Topic: SETI Institute
All Content
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Quadrantid meteor shower: Will moon wash out the show?
Quadrantid meteor shower-watchers will have to deal with a three-quarter-full moon, but the event peaks overnight Wednesday, meaning the show will go on.
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Quandrantid meteor shower: The best time to catch it
Quadrantid meteor shower: With a bright gibbous moon, the best time to view the Quandrantid meteor shower is between 2 a.m. and 7 a.m. EST, before the sun rises.
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California meteorite reveals secrets thanks to crowdsourcing (+video)
Recently published research describes a collection of meteorite pieces that landed in California in April. The study came about through a group effort dubbed "crowdsourcing" by the lead scientist.
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Moon formed from humongous Earth collision, new theories attempt to explain
The new research potentially plugs a big hole in the giant impact theory, long the leading explanation for the moon's formation.
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Earth-sized planet too hot for non-asbestos life forms, but ...
Earth-sized planet: With a mass about 1.1 times that of Earth, it is strikingly similar in size. Could the Alpha Centauri B system hold more Earth-sized, but habitable planets?
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NASA Mars rover: What if we find signs of life? (+video)
If NASA's Mars rover, Curiosity, safely touches down on Sunday night, it will begin searching for organic molecules in the Red Planet's soil. What would happen if the rover found something?
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Hubble spots fifth moon orbiting ex-planet Pluto
Scientists have announced the discovery of a fifth moon of Pluto. Dubbed P5 for now, it is the smallest moon yet detected orbiting the frigid dwarf planet.
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Pluto now has at least five moons. Can we go back to calling it a planet?
Long considered a planet, Pluto was reclassified as a 'dwarf planet' in 2006 by the International Astronomical Union. Will the discovery of a fifth moon prompt astronomers to reconsider?
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Hubble telescope spots fifth moon orbiting Pluto (+video)
Almost exactly a year after it spotted a fourth moon orbiting the icy dwarf planet, the Hubble Space Telescope has detected a fifth one.
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Florida scientists reduced to holding bake sale to fund NASA
In an effort to rescue planetary science projects amid budget cuts, scientists in Florida are holding bake sales and car washes to sway legislators to protect NASA's budget.
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Forget 'Men in Black 3': Why aliens won't attack Earth
SETI hunter Jill Tarter says Sir Stephen Hawking is wrong about aliens coming to attack or colonize Earth. If aliens can get here, Tarter reasons, they'll be advanced enough not to need slaves, food or other planets,
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Quadrantid Meteor Shower peaks Weds, one of 2012's best
The Quadrantids are notoriously unpredictable, but if any year promises a fine display, this could be it.
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Microsoft billionaire launches new space venture
Stratolaunch Systems continues a trend for Paul Allen, who has funded several different spaceflight and astronomy efforts over the years.
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Humongous plane to serve as flying launch pad for space tourists
Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen announced plans to construct a giant aircraft to launch rockets into orbit, eventually for paying passengers.
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Draconid meteor shower: Don't let daylight or nearly full moon stop you
Draconid meteor shower viewing is potentially much more exciting this year, as Earth is expected to hit some tendrils of comet dust head-on. But the peak is Saturday afternoon.
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Tatooine for real? Scientists confirm planet orbiting two suns.
Tatooine is the mythical home of Luke Skywalker. Now, scientists have identified a planet in a binary system 200 light-years away, although the planet is more like Saturn in mass and makeup.
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Jodie Foster helps in search for alien civilizations
Jodie Foster, who portrayed a scientist working for the SETI Institute in the 1997 science-fiction film 'Contact,' has donated to help revive the ailing project, which was forced to close some of its radio telescopes earlier this year.
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SETI puts E.T. on hold
SETI has temporarily halted one of its chief alien-hunting tools, the Allen Telescope Array, citing lack of funding.
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Alien fossils found in meteorite? Scientists urge skepticism.
Alien fossils have been discovered in meteorites from outer space, claims a NASA astrobiologist. Other scientists are urging caution.
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Red dwarf star systems: Promising for life, but watch the apocalyptic flares
Red dwarf stars have several virtues that make them potential homes for Earth-like planets, but a new study suggests they also produce the largest solar flares ever seen.
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Nine places on Earth that mimic Mars terrain
Scientists say that Mars went through three ages, and the first age may have been habitable for life as we know it. Each stage on Mars can be found at nine different locations around the planet Earth today.
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Almost 500 alien planets, and counting
By the end of this month, astronomers expect to have found 500 planets beyond our solar system. The current count is 494, including one that may be inhabitable by humans.
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Gliese 581g: If there's life there, how will we know?
Gliese 581g could be scanned for radio emissions. And its atmosphere could be observed for signs of chemicals produced by manufacturing.
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Fifty years ago, humanity first searched for alien life in the universe
Astronomer Frank Drake, the man behind that project, received top honors at a banquet gala Saturday at the SETIcon convention here about the search for extraterrestrial intelligence.
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Perseid meteor shower: August 2010 marks more than just a show
Researchers will be gathering data during the Perseid meteor shower. August 2010 is part of a renaissance for meteor science in the US after nearly two decades of neglect.
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