SETI – planetaria

NASA back in the search for alien technosignatures

October 5, 2018 by Paul Scott Anderson

Here’s a buzzword you might or might not have heard before: technosignatures. SETI pioneer Jill Tarter has proposed that the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) …

What are these weird radio signals from a nearby red dwarf star?

August 6, 2017July 19, 2017 by Paul Scott Anderson

The Areicibo Observatory in Puerto Rico, which first heard the weird radio signals. Photo Credit: Arecibo Observatory/NSF

Astronomers are continuing to monitor a nearby red dwarf star after detecting unusual radio signals apparently coming from the star. It is hoped that additional observations will help to determine the source of the signals, which so far haven’t been explained.

Aliens or comets? Has the ‘Wow!’ signal mystery finally been solved?

June 9, 2017 by Paul Scott Anderson

Illustration showing the location of the “Wow!” signal in 1977, from the direction of a group of stars called Chi Sagittarii, and where the comets were located and monitored. Image Credit: The Center for Planetary Science

The search for evidence of extraterrestrial intelligence is one of the most exciting pursuits in astronomy today. Needless to say, there is a lot of controversy and debate surrounding the topic, partly due to an event which happened in 1977 – the famous “Wow!” signal. The brief but unusual radio transmission was detected only once, and the debate over its origin has continued to this day. Now, a group of astronomers are claiming to have finally solved the mystery. According to their new study just published, the signal came not from aliens, but comets.

The Kepler discovery controversy: objects orbiting new star likely cometary fragments, not aliens

October 20, 2015 by Paul Scott Anderson

Are the unusual objects around KIC 8462852 a giant swarm of comets or something else? Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/T. Pyle (SSC)

There has been a lot of discussion during the past several days regarding a discovery by the Kepler Space Telescope, which, according to some, may be the first evidence for advanced extraterrestrial intelligence, or perhaps just a weird but natural phenomenon instead.