SETI

Jill Tarter will talk about the large survey SETI observing programs to be undertaken by our in-house team over the next decade, the SETI observing projects from external proposers that have been allocated array time during this current observing period, some recently suggested 'far out' SETI observing strategies (not all relating to the ATA), our first thoughts about beginning OpenSETI, our recent successful demonstrations with SonATA0, and our plans for moving forward towards a Software Defined Radio Telescope (SDRT).

According to Jerry Ostriker (Plumian Professor, Cambridge; Professor of Astrophysics, Princeton; Provost, Princeton), "Surveys aren’t just something that astronomers do, they are the only thing astronomers do." These words are understandable, given Prof. Ostriker’s intimate association with the Sloan Digital Sky Survey that is presently transforming our view of the optical universe.

A new idea for utilizing all of the information in photons for communication involves a little-know electromagnetic property: the photon's orbital angular momentum (POAM). The communication and computer industries are actively looking at the possibilities. We will discuss current research and the implications for SETI. 

Phenomena in the Solar System have shown that temperatures can be suitable for life at great distances from a star as a result of the action of various forms of  "insulation".   The forms of "insulation" include a solid surface, an ocean, and a greenhouse atmosphere.  It is interesting to note that there appears to be no plausible atmosphere which produces an "anti-greenhouse", a cooling effect.   The existence of insulation greatly extends the habitable zone.  In addition, with regard to the ubiquitous M-stars, the observed large fraction of extrasolar planets with substantial eccentriciti