SCIENCE Month at SETI

Posted on March 7, 2012 by setistars

On the heels of the launch of SETI Live, SCIENCE has partnered with TED and The SETI Institute by designing a call-to-action programming campaign, dedicating the month of March to answering this most indelible question, “Are We Alone?” Four world premiere programs including Morgan Freeman’s Through the Wormhole, Alien Encounters and NASA’s Unexplained Files will premiere every Tuesday, beginning March 6 throughout the month. Each special world premiere will drive viewers to the SETI Live site and empower citizen scientists everywhere to unite towards a common goal.

“Partnering with TED and the SETI Institute has been such a great initiative for SCIENCE. With ARE WE ALONE? we want to draw viewers with smart, lean-forward programming and empower them to uncover evidence of extraterrestrial life,” said Debbie Adler Myers, General Manager and Executive Vice President at SCIENCE. “At SCIENCE we question everything and no topic inspires more questions than the existence of extraterrestrial intelligence so we are proud to join the search.”

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ATA Re-Launch Getting Closer…

Posted on November 3, 2011 by Jenny Chynoweth

Hi again!

Dr. Jill Tarter and her team at the SETI Institute have been busy, busy, busy taking all the many (and complicated!) steps needed to get the Allen Telescope Array back online and begin a two-year strategic search for signs of technology we can detect on Kepler-found worlds.

Such a targeted search is unprecedented in the field of SETI research, so the possibilities are VERY exciting! Could we finally be within range of finding an answer to the question “Are we alone?”

A new era begins…

Reporting (2011 translation = blogging) from the ground is Jon Richards from our Center for SETI Research. For his latest report on all things ATA, check out:

http://setiquest.org/blog/ata-unhibernation-report-4

After checking that out, take a few minutes (or more!) to browse around the setiQuest website and get to know this community a little better.  Find out what new ideas we have in store for Earthlings everywhere as the SETI Institute develops our capabilities to recruit and engage citizen scientists in the quest to find cosmic company.

www.setiQuest.org

There are still some issues and tech/facility needs to be worked out up at the ATA site, but the team is on it! On behalf of all the SETIStars (I hope you don’t mind me speaking for you), thanks to everyone involved in our SETI team for working so hard to make this happen.

And another BIG, BIG THANKS to everyone who contributed to fund the re-launch! Woo hoo!

We hope we are within weeks of announcing a re-launch date. Then the real adventure begins.

With your continued support and new support from first-time givers (help us spread the word!), we can keep the search going as we explore the cosmos together.

More news to come…

Jenny
TeamSETI Coordinator

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Thank you, SETIStars! We are gearing up for the ATA re-launch…

Posted on October 5, 2011 by Jenny Chynoweth

Hi, everyone!

A million thanks go to all of our amazing SETIStars who helped the SETI Institute reach and EXCEED our very first crowdfunding goal of $200,000 to help us relaunch the Allen Telescope Array (ATA). Because of you, we can begin a targeted search of Kepler-found planets that may be excellent candidates to host intelligent life.

To all of you amazing people out there, you have proven that crowdfunding can work to support cutting edge science. And thanks to everyone who shared our collective story of success and ran with it in the media and through social networking. Together, as we develop and expand our SETIStars program, we hope that the SETIStars collective shout of support turns into a roar heard around the globe!

Since thousands of people from all around the world came together in support of this effort (around 30% of SETIStars are from outside the United States!), the team in our Center for SETI Research has been working hard planning and preparing to bring the ATA back to life.

Jon Richards, SETI Institute, Center for SETI Research

To illuminate what has been happening at the Allen Telescope Array as part of this process, we’d like to introduce you to Jon Richards. He has been sharing updates and photos about the ATA on his setiQuest blog.

For a glimpse into the re-launch process, check out:

September 8, 2011:
ATA Un-Hibernation 
and
ATA Un-Hibernation Day 2

October 4, 2011: ATA Un-Hibernation- Report 3

Stay tuned for more updates on not only the Allen Telescope Array re-launch, but on the future of our SETIStars initiatives and how you can get more involved in supporting science that can forever change our perspective on life and our place in the universe.

And thanks again, SETIStars! :-)

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Announcing SETIStars

Posted on June 9, 2011 by setistars

When the SETI Institute put the Allen Telescope Array (ATA) into hibernation a couple of months back due to lack of funds for the project, we were devastated. The shutdown could not have come at a worse moment.

In just the past year, scientists have discovered planets in the habitable zones of distant stars — worlds that may be similar to ours. And every month we are discovering more of these planets, thanks to new observation techniques and incredible instruments like the Kepler Space Telescope. It’s the first time in history we know where we might look for intelligent life beyond earth. Instead of sweeping the entire sky, we can point our instruments at specific regions of space relatively more likely to contain radio signals created by other intelligent civilizations.

It’s a pivotal point in our search; it could even turn out to be a pivotal point in human history.

And yet we are stuck.

In April, the SETI Institute had to put the ATA in hibernation mode because the program ran out of money.  The ATA is the only instrument available full time for listening for radio signals from possible intelligent sources. Without it, we may never find the answers to our questions.

In the wake of the shutdown, the outpouring of support from all corners of the globe was staggering.  It is clear that SETI Institute’s mission resonates with people the world over — that the questions we seek to answer are universal.  Without even asking for it, the public responded almost immediately with offers to help, and donations began flowing in.  But until now we haven’t had a way to focus this interest and show of support, nor to allow the public at large to specifically support the ATA.

That’s why we created SETIstars. It’s a site to focus the activity of SETI enthusiasts who want to help support our search for extraterrestrial life. As a first step, we are seeking $200,000 in contributions by August to get the ATA back online. And if our predictions about your enthusiasm are right, we’ll be rolling out additional challenges soon — including a couple of firsts for organizations like SETI Institute.

We humbly thank you for your contributions, and look forward to moving this incredible endeavor forward again with your help.  Stay tuned..

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