A team of researchers from the SETI Institute found that heat is responsible for destroying space pebbles, not high-speed collisions. The study used data from NASA's CAMS camera network to determine the age and trajectory of meteor showers, revealing that thermal stresses cause the particles to break apart as they approach the Sun.
A group of high school students from the Galaxy Explorer program made contributions to exoplanet research using backpack-sized digital smart telescopes. They observed and confirmed a warm and dense sub-Saturn planet, TIC 139270665 b, orbiting a metal-rich star.
A recent study challenges previous notions about the evolutionary path of Kuiper Belt Objects (KBOs), suggesting they can retain their original volatile ices for billions of years. This discovery could help explain phenomena like comet outburst activity, potentially changing our understanding of comets.
The James Webb Space Telescope has imaged dispersing gas in a young star's disk for the first time. The observations reveal winds driven by stellar photons or magnetic fields, shedding light on the end of planet formation and the evolution of circumstellar disks.
Researchers utilize the SETI Ellipsoid method to identify potential technosignatures in continuous sky surveys, enhancing detection capabilities. The method compensates for uncertainties in signal arrival times using observations spanning up to a year.
The COSMIC project uses cutting-edge technology to search for extraterrestrial signals, exploring new frequencies and enhancing our understanding of the universe. With its adaptability and future upgrades, COSMIC may cover more stars and unlock new explorations.
Researchers detected 35 FRBs from repeater FRB 20220912A, showcasing downward frequency drifting, bandwidth-center frequency connections, and changes in burst duration over time. The study also revealed an unexpected cosmic slide-whistle effect, highlighting the ATA's capabilities.
Scientists from SETI Institute and University of California Davis study humpback whale communication systems to develop filters for extraterrestrial intelligence search. A 20-minute conversational exchange with a humpback whale named Twain reveals potential for nonhuman intelligence communication.
Researchers used the NASA Exoplanet Archive and planetary system simulations to find that a drift rate of 53 nHz is sufficient in 99% of known-exoplanet cases. This threshold drops to 0.44 nHz for stars without known planets, reducing computing time and boosting efficiency for future SETI campaigns.
Researchers at Breakthrough Listen project have devised a new technique for finding and vetting possible radio signals from other civilizations. The technique eliminates the possibility of signal being mere radio interference from Earth, boosting confidence in future detection of alien life.
A record-breaking team of 123 citizen scientists contributed data to the study of supernova SN 2023ixf, a cosmic cataclysm in the Pinwheel Galaxy. The observations, conducted using Unistellar's eVscope, provided valuable insights into the behavior of this supernova.
The NANOGrav team has detected evidence of gravitational waves at very low frequencies, which they believe may be caused by the merger of supermassive black holes. The signal is thought to be a result of the gravitational wave background produced by these binary systems.
The InVADER Mission successfully deployed a high-tech laser laboratory on the ocean floor, marking a paradigm shift in ocean research and exploration. The Laser Divebot collects compositional data without disturbing the environment, removing the need for physical samples.
A team led by Akshay Suresh is searching for periodic signals in the Milky Way's core, which could be a strategic site for an extraterrestrial beacon. The Breakthrough Listen Investigation for Periodic Spectral Signals (BLIPSS) uses novel methodology to sift through data and identify potential evidence of advanced life forms.
A team of researchers used crowd-sourced data to simulate radio leakage from mobile towers and predict what an alien civilization might detect. The study suggests that some technical civilizations are likely to have more sensitive receiving systems, making the detectability of our mobile systems increase.
Researchers used AI to map sparse life hidden in salt domes, rocks, and crystals at Salar de Pajonales, a Martian analog. The study found that microbial life is concentrated in patchy biological hotspots linked to water availability, and AI can detect biosignatures up to 87.5% of the time.
Citizen scientists from Unistellar network observe and analyze NASA's DART impact, supporting the efficiency of kinetic impactor technique to deflect asteroids. The study confirms the success of planetary defense methods, making significant contributions to humanity's quest to understand the universe.
Researchers applied deep learning techniques to a previously studied dataset of nearby stars, uncovering eight previously unidentified signals of interest. The new approach enabled faster and more accurate results, with the potential to accelerate discovery of extraterrestrial life.
Researchers developed the first model of Mars' early atmosphere, linking high temperatures to ocean formation and showing water vapor condensed in the lower atmosphere, while molecular hydrogen escaped. This model supports findings from spacecraft data, indicating Mars was wet and had warm-to-hot oceans for millions of years.
The SETI Institute and Unistellar are launching a new exoplanet detection program that engages citizen scientists worldwide. Citizen astronomers will help confirm exoplanet candidates identified by NASA's TESS using Unistellar's eVscope or other telescopes.
