SETI Institute

PRESS RELEASE: https://buff.ly/4gP4q8r SETI Institute Awards Education Grant through the STRIDE Program The SETI Institute awarded its first education grant through its Support Technology, Research, Innovation, Development and Education (STRIDE) program. The grant supports a new project called Encountering Stars in an Inflatable Planetarium, which will offer immersive astronomy and astrobiology experiences for elementary and middle school students in low-income areas and high school and adult audiences interested in STEM-related experiences. The program also includes a training workshop for K-12 teachers and community college volunteers. It aims to encourage students in high school to start a STEM career pathway by participating in the Evergreen Valley College (EVC) Dual Enrollment Program. The SETI Institute established the $500K STRIDE fund for SETI Institute researchers and EOC (Education, Outreach, and Communications) professionals to develop innovative research and education proposals. In July 2024, the SETI Institute announced the first STRIDE science grants. Dr. Margaret Race leads this project with Dr. Celso Batalha at Evergreen Valley College (EVC) in San Jose, CA. Together, they will recruit and train EVC students to bring the inflatable planetarium to schools and other sites. Dr. Dana Backman of the SETI Institute will develop the training workshop for teachers and EVC students. "Dr. Race has been a passionate advocate for STEAM education throughout her career in planetary protection, volunteering her time in classrooms and libraries to engage young learners," said Ms. Pamela Harman, Director of Education at the SETI Institute. "This STRIDE award enables her to bring a planetarium program to students and educators, inspiring them with views of the night sky and our research stories." STRIDE grants include funding for basic research, technology development, prototyping, equipment and instrumentation, field expedition work, education program development, materials, hardware, software, and more. Last year, the SETI Institute announced a philanthropic gift of $200M from the estate of Franklin Antonio, a visionary supporter and catalyst of the work of the SETI Institute for more than 12 years. Co-founder of communications chip company Qualcomm, Antonio left an extraordinary legacy to enable breakthrough science in the search for intelligent life beyond our world. The Franklin Antonio Bequest funds the STRIDE program, and the SETI Institute expects to solicit it annually. The STRIDE grant will fund Encountering Stars for one year.

In this week's issue: ▪️ #SETI Institute Researchers Engage in World’s First Real-Time #AI Search for Fast Radio Bursts ▪️ Celebrating 40 Years of Cosmic Exploration ▪️ Returning to #LakeUntersee ▪️ SETI Institute in the News: September Roundup ▪️ Swan Hellenic Cruise Ship: Voyage to Madagascar and its Islands ▪️ #SETILive Replay: Naked Eye Comets? October May Yield a Bounty ▪️ Big Picture Science: We'll Always Have Parasites ▪️ Planetary Picture of the Day - Week of September 30, 2024 #space #science #sciencenews

#PPOD: Aurora from Dragon Endeavor This photograph📸, taken by astronaut Matthew Dominick👨🚀 while peering out a Dragon Endeavor window, shows red and green aurorae streaming by Dragon Freedom which was docked to the front of the International Space Station🛰️. The Sun☀️ is still at solar maximum, with numerous flares and coronal mass ejections causing gorgeous aurorae even at lower latitudes. The different colors indicate different altitudes above the Earth's surface🌍. Credit: Matthew Dominick/NASA Sign up for our enews: https://buff.ly/400QYZm

Leading up to the International Astronautical Congress next week in Milan, we are delighted to be among the sponsors and speakers at this week's SETI conference in Sardegna, hosted by INAF - Italy's National Institute for Astrophysics. Wonderful to be here with colleagues from the Institute, UC Berkeley, Breakthrough Listen and Astronomers from the global research community. https://lnkd.in/gZBGW7fM

VIDEO: https://buff.ly/400pnYk Bob Pette, VP of Enterprise Platforms at NVIDIA, spoke at the NVIDIA AI Summit on October 8 about "collaborating with SETI to conduct real-time AI searches for fast radio bursts from distant galaxies, helping continue the exploration of space."

