Notices by SETI Institute (setiinstitute@mastodon.social)

#PPOD: In this false-color image from NASA's Cassini mission, clouds may be seen in Saturn's northern hemisphere. Kevin M. Gill, a fan of space imaging and an engineer at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, created the image using data collected by Cassini's wide-angle camera on July 20, 2016. The image uses a mixture of spectral filters sensitive to infrared light at 750, 727, and 619 nanometers. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute/Kevin M. Gill

#space #science #scicomm

Science is increasingly losing its power to persuade in an age awash in lies and conspiracy theories. Find out how we might return to valuing the pursuit of facts and an objective reality on Skeptic Check this week on Big Picture Science.

Listen here: https://bigpicturescience.org/episodes/skeptic-check-naomi-klein

#podcast #science #scicomm

#PPOD: Etna from ISS

Etna is a stratovolcano in Sicily, Italy, that has erupted intermittently for hundreds of thousands of years. Eruptions have been documented as early as 1500 BCE. In February 2022, while onboard the International Space Station, ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer captured this image of a plume of smoke wafting from the peak. The volcano was still erupting as recently as November 2024.

Credit: NASA/ESA/Matthias Maurer

#space #science #scicomm

https://astrobiology.com/2024/12/dale-andersens-astrobiology-antarctic-research-permafrost-and-ground-ice-conditions-in-the-untersee-oasis-queen-maud-land-east-antarctica-paper.html

Knowledge of Antarctic permafrost is mainly derived from the Antarctic Peninsula and Victoria Land. This study examines the 2019–2023 temperature and humidity conditions, distribution and development of polygonal terrain and the origin of ground ice in soils of the Untersee Oasis. This paper is part of the ongoing published research that has resulted from this multi-year exploration of the Untersee Oasis.

#science #scicomm

#PPOD: Wallpaper Wednesday - Europa

NASA's Galileo spacecraft imaged a portion of the surface of Jupiter's moon Europa on Dec. 16, 1997. This picture uses the monochrome raw image data with color synthesized to approximate natural hues. West on Europa is toward the top. Definitely need a 4-wheel drive for this one, but what an amazing landscape!

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Processing: J. Major

#space #science #scicomm

#PPOD: This image of two moons of Saturn - Titan and Rhea - was captured by NASA's Cassini spacecraft on 10 December 2011. The distance to Titan was 2.038 million km, and to Rhea was 1.329 million km. Note the hazy atmosphere of Titan! Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SSI/CICLOPS/Gordan Ugarković

#space #science #scicomm

https://sfstandard.com/2024/12/01/alien-conferences-seti-sol-foundation/
The [SETI Institute's 40th anniversary] celebration featured an award honoring Jill Tarter, one of SETI’s founding members and a legend in the fields of astrobiology and space engineering. Tarter was doing SETI research for NASA until the 1980s when a few senators yanked the funding, and she split off with a colleague to form the SETI Institute. The nonprofit based in Mountain View still gets about two-thirds of its funding through NASA.

#seti #arewealone #science

#PPOD: Jupiter's innermost moon, Io, was captured by the #JunoCam instrument onboard NASA's Juno spacecraft during Perijove 57 on 30 December 2023. The image is processed in approximate true color as the human eye would see it. Note the amazing details in Io's volcanoes! Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / SwRI / MSSS / Simeon Schmauß

#space #science #scicomm

Today marks the 40th anniversary🎉 of the SETI Institute, which was incorporated as a non-profit research institution in the state of California on this day in 1984!

What an extraordinary history the Institute has had and what amazing discoveries and new understandings have been achieved, together with impactful and important education and outreach programs.

Here’s to the next 40 years and the extraordinary knowledge and discoveries yet to come!

#seti #anniverary #arewealone

https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2024/11/11/science/seti-alien-signal-decoded-sign-in-space
If Earth’s astronomical observatories were to pick up a signal from outer space, it would require an all-hands-on-deck effort to untangle and decipher the extraterrestrial message.

An #art project from the SETI Institute simulated that scenario over a year ago before a father-daughter team of citizen scientists recently deciphered the message. Its meaning, however, remains a mystery.