Research on asteroid 2008 TC3 reveals that larger meteorites survived to the ground, contradicting previous assumptions about interior shielding. The study's findings provide new insights into asteroid fragmentation and the origins of space rocks.
The Unistellar network of app-controlled eVscopes is now the world's largest group of citizen astronomers, thanks to grants from the Lounsbery and Moore Foundations. The updated app will alert citizen scientists to night-sky phenomena, enabling them to participate in crucial planetary defense activities.
The SETI Institute has teamed up with Louisiana State University and Mississippi State University to assist in designing the science program for L-CAM 1, a lunar-based telescope. The team developed two science cases for observing targets based on understanding the benefits and limitations of a lunar observatory.
Researchers detected a planet in a 200-day orbit around two stars using TESS data from just one sector over 27 days. The discovery was made possible by observing the planet's transits and eclipses, providing new insights into circumbinary planets.
Dr. Sofia Sheikh has been awarded a Mathematical and Physical Sciences Ascending Postdoctoral Research Fellowship to focus on fast radio bursts and develop improved technosignature detection methods. She will also mentor underrepresented students in physics and astronomy, leveraging the Allen Telescope Array's unique qualities.
The SETI Institute and Unistellar are providing eVscope telescopes to 25 community colleges in the US, along with training workshops and network collaboration opportunities. The eVscope is a powerful telescope that gives access to 200 times more targets than conventional telescopes, including galaxies, nebulae, and supernovae.
Researchers at the SETI Institute have detected rare meteor showers caused by 4000-year-old comets. The Cameras for Allsky Meteor Surveillance project uses low-light video security cameras to measure meteors' trajectories and orbits, revealing nine parent bodies of previously unknown meteor showers.
An international team of researchers searched for pieces of the small asteroid 2018 LA, tracked in space and observed to impact Botswana on June 2, 2018. The recovered meteorites showed it likely came from Vesta, a second-largest asteroid in our Solar System.
Dr. Nathalie Cabrol proposes that modern life on Mars could be more widespread and accessible than previously believed, and that understanding patterns resulting from extreme environmental interactions is key to finding life. She suggests taking the approach of Mars as a biosphere to find signs of microbial habitability.
The SETI Institute has selected 30 teachers from 10 states to participate in the NASA-funded Airborne Astronomy Ambassador program. The program aims to improve science teaching and increase student learning and STEM engagement through immersive astrophysics and planetary science training.
The SETI Institute has launched the NASA Community College Network (NCCN) to bring NASA subject matter experts, research findings, and educational resources into science classrooms of community colleges. The program aims to amplify NASA's reach into America's community colleges where many students from underserved groups start their hi...
Researchers propose that underground salts and melting ice are responsible for Martian landslides, including the seasonal Recurring Slope Lineae features. Lab experiments suggest that thin layers of liquid-like water form near -50 °C, followed by gradual melting, which could lead to surface changes and dust storms.
Emerging technologies are opening a new era in SETI research, with innovative approaches expanding beyond traditional radio signal searches. New systems will detect technosignatures, such as laser emissions or atmospheric chemicals, indicating the presence of extraterrestrial technologies.
The Breakthrough Listen Initiative has released nearly 2 petabytes of data from the most comprehensive survey yet of radio emissions from the Milky Way Galaxy and its central black hole. A new analysis of nearby stars that could see Earth transiting the sun was conducted, but no technosignatures were found.
A Spanish neuropsychologist used an artificial neural network to analyze how humans and machines recognize planetary images, revealing that AI can detect shapes that humans miss and vice versa. The results have implications for the search for extraterrestrial life and highlight the need for caution in AI's implementation.
The discovery of L 98-59b marks the tiniest planet found by NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) to date. The planet is around 80% Earth's size and orbits its host star every 2.25 days, receiving up to 22 times the energy of our planet.
Astronomers found a tiny moon, Hippocamp, around Neptune that shouldn't exist due to gravitational clearance by Proteus. The moon is thought to be a chipped-off piece from Proteus resulting from a comet collision, measuring 20 miles across.
EPFL scientist Claudio Grimaldi has developed a statistical model to calculate the probability of detecting extraterrestrial signals, increasing the chances of finding intelligent life. The model employs Bayes' theorem to interpret success and failure rates at varying distances from Earth.
Despite extensive searches, scientists remain puzzled by the lack of evidence for extraterrestrial life. ASU professor Paul Davies suggests that life may have originated on Mars and transferred to Earth, leaving behind a 'shadow biosphere' that could be hiding in plain sight.