POSITION AVAILABLE: https://buff.ly/4eVUcBB The SETI Institute is looking for a Communications & Development Manager to fill a pivotal role in our efforts impacting the SETI Institute’s fundraising goals. The C&D Manager will report to the Director of Communications and work closely with the communications and development teams and fundraising consulting partners. The C&D Manager will also collaborate to ensure efficient gift processing, acknowledgement, stewardship and support in-person and remote outreach and fundraising events. In addition, the C&D Manager will also have the responsibility for creating and executing strategies to grow our base of followers and convert them into donors through fundraising programs. Salary Range: $80,000-$100,000

#PPOD: Triton's Volcanic Plains This view of the volcanic🌋 plains of Neptune's moon Triton was produced using topographic maps derived from images acquired by NASA's Voyager spacecraft🛰️ during its August 1989 flyby. This regional view shows a variety of terrains on Triton, including the smooth volcanic plains in the foreground, formed by icy🧊 lavas. Parts of this surface have been eroded, forming mounds and depressions with relief of tens to a few hundred meters. The round pits and mounds across the center of the scene are probably volcanic explosions or collapse craters, the largest of which (at bottom center) is 250 meters deep and 15 kilometers across. Many of these pits are aligned in chains similar to those seen in basaltic volcanic areas on Earth, such as Craters of the Moon National Monument in Idaho, except the lavas on Triton are water💧 and other ices that erupted onto the surface Credit: NASA/JPL/Universities Space Research Association/Lunar & Planetary Institute #planetaryscience #space #science Sign up for our enews: https://buff.ly/4dFkO8H

It was a great event organized by the SETI Institute communication team. Congrats to all involved and thank you Chabot Space & Science Center for hosting us.

VIRTUAL EVENT: https://buff.ly/3A2PiDT TONIGHT, Wednesday, Oct 09, 2024 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM PDT On Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2024 at 7 pm (PDT), Dr. David Weintraub (Vanderbilt University) will give a free, illustrated, non-technical lecture entitled: “Profound and Staggering: The Impact on Religion of the Potential Discovery of Life Around Other Stars" Livestreamed on YouTube: https://buff.ly/4eCtuxW [if you go to this web address the evening of the talk, you will see, and be able to participate in, the live event] This virtual talk is part of the Silicon Valley Astronomy Lecture Series (through Foothill College), now in its 25th year. Astronomers have now discovered thousands of planets in orbit around other stars. Dr. Weintraub will discuss those discoveries, and predict the progress astronomers are likely to make in their more detailed studies of these planets over the next fifty years. Then he will consider the consequences of those potential discoveries for Roman Catholicism, Mainline Protestantism, Christian Creationism, Seventh Day Adventism, Judaism, Islam, and Hinduism -- for all of which the discovery of a planet with life on it may be profound. The 20th-century visionary Buckminster Fuller said, “Sometimes I think we’re alone. Sometimes I think we’re not. In either case, the thought is staggering.” This presentation is built on the ideas published in Weintraub’s book Religions and Extraterrestrial Life: How Will We Deal With It? (2014) -- in which he interviewed leaders of all these faiths. Dr. David A. Weintraub is Professor of Astronomy Emeritus at Vanderbilt University where he founded and directed the Communication of Science and Technology program, and conducted research on the formation of stars and planets. He is the 2015 winner of the Klopsteg Award from the American Association of Physics Teachers, which recognizes the outstanding communication of contemporary physics to the general public and is a 2023 Fellow of the American Astronomical Society. His most recent book is The Sky is for Everyone: Women Astronomers in Their Own Words (2022; with Virginia Trimble). Previous books include Life on Mars: What to Know Before We Go (2018), How Old is the Universe? (2010), and Is Pluto a Planet? (2006). He also created the Who Me? series of inspirational scientific autobiographies for fifth-grade level readers (from World Scientific Publishing), which helps young people see themselves as scientists. The lecture is co-sponsored by: The Foothill College Science, Tech, Engineering & Math Division The SETI Institute The Astronomical Society of the Pacific Past lectures in the series can also be found on YouTube at: https://buff.ly/3zZht6E and as audio podcasts at: https://buff.ly/4eBPSrd

https://buff.ly/3ZW62Y7 Dr. Ian Weaver, the Unistellar Education lead at the SETI Institute, shared his experiences from two star parties hosted with the National Park Service (NPS). These events are part of a partnership between the SETI Institute and NPS to provide local youth and the public with opportunities to explore the night sky while learning about the importance of preserving natural darkness for wildlife, habitats, and park visitors. The star parties also offer a chance to participate in citizen science activities in astronomy. Protecting dark skies enhances the solitude and wilderness that animals depend on, visitors seek and many cultural-historical parks require for preservation. NPS recognizes that the night sky is more than just a scenic backdrop; it is a vital part of the ecosystem, supporting both natural and cultural resources. Outfitted with Unistellar telescopes, Dr. Weaver helps us humans to experience the treasures of deep space and connect deeper with these night skies that the national parks offer.