#science #sciart #scicomm

Let's not forget another amazing person born #OTD - Hedy Lamarr. The brilliant actress co-invented Spread Spectrum Technology, which would one day form the basis for today's #WiFi and #Bluetooth communication systems: http://www.women-inventors.com/Hedy-Lammar.asp

You may recognize her from SETI Live co-host Beth Johnson's background, which is actually a wall in one of our conference rooms!

#HedyLamarr #WomenInSTEM

h/t Cady Coleman, astronaut

https://www.seti.org/celebrating-carl-sagan-90-he-brought-cosmos-us-all

#CarlSagan had a gift for translating complex scientific ideas into stories that sparked wonder and inspired generations, including many of the scientists shaping today’s discoveries. On what would have been his 90th birthday, we celebrate Carl Sagan as a visionary who brought the stars closer, reminding us to stay curious and to keep looking up. Happy Birthday, Carl Sagan—thank you for showing us the universe. #HappyBirthdayCarl #CarlSagan90 #space #science #scicomm

ONLINE EVENT

On Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024, at 7 pm (PST), Dr. Dan Coe (Space Telescope Science Institute) will give a free, illustrated, non-technical lecture entitled:

“Observing with the James Webb Space Telescope: Glimpsing the First Stars"

Livestreamed on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/SVAstronomyLectures
[if you go to this web address the evening of the talk, you will see, and be able to participate in, the live event]

#space #science #scicomm

https://gizmodo.com/jaw-dropping-report-reveals-causes-of-arecibo-telescope-collapse-2000517284

The famous Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico collapsed due to a combination of decayed zinc in the telescope’s cable sockets and previous damage from Hurricane Maria, according to a report published by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

#space #science #scicomm

#PPOD: Like an army of ghosts, snow penitents conquered the slopes of a 5,300-m-high volcano in the Bolivian Andes. Sublimation and wind erosion give ice this ghostly appearance. Some were almost as tall as the photographer (5' 7"). They were somewhere in her favorite playground, not too far away from the Licancabur volcano. Credit: High Lakes Project/The SETI Institute Carl Sagan Center/Nathalie A. Cabrol

#science #earth #scicomm #photography

https://buff.ly/3Yr12to
NASA’s Europa Clipper Mission will study Jupiter's icy satellite, although the spacecraft will not arrive until 2030. Meanwhile, scientists, journalists, and streamers congregated in Florida, excited for the mission's October launch atop a Falcon Heavy rocket. On 14 October at 12:06 p.m. EDT, the spacecraft lifted off from Kennedy Space Center and successfully deployed the enormous solar arrays that power the mission.

#space #science #scicomm

https://www.seti.org/seti-institute-researchers-engage-worlds-first-real-time-ai-search-fast-radio-bursts

This summer, scientists supercharged their tools in the hunt for signs of life beyond Earth. Researchers at the SETI Institute became the first to apply AI to the real-time direct detection of faint radio signals from space. Their advances in radio astronomy are available for any field that applies accelerated computing and AI.

#seti #radioastronomy #science #space #scicomm

#PPOD: Here is JWST's look at Westerlund 1, one of the closest clusters of its kind. Super star clusters are young and contain more than 10,000 times the mass of the Sun packed into a small volume. Westerlund 1 is the most massive yet identified in our galaxy, with 50,000 to 100,000 times the mass of the Sun contained within a region less than six light-years across. Credit: ESA/Webb, NASA & CSA, M. Zamani (ESA/Webb), M. G. Guarcello (INAF-OAPA) and the EWOCS team

#space #science #scicomm

#PPOD: Saturn's tiny (8-kilometer) shepherd moon Daphnis travels inside the Keeler Gap in the A ring. The Cassini Imaging Team processed this view from pictures taken by NASA's Cassini spacecraft on February 6, 2017. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SSI/J. Major

#space #science #scicomm

#PPOD: Here is a little surprise rock from Mars (another one!). NASA's Perseverance rover made this latest discovery in the Jezero crater, and we cannot wait to hear the analysis results. This rock does not look like anything we have ever encountered on Mars. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

#space #science #scicomm