Recent observations of FRB 121102 provide new data about the source of fast radio bursts, which are nearly 100 percent linearly polarized and suggest a source embedded in strong magnetic fields. The team plans to observe at higher frequencies to narrow the range of possible sources.
The article discusses a debate over Mars exploration strategies, with some experts proposing the relaxation of planetary protection policies to expand the search for life on Mars. Current robotic missions may be hindering the discovery of Martian life due to contamination concerns, but easing policies could lead to breakthroughs.
Researchers at LSU have found evidence of a complex mantle beneath the Elysium volcanic province on Mars, with geochemical changes suggesting primary magmatic processes. The study's findings have significant implications for understanding Mars' geological history and potential hazards for future human missions.
Astronomers from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center and San Diego State University have discovered the largest planet yet found around a double-star system. Kepler-1647 b is approximately 4.4 billion years old and has a mass and radius nearly identical to that of Jupiter.
A team of researchers discovered a new planet orbiting two suns simultaneously, Kepler-1647b, the largest circumbinary planet with a mass and radius similar to Jupiter. Located 3,700 light-years away, the planet has an enormous orbit taking roughly three Earth-years to complete.
The Breakthrough Prize Foundation has committed $100 million to UC Berkeley and other institutions to lead a comprehensive scientific search for extraterrestrial intelligence. The initiative, called Breakthrough Listen, will utilize radio and optical telescopes to gather and analyze data from the universe.
Astronomers analyzed Hubble data to find that Nix and Hydra are in chaotic rotation around Pluto. The system's dynamic motion offers insights into binary star systems and potential consequences for life.
Two of Pluto's moons, Nix and Hydra, wobble unpredictably due to a constantly shifting gravitational field created by the double planet system of Pluto and Charon. This effect is strengthened by the non-spherical shape of the moons, which may be similar for the other two moons, Kerberos and Styx.
Nathaniel Putzig, a senior research scientist at SwRI, has been awarded the NASA Planetary Science Early Career Fellowship for his work on detecting ground ice within sand dunes across the southern hemisphere of Mars. The grant will support his research project using morphologic and thermal data.
Researchers propose using industrial pollution as a sign of intelligent life, which could be detectable with the James Webb Space Telescope. The team found that CFCs could be used to identify advanced civilizations, but this method requires an ideal environment, such as an Earth-like planet circling a white dwarf star.
Researchers recorded record-breaking solar ultraviolet radiation in the Bolivian Andes, significantly higher than normal levels. This extreme radiation is comparable to those found on early Mars and poses a threat to local ecosystems.
A UMD-led public computational biology web service, MolecularEvolution.org, has gained popularity by giving back to its users. The Lattice Project, built on the Berkeley Open Infrastructure for Network Computing, offers a service called GARLI, designed to reconstruct and predict genetic relationships between biological samples.
A study found that humans lack knowledge and preparation to actively contact extraterrestrial civilizations. Researchers recommend alternative strategies, promoting cosmic awareness through education.
The study confirms the existence of an Earth-sized planet orbiting Kepler-186, a temperate region where water could exist in liquid form. The team employed speckle imaging and adaptive optics to rule out background stars and stellar companions, allowing for the detection of Kepler-186f.
Astronomers have successfully imaged individual stars in a nearby binary star system using a new instrument that combines adaptive optics and interferometry.
The Chelyabinsk meteorite was analyzed by an international team of researchers, revealing its composition and origin. The study found that the meteoroid entered Earth's atmosphere at 19 km/s and broke up 30 kilometers above ground, causing widespread damage.
The newly discovered moon, S/2004 N 1, is estimated to be 12 miles across and is the smallest known moon orbiting Neptune. It was found using archival images taken by Hubble from 2004 to 2009 and noticed a white dot between the orbits of Neptunian moons Larissa and Proteus.
The autonomous robot will test technologies and techniques for exploring life on Mars, with a focus on gathering scientific data. Zoë is equipped with a one-meter drill to bore deep into the ground and analyze soil samples using instruments like the Mars Microbeam Raman Spectrometer.
A new approach using low irradiance ultra-violet (UV) light has been developed to slow down the rot of strawberries, doubling their shelf life from five to nine days. This technology uses a novel device incorporating light-emitting diodes (LEDs) that emit UV at wavelengths found in sunlight.
Astronomers used Kepler spacecraft data to discover a planet smaller than Mercury, about the size of Earth's moon, in the Cygnus-Lyra region of the Milky Way. The planet, Kepler-37b, is likely a rocky world with no atmosphere or water.
Astronomers discovered a mysterious planet circling the nearby star Fomalhaut with an unusual elliptical orbit. The team hypothesizes that another undetected planet may have gravitationally ejected Fomalhaut B, sending it on a collision course with a vast dust ring.