theoretical, or technical questions in the field of technosignature science. Eligibility: The program invites applications from Principal Investigators (PIs) in two distinct categories: Non-Tenured Faculty or Researchers: Eligible PIs are non-tenured faculty or researchers who are eligible to serve as Principal Investigators at universities or non-profit organizations. This includes colleges, universities, and non-profit, non-academic organizations such as independent museums, observatories, research labs, professional societies, and similar organizations associated with educational or research activities. Award amounts can be up to $100,000 USD, inclusive of overhead. Post-Prelim Graduate Students: Eligible PIs are graduate students in Master’s or Doctoral degree programs who have completed preliminary exams and for whom the only remaining degree requirement is their thesis or equivalent. Proposals must be supported by a faculty member or researcher at a degree-granting institution who will act as the research advisor and administrative principal investigator. Award amounts can be up to $25,000 USD, inclusive of overhead. There are no nationality restrictions. Applications for 2024 are due by 5PM Pacific Time on 31 July 2024. Successful applicants will be notified by 15 August 2024.

REMINDER: We have a new, first-of-its-kind grants program aimed at advancing technosignature science and technology. This program seeks to support innovative research that addresses key observational, theoretical, or technical questions in the field of technosignature science. Applications for 2024 are due by 5PM Pacific Time on 31 July 2024. Successful applicants will be notified by 15 August 2024. #seti #technosignature #grant

https://buff.ly/3ycl6VY An astronomer whose job it is to search for extraterrestrial intelligence made a bold proposal at SXSW in Austin. In an interview after his panel discussion, Dr. Franck Marchis explained his idea. “If we want to be able to communicate with aliens, because of the distance, it would be almost impossible. If we send a signal it would take years, and more years to come back to us – we would not learn anything. One of the reasons I do the search is to know whether or not we are alone (I’m convinced we are not, but that’s a personal belief). I want humanity to find a brother or sister with whom we can communicate, and exchange information to know how to solve the major problems we are encountering on our planet. Maybe they are 200-300 years more advanced than us, and they are going through the same trauma we are going through now.” Since the typical concept of sending a brief signal towards stars with potential habitable planets is not effective, Marchis has devised a novel solution. “We send them our Chat GPT, with all our knowledge and who we are. They can find out about us and understand us better, like interacting with human beings. And they do the same. In this way we have this communication and can ask them scientific and technical questions. That’s why it’s important to send something valuable, because they will then send us something valuable in exchange.” Marchis is hoping to write further on this for Wired magazine, and then expand on it in a scientific paper.

No #SETILive today! Scheduling during summer is a challenge. Not to worry, though. We'll be back next week, 1 August, with not one but TWO new episodes. Stay tuned to our social media for more info. Have a cat for the algorithm. (This is Ash. He's 13.)

#PPOD: Titan's Polar Vortex This true-color image captured by NASA's Cassini spacecraft before a distant flyby of Saturn's moon Titan on June 27, 2012, shows a south polar vortex, or a swirling mass of gas, around the pole in the atmosphere. "Warm" air goes up the sides, gets even colder, and sinks down the center. The south pole of Titan is near the center of the view. Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / SSI / CICLOPS / Jason Major Check out Unistellar's Kickstarter for their new binoculars. Only THREE DAYS remaining: https://buff.ly/3LEcIll

https://buff.ly/4fiXLT8 In a joint effort to expand our understanding of the cosmos and inspire global cooperation, the SETI Institute, UNISTELLAR, Astronomers Without Borders (AWB), and AstroSandbox have partnered up to provide smart telescopes to astronomy advocates across the globe. These collaborations aim to unite the expertise of SETI's renowned scientists with extensive networks of amateur astronomers and outreach programs, creating a synergy that will push the boundaries of space exploration and education. The SETI Institute and UNISTELLAR have already donated four UNISTELLAR telescopes to AWB National Coordinators in Brazil, Colombia, Kosovo, and Nepal to help empower their outreach efforts. More donations of EQUINOX 1 telescopes are already in preparation while current recipients are already seeing the effects. “The donation of the Unistellar telescope made by the SETI Institute and Unistellar through a recommendation from Astronomers without Borders completely changed our teaching, research and popularization of Astronomy projects. It is a modern and fantastic resource that makes it possible to observe celestial objects in an innovative way,” says Marcel Souza of the Louis Cruls Astronomy Club in Campos Dos Goytacazes, Brazil. ”It was very difficult to imagine just a few years ago that we would have access to such sophisticated equipment.

#PPOD: Beautiful Blue Marble Earth as seen from the vantage point of the Meteosat-10 geostationary weather satellite 36,000 km above our planet. EUMETSAT’s Meteosat satellites are a key part of the global ring of geostationary weather satellites and observe the Earth over Europe, Africa, and the Indian Ocean. Taken in natural color on 22 April 2024 to celebrate Earth Day. Credit: EUMETSAT Sign up for our enews: https://buff.ly/3WCGttb

https://buff.ly/3WysYdL The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has accomplished some spectacular feats since it began operations in 2021. Thanks to its sensitivity in the near- and mid-infrared wavelengths, it can take detailed images of cooler objects and reveal things that would otherwise go unnoticed. This includes the iconic image Webb took of Jupiter in August 2022, which showed the planet’s atmospheric features (including its polar aurorae and Great Red Spot) in a new light. Using Webb, a team of European astronomers recently observed the region above the Great Red Spot and discovered previously unseen features. The team was led by Dr. Henrik Melin, an STFC JWST Fellow and Planetary Scientist from the University of Leicester. He was joined by researchers from the University of Reading, the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI), the JAXA Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, the Center for Space Physics at Boston University, the Observatoire de Paris, the SETI Institute, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and multiple universities. The paper that describes their observations recently appeared in the journal Nature Astronomy. The team conducted integral field spectroscopy (IFS) of Jupiter’s Great Red Spot using Webb’s Near-InfraRed Spectrograph (NIRSpec) in July 2022. This process involves dissecting an astronomical image into multiple spatial components and dispersing them with a spectrograph to provide spatially resolved information. Their observations were made as part of an Early Release Science program titled “ERS Observations of the Jovian System as a Demonstration of JWST’s Capabilities for Solar System Science.”

https://buff.ly/3SmwCFj Unistellar continues to innovate in astronomy. Their new product, ENVISION, is now a reality! They've launched a Kickstarter campaign for these innovative Augmented Reality Binoculars. They're in the final stretch of their campaign and have already surpassed the $2 million mark. They're just $500,000 away from reaching their $2.5 million goal! Every contribution now is crucial to making the visionary ENVISION Smart Binoculars a reality. To help them reach this goal, they have reduced the price of ENVISION to $699 until they hit the $2.5 million milestone. You can check out their Kickstarter campaign below. Your support would mean the world to us and them. If you find ENVISION as exciting as we do, please consider backing their project and sharing it with your network.

https://buff.ly/3ydF6aT Mars’ surface is extremely dry, cold and subject to strong radiation from the sun. It’s so harsh that even lowly lichens and similar organisms would have a difficult time surviving there. But on June 30, 2024, The Guardian said scientists in China have found a species of moss that can withstand Mars-like conditions. That moss – called Syntrichia caninervis – could not only survive, but future astronauts could grow it right in the Martian ground without needing a greenhouse. The moss could also help other plants grow as well. The researchers published their peer-reviewed findings in the journal The Innovation on July 1, 2